Know your roots via food , décor and art pieces at "Desi Roots".

I was invited by WishBox Studio Communications Pvt.Ltd to try out some of the  dishes from the menu of newly opened restaurant Desi Roots , Saket.  The concept of the Restaurant is “Desi” / Indian-ness , yet with a contemporary and chic look .  You will feel nostalgic as soon as you enter the outlet , with a big painting on wall with Children playing old games like Pebbles ( Kanche) , Stapoo etc.  Ambiance is colourful with rustic look and few comics kept in an old metal trunk and Sewing-machine as a table, Old bajaj scooter light head as lamp and handpump in one corner.  As you head inside, you will find the modern look of the Bar with two beautiful paintings of rural women with a glass of beer in their hands.  To attract the guests more, they have fun game of writing your wish in a lock and lock it at their iron grill near the gate .  Guests can take the key with them till their wish is fulfilled or wish to keep it lock there permanently. 

Colourful rustic Ambiance. 

Attractive grill where guests can write their wish on locks and lock it here and keep the key with themseves. 

Old Handpump standing tall at one corner. 

Food what we ate

Now coming to the food , their menu  covers  mostly North, East and food which you find in  High way of Northern  India  .  It has been curated keeping the authenticity of the dish and adding little fusion on accompaniments. I was amazed to see the presentation of each dish which we ordered . ( customised toy truck , army mugs and plates , coal –iron and Murtabaans ).  They also have their inhouse mix of Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic with Indian flavours, which blends  well with the Desi dishes. 
So I started my food with a drink “ Desi Champagne which was a vodka based drink with orange, and apple juice and mint.  

Desi Champagne

In Appetizers I ordered for Amuse Bouche- Golu vada , Chipote chicken tikka with Avocado raita, Kashundi fish with Babloo Sauce  and Deviled prawns Pinchoes.
Golu Vada was a medu vada s.erved in a small glass jar with lid .  Nothing extra on the dish but liked presentation was pretty attractive. Chipotle chicken tikka was served on an Custom made coal iron ( dhobi iron) which was very impressive . Kashundi fish was served with a mix of sauce with Sago pearls which they named it as Babloo sauce.  I was told two different stories behind the name of the sauce “Babloo” a) Babloo is a driver of the chef who has curated the dish ,hence kept on his name .


b) since it looks like bubbles , so another reason for naming it as Babloo sauce. Anyway , as I belong to Northeast, I would prefer more strong kashundi marinated fish with a chilli sauce.
Devilled Prawns Pinchoes is something to talk about .   I Liked  the mixof Idlis and prawns with salsa sauce.  I will say , it is one of the best dish at Desi Roots.  

Amuse Bouche - Golu Vada

Deveiled Prawns Pinchoes

Chipotle Chicken Tikka with Avocado Raita 

Kashundi Fish with Babloo sauce

Gilautte Pate with Ulte tawe ke Parathe 

For the main course I ordered Ambala Cantt ki Mutton curry with Tikona Paratha and Kamquat Achaar. The dish was served in a customised toy truck and army mug and plate . Mutton was cooked in Dhaba style and parathas were soft and crisp.  From south region I ordered for Bass Polichettu with Tepioca . I liked the strong flavour of curry leaves in Tepioca and Basa was pan fried and served on a Banana Leaf. The Timbele , cranberry -Orange chutney was little thick in consistency.  We also had Gilautti Pate with Ulte Tawe Ke parathe , Gilautte was mind blowing and liked the presentation with strips of parathas to enjoy the dish comfortably. 

Ambala Ki Muttun curry with Tikone Parathe

closer look of Mutton curry.

Bassa Polichettu with Tapioca . 

Sweet tooth
 From  the Pagal panti section, ( they have named their sweet dish section as pagal panti)., we ordered Badam Halwa Baklava Shrikhand and Jamaluddin ki Kheer .  Serving pastry with Indian halwa is really impressive.  The restaurant is also into promotion of the experts in Indian cuisine , hence They import Jamaluddin Ki Kheer  everyday  from  “Jamaluddin” who cooks this amazing kheer in wood fire near Badal Beg Masjid.  

Jamaluddin Ki Kheer. 

Badam Halwa Baklawa Shrikhand

After the meal , I polished my meal with a cup of Green tea served in a very rustic metal kettle which you will find at road side Dhabas. 

.Talking about this place in one line is “ A place where you will get good Indian dishes with eye-catching  ambiance”.

Mr. Amandeep Singh , Director , Lemon Seeds
Hospitality Pvt. Ltd and owner of Desi Roots.

The Kitchen Espion wishes all success to Mr. Amandeep Singh , creator of Desi Roots and Thanks to  Ms Chandni Mahajan for inviting me to experience the Desi Roots with some nostalgic sights. 
To reach
Desi Roots
G- 16, 17, 30 and 32 Ground floor , Ras villas Mall, Saket New Delhi.
 Meal for two
1200/- 
 

Unveil the local flavour of Delhi with Le Meridien, New Delhi - Eclairs Diary.

(Image downloaded from Internet )

On 12^th of March , 2015 , Le-Meridien, New Delhi , unveiled  their eight Eclairs with Indian flavour , which was specially created by Award winning Chef Johnny Iuzzini .  I want to thank Ms. Mounisha Chakraborty and Ms. Gunjan Kar of LINOPINION group to invite me and be a part of the event of unlocking these very interesting flavours to give a modern twist to Perician treat- Eclairs . 




 Pastry Chef of Le’Meridien- Chef Vikas Srivastava along with Mr.Arnaud Champenois, Senior Director showcased the Indian flavoured Eclairs to the gathering of Journalists, Food bloggers and few guests from Japan.
Chef Johnny Iuzzini tried his skills with some of very commonly used Indian flavours like – Green Tea, Turmeric, Jaggery , Tamarind , Coconut , Ginger and Rose petals .

A little introduction of Chef Johnny Iuzzini

Image is downloaded from internet.



Chef Iuzzini is a Pastry chef , Author and World traveller. Iuzzini’s interest in the pastry art began at the age of seventeen and he started working at The River Café in Brooklyn , New York. Through his culinary skill and in collaboration with Le’Meridien , he has created these eight signature recipes  with Indian flavour specially for Le’Meridien. 
Graduated from the culinary institute of America with over 20 years of Kitchen experience , he is the author of DESSERT FOURPLAY and SUGAR RUSH. He has been travelling around the globe researching new trends and techniques in the hotel industry along with his second passion MOTORCYCLING RACING.

Sharing my photographs of  Perisian chic captured in my lens

with coconut and mukhswad.

The Indian flovours which fascinated Chef Iuzzini to try out his skills on Eclairs. 

with Rose and Cardamom

with Jaggery and ginger 

with Hazelnut and Tamarind 

with Green tea and other ingredients. 

Make your Eclair with your choice of flavour. 

*** 
Le'Meridien is a Paris born hotel brand , acquired by The Starwood Hotels, and Resorts world wide. They are spread in more than 80 of their properties in Europe , Africa , Middle-East and Asia -Pacific. 

A visit to Dos Burros

Ever since this Taquilla bar and Mexican special restaurant has been opened, I was very curious to know the meaning of Dos Burros. , After digging into the Google search bars, got to know that Dos Burros means two little donkeys.  Funny eeh!!!…. Anyway one fine afternoon me and my friend Shalini Pereira of All things nice decided to meet at Dos Burros and try out some of their dishes and drinks.

Loved the ambiance

Bar counter 

 Situated at  cyber hub where every other day new café or restaurant is coming up with new concepts and cuisines,  It was not very difficult to find the place.  As we entered the café, I was amazed to see the colourful ambiance and beautiful retro music.  I was very much impressed by the colourful jute ropes  entrapped with the rods on the ceiling which was giving a beautiful look.

Menu

Bell Pepper Mojito

After persuing the menu ., we ordered for Sprimp Guacamole with Corn Nachos and Grilled Pork Ribs with black beans and mashed potatoes. After checking the bar menu, and on bartender’s recommendation, I picked up Bell pepper Mojito . I enjoyed my drink after adding more bell pepper and nicely muddled on my request.   Shrimp was fresh and Guacomole was freshly made . Nachos were crispy .  I really liked the Pork chops as it was very well cooked and you dnt need to struggle to cut the meat. It was very soft and Black beans were blending very well with the oink.

Shrimps -Guacamole with Corn Nachos

Pork Ribs served with Black beans and Mashed Potatoes. 

Though we were feeling full , we thought of trying Mexican sweet   “churroz “, which was served with chocolate sauce  and cream .  It was nicely fried and soft and liked with the chocolate sauce. Cream sauce was little thin in consistency.

Churroz served Chocolate sauce and Cream
Photo courtesy: Shalini Pereira 

My over all experience at Dos Burros was good , enjoyed the lovely 80’s music with beautiful and lively ambiance. I must not forget to mention that ,serve their taquillas and other drinks in very attractive glasses .

special Taquilla shot glasses imported from Singpore.

To reach
DLF, Cyber City, Ground Floor, DLF Cyber Hub
Gurgaon.

*Espion pays their own bill  

This is how an Epicurean celebrated this Holi..

Holi means Gujiya and Gujiya means Holi... 

Holi  for me means Colours, Water Balloons, Gujiyas, Dahi bhalla , Ghugni , Keema -luchi and Bhang ke Pakode.  Along with the mentioned food dishes, Kaanji with Vodka was my favorite drink till I had a Bhaang drink made by Bouquet Garni  today.

Bhaang or Cannibes is an integral part of Indian Culture. Indians make Bhaang Ghota during Shivratri and Pakoda or fritters during the occasion of Holi. It has been used since the Vedic period when Sadhus and Sufi saints used to consume it for meditation and for spritual estacy. In early period, Alcohol was a taboo for Brahmins and Baniyas and Bhaang was the only sort of socially permitted intoxication.

This Holi , I got few bottles of Bhaang concoction made by Bouquet Garni  and it made my festival special.  It was sweet, milky, and had a beautiful smoky flavour.

The rock star drink of my Holi .

K.M.Kamalaksh , founder of the company "Bouquet Garni ", is the man behind this wonderful drink. Commonly addressed as "Kama" among friends, he has always amazed me with his innovations. I had joined his event on Beer " The sipping turf" at  The Gourmet High Street, Gurgaon on last December 2014 ., which was the talk of the town . He calls himself as Bartender but i would like to call him as an amazing Mixologist who can play with not only spirits but also with simple chai or tea and creates some spectacular mixes.  No one is there in my mind who has innovated a quirky mix with Cannibes or Bhaang. I have learned that he was featured by CNN-IBN channel on last Holi with some of his creative dishes ( bhaang gujiya, bhaang rasgullas, pizzas and bhaang brownies etc ) and drinks like (Bhaang lassi, Mojito, Smoothies ) .

Kama in his festive mood creating some his best innovations with Bhaang. He calls his innovations as "Big Bhaang theory"

I wish the brand launch the drink in Indian Market with a bang and unleash a new segment of Beverages.
The Kitchen Espion wishes the greater success to K.M.Kamalaksh  and his venture. ( We'll drink to his success)

My glass of the Bhaang drink. 

HAPPY HOLI......

Visit to Awadh Food Festival at Seasonal Tastes,The Westin, Gurgaon.

I am always fascinated with cuisines like Mughal, Kashmiri, Kayastha and Awadh and never miss a chance to learn about these cuisines. So luckily i got an invitation by LINOPINION group to review the Awadhi food  at Seasonal Tastes,  Westin, Gurgaon into their two week long festival on this cuisine. As they say " You can always enjoy your meal with good company", I went with two of my best friends Shalini Pereira of All things nice  and Nimi Vashi  of  Matrix life magazine. .

I was amazed to see the hospitality of the Hotel staff and Chef Deepak Bhatia and Masterchef Qadir Khan . We got to know the details of each dish by Masterchef Khan . With discussing Masterchef Qadir Khan, I got to know that Awadh Cuisine has been originated from Lucknow and completely different than Mughal cuisine.  Unlike Mughal, Awadh cuisine use a handful of uncommon spices and cook the food in slow cooking process. Slow fire cooking lit the juices absorb into the solid parts of the meat. The major process of cooking is marinating meat which contribute the taste. Most of the Awadh food is cooked on Griddle or Tawa.  Cooks are known as Bawarchis.

Dhungar, Dum, and Galavat are main process of Awadhi cooking. Dhungar means to give smoke to the meat or dishes. Dum is literally means to cook on slow fire with sealed Pot or Deg . Galavat is to tenderise the meat.

So we started our food with a glass of Thandai and Gulab Sharbat. I liked the Thandai better than Sharbat. In starters, we had Tandoori Bater ( Quail) , Subz Kababs, Gilautti Kabab, Paneer Tikka, Kakori Kabab. Kakori Kabab and Gilautti justed melted in my mouth . All spices were well balanced and so spice was overpowering with other spice. Bater was nicely grilled and the mint chutney was blending well with the bird.  Next, we had Tandoori Raan which was well marinated with Gilavat before cooking. It was served with two types of bread with Cardamom and Aniseed flavour.

Main Course was served as buffet with Dum Dal,, Mirchi ka Salan, Murg and Gosht Biryanis, Nihari , with varities of papads Raita and Kachumber Salad and many more dishes for vegetarians.
I had Nihari at many places, but loved the Nihari at the festival. There was no trace of oil and the gravy was with all juices of the lamb bone . Lamb Biryani was tingling in my palate with mild spices and soft meat.  All the dishes were well balanced with spices and with smoky taste ( Dungar)

As I have a Sweet Tooth, and there were varities of sweet dishes apart from Awadh cuisine , I preferred to stick to authentic Awadhi sweet, so picked Lauki Ki kheer, Badam ka Halwa, Jao ki Sai, Seviya Muzzafar, Khubabi ka Meetha and Phirni.
My sweet tooth could not pick the best among all and I enjoyed all the dishes.

If you want to enjoy and explore the Awadhi food with some fantastic Sweets, Do visit -Seasonal Tastes,  Westin, Gurgaon . The festival is going on till 28th of Feb 2015.

Master chef Qadir Khan ( photo courtesy Shalini Pereira )

Gilauti Kabab. ( photo courtesy Shalini Pereira )

Kakori Kabab ( photo courtesy Shalini Pereira )

Subz Kabab . photo courtesy Shalini Pereira 

Raan. photo courtesy Shalini Pereira 

Thandai 

Gulab Serbat

Breads - 

Sweet dishes.. from left bottom- Seviyan Muzzafar, Khubani ka Meetha, Phirni, Jao ki Sai, Badam Halwa and Lauki ki Kheer. 

Review of Bamboo Shoot Kitchen.

Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar also known as resettlement colony for refugees of Partition time , has become a favourite place for  North Easterns to live in. Due to its affordable rental, many youngsters prefer this place, as they find this place as central place to connect with rest of  Delhi-NCR with nearby Metro Station.  Most of the  residents  are working in Corporates, Call centers and studying in Delhi Universities. Among such NE residents, a group of friends decided to open up an outlet with authentic Naga, Manipuri and Assamese cuisine. When i went to visit their place for first time, i tried to speak to few student-guests , and they told me that , as students it is difficult to cook their meal and they cnt eat spicy meals on everyday basis. So they find their food as home cooked at Bamboo Shoot Kitchen

Their Menu consists of Beef, Chicken , Pork and Fish curries of all three state's cuisine . Although they have few vegetarian dishes but it is little difficult for vegetarians to find  options. Their range of chutneys - Eromba, Outi, Kangshoi, Sinju, King chilli chutney, are everybody's favorite.
Students find their Thalis very affordable. Their "add on" bonus is . they serve "Phik Chaa"( tea without sugar and milk) along with the meal.

Singthing, the senior most among the team , keeps trying and play with ingredients  to add interesting and innovative dishes in their menu. Recently they have come up with Burger with Northeastern flavour , with Pork meat, bambooshoot and Bhoot Jolokia.

As the Cafe is close by to my place, it has become my fav place for hangout.
* They do not serve Alcohol and Sweet dish *

To reach
4/8, Gupta Market, , Old Double Storey, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi.

Meal for two
900/-

The clean and simple ambiance.

Phik Chaa.

My meal with Erombam Dal, Sinju, Buff curry, Pork with Bamboo shoot, Fish in Manipuri style curry

Pork with dry bamboo shoots

Bamboo Shoot Kitchen. 

Espion's visit to World Pizza Journey, Hauz Khas Village

Hauz Khas Village is a bub of Cafes/ Restaurants and Designer Studios. Its a plush hangout place. In the midst of the bustling Hauz Khas . , Ankit Tayal and Abhishek Mathur have opened  their new brain child " World Pizza Journey " . As the name WPJ takes , their take on world's best pizzas.

Ambiance is bright and colourful and certainly cheers the mood. They have beautiful old Hollywood posters framed on the wall and table tops . Their design of the menu is influenced by the Passport. and stamps for the world tour . While tasting the Pizzas, we had an hour long discussion with Ankit Tayal , and got to know that they have done enough research to make sure to bring World's best Pizzas from different part of the World.

Their Menu covers Pizzas from Italy, Malaysia, Moscow, France, South Africa, Turkey, South America, Thailand , Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Chicago, Hawain, Britain , China and our own spicy Indian flavour as Pizza toppings. Interesting part is they serve their Pizzas with a pitcher of cocktail to blend with it. They have some very interesting and innovative concoctions done by Mixologist Viju Raj. Some of his interesting concoctions are chicago orange brandy, Russian Bride, Apretivo Venum, Khus Madira and many more.

Let me have my meal

We ordered for Greek to me Pizza , Jerk Chicken Pizza and St troppe Pizza and had with Cocktails - French kiss, and Jamaican Sunrise . Base of Greek Pizza was thick , and Jerk Chicken Pizza and St troppe came with thin crust pizzas. Personally I liked think crust . I found the quality of the base very good.
Besides , Pizzas they have huge options for side dish  and soups. We had Spinach soup in veg and clear soup with shrimps in nonveg option. In side dish options, we had Rocky Boloa Salad with fresh veggies with lots of cheese. and Loaded Potato skins with veggies. Salad was fresh and crisp but found Loaded Potato skin little bland. They can serve with little spicy sauce with it.

Sweet tooth


In sweet section we ordered for Banana Nutella crepe which was served with vanilla icecream.
I was amazed to see their creativity in serving pans and bill box. They got music records embedded in the fibre pans . and custom made cute little gramophone for the bill box.

Colourful and cheerful . ambiance

Spinach soup with Garlic Bread

Loved these jars. 

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Pizza with Jamaican Sunshine drink 

St Troppe Pizza with  French Kiss Cocktail 

Old records embedded on Fire pans . 

Rocky Boloa Salad

Potato peel with veggies and cheese. 

Greek to me Pizza 

Banana and Nutella crepe with Vanilla icecream

Customised gramophones for bill box 

To reach

26 ,Ground Floor, Hauz Khas village. New Delhi.
Meal for two - 1200 for two.
** Although The Kitchen Espion pays for its own bill but this visit was with my fellow blogger +Nimi Vashi  on special invitation.