Iranian Food workshop!! By chef Hoda khaligi

Food is something which brings everyone under one roof. When if a cuisine is a typical new to any one who would like to taste it for the first time, i know the feeling of goosebumps. But, when all the food lovers who gather under one roof for a typical Iranian food trials, that's getting food mad better off late.

The management of LAMAKAAN, located in banjara hills has organized an event --The Iranian food tasting and lessons, By chef Hoda khaligi. An enthusiast chef who is studying an MBA from OU, Lamakaan has hosted her event with some of the famous Iranian dishes. This was advertised on their events page and got a good attention from food lovers across the city. 

The event was about the introduction and vast explanation of Iranian cuisine and its major differences with other cuisines as well. 

The event started with introducing few items which are displayed for trial and the chef herself explained the process of making each and every item. The step by step process makes you know the basic differences in cooking from home food to commercial purposes. 

The dishes were:

                                                                      Ghasem

                                                                      Ghieme

                                                                      Zereshk Pulao

                                        Mixed salad with Iranian herbs ( dried mint and thyme)

Ghasem, is a vegetarian dish which is made out of the egg plant and scrambled eggs which are ground to paste and mixed up with the herbs which give the dish an immense flavor which makes the ground paste to acquire the required flavor while cooking. The slow flame will give the flavors to squeeze in easily. The out put was good and the spice levels are normally less and flavors are good. But when had with the green lemon, i am able to enjoy the distinctive flavors. This dish can be had along with roti. 

Ghieme, is a dish which is close to dalcha with mutton cooked in it. The difference is the chana dal will be fried and cooked with the ingredients. One more important ingredient in this dish is the dried brown lemon, which will make the dish attain the bitter flavor from it. And the remaining dish is cooked the same way the dalcha is made. The final output is very different from the anticipation and leave you with more distinctive flavors, with the addition of Saffron rice to the noraml rice which is used to have the Ghieme. The perfectly cooked mutton will be butterly smooth along with the dal, will make you go droll over the dish. 

Zereshk pulao, is a chicken dish with the veg stock boiled along with the veggies and the stock is made well before with onion, carrot and cinnamon stick to remove the raw flavor of chicken.After removing the raw flavor of chicken, the remaining veggies along with chicken are cooked in veg stock and the roasted potatoes and the tangy sauce, with some of the fresh bell peppers. The flavor of chicken is very much flat and the taste is good. This is had with the rice and the flavored saffron rice and chips. 

Flavored saffron rice: The normal white rice is cooked in a paste which is developed with the zereshk berries ( Dried red barberries), which are red in color and the saffron soaked in water, which are mixed in a  pan with some water to dilute. After the thorough simmer, the paste then is set on low flame and then the required quantity of sugar is added for taste. The texture is simply amazing and the taste is just awesome, The saffron flavor will blow in your mouth when you have the first bite. The taste will develop when had with the Zereshk pollo, with the veg stock. Thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Along with the food, there was a salad and the potato chips were accompanied with the rice. The salad was made with cucumber, sprouts, corn, cucumber, tomato spring onion which are seasoned with lemon, dry mint leaves and thyme. These made the salad, very much appealing for presentation and the taste was excellent. This is one of those salads, which i had never though would be much appetizing with the dry mint. One of the must have. 

 The work shop lasted for one hour and the dishes which are made for the workshop were also made available for the lunch session for which they costed us item wise, from which they asked us to choose from the menu to order. The prices are as follows:

Rice+zereshk pulao--Rs.180/-

Rice+Ghieme--Rs.230/-

Rice+ Mirza Ghasem--Rs.90/-

Salad--Rs.20/-

The saffron rice was garnished on the top of the rice. 

Very soon the chef is also trying to arrange one more cooking and learning session for the enthusiasts. 

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ANANDA!! Home food guaranteed!!!

The word Ananda describes moments of bliss and happiness in life. A perfect feast with delicious food is also bliss. Ananda is the name of a newly opened south Indian restaurant in Film Nagar. It’s all about the experience and joy of feasting and relishing the flavors of Andhra.

The restaurant is tucked inside a lane beside Sony showroom near MLA colony, Jubilee hills. The first impression it gives you is that of a home of wealthy rural gentry. The stunning traditional ambience of the house is perfect for a restaurant and provides a unique backdrop for an Andhra meal.

The interiors are done with teak wood, paintings, carvings and handmade stuff and the art work on the furniture is simply brilliant. There are separate dining areas according to the preference and a special place on the first floor for group dining. Comfortable seating arrangements along with a soothing background score make the dining experience a memorable one.  

The food emphasizes more on Andhra cuisine, but North Indian cuisine is also available. They have already become well known for their regular thali. Both the veg and non veg thalis are on offer here. The non veg thali has options of two non veg dishes (limited portions) which vary from day to day. This is in addition to all the items served as part of veg thali.

Though the local preference in Hyderabad is for very spicy food, the spice level of the items of this thali have been quite low, providing people from other parts of the country a comfortable way to taste local cuisine. However, many ardent Andhra food lovers may argue that what is Andhra food without the spices, and they should ask for enhanced spice levels while ordering.

The items served in the thali were sumptuous. It had the following items—Vankaya (brinjal) Koora, Tomato Rasam, Bendakaya (ladies finger) Pachdi, Dosakaya Pappu, Aloo Fry, Kothimeera (coriander) Rice, Sambar, Papadam and Curd. And along with these the non-vegetarian dishes were Kodi Iguru, Pudina Chicken and Andhra chicken curry as the sides. My Bengali friend opted for Chapala Pulusu.

Among the vegetarian items the green Kothimeera Rice was flavorful and it’s tadka was perfect, which was made with ghee and lot of spices in it. Dosakaya pappu (dal) was good and it made a good combo with ghee and the fried papadam. The Vankaya Koora was a bit sweet as the spice level of green chili was moderate and the gravy was made even sweeter with fried onions. I didn’t find it to my liking.

The Tomato Rasam served as the soup to us and it was perfect and the taste was more traditional. The tempered lentils were also very good. The Chana masala was just ok, but it was not appealing with the rotis. The rotis were dry and were not soft at all.

My favorite of the non-veg items was the Pudina (mint) Chicken which I ordered for the main course. It was very well prepared with enough moisture. The chicken was soft and the aroma and taste of the dish was exceptional. Combining the dish with rice or roti was equally satisfying. I recommend to try this dish.

Kodi Iguru was more of North Indian curry. Though I liked it because of the flavor, it was definitely not Andhra. The chicken is not as tender as in Pudina Chicken. The spice levels are moderate and it can just be called as the normal chicken gravy.

The Andhra chicken curry was a bit spicy and the gravy was made with a hint of green chili and dry chili powder. The chicken was good and tender and the thickness of gravy was near about perfect. 

The dessert served was Semiya Payasam. The sweet levels are prominent and the sabudana was pleasing. 

The vegetarian thali is Rs 165 and the non vegetarian version is Rs 240 (inclusive of taxes).

The service was also very prompt and the attention to detail was perfect.

For a long lasting memorable personal dining experience with family and friends with a very nice ambience and good food – do visit Ananda.

Pics fb.com/f0.0clicks

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Nizami Daawat !!

The Once upon a time A.K.A OUT a part of green park hotels, has been in the serious pace of introducing the new exclusive Hyderabadi menu  for the food lovers of Hyderabad. The menu includes a various items, with over 30 different and exclusive items,i along with some of the noted foodies got a chance for tasting session. They hand picked few items from the new menu, which they thought would be very new for the customers. The veg and non veg spread was equally good and the weight-age was well maintained. 

                                                    

The non veg menu had most of the gosht items and the veg menu has also got the few surprises.

   

 The meal started with the paya shorbha and tomato dhaniya shorbha. The paya was good and flavorful, but the salt is less. other wise it was good. The tomato dhaniya shorbha is well made and the thickness of the shorbha is well maintained and the flavors are strong. The fried pav which is accompanied with shorbha is excellent and i bet you will end up ordering atleast 4 to 5 of them, to your liking. 



The Haleem was also served at the counters of green park since 4 days and it was for the availability in the non season and the demand of public. So they came up with the idea. The haleem was actually loaded with excess of wheat and ghee, which made the spices doesn't show up, but the flavor is coming through. I liked it.  

we started the starters with the shikampuri kebabs. The veg and non veg variants were equally good, but the non veg kebab was spiced up with the green chili with an extra dose, which suites the local palate. 

The veg kebab was outstanding and the curd lining which made the kebab stand out. The chutney ( which was made with the dahi and achar) was good. 

The lukhmi were also good. The veg and non veg are equally miantained proportionate in stuffing wise. The green chutney which was provided was a downside. The excessive salt made the green chutney go bad. I made some changes with available lemon, pepper and salt to make it controllable for my palate which was decent. 

After a series of starters and soups, we had a small break and conversation with the chef Mr. Rahim and his work. He had a very different approach towards Hyderabadi cuisine and his culinary travel was very enthusiastic. 

The main course was served with rumali roti( a typical Hyderabadi bread). They served 3 veg ( Nizami hundi, Kaddu ka dalcha, Paneer tomato kuttu)  and 3 non veg curries( Gosht pasinda, dum ka murgh, Nizami gobi kheema).

The veg curries are all very well cooked and the presentation was also different. some of them are cooked in different gravies than the regular process, like white gravy, red gravy. The paneer tomato kuttu was very unique and the taste was outstanding. It goes well with the breads. 

Among the non veg curries the dum ka murgh was outstanding and next to it was the gosht pasinda. The Nizami gobi kheema was not good and the taste was very dull. There is no scope of uniqueness and different in it. The taste and flavor of gosht is missing completely. I expect them to work out on this. Other wise the non veg main course is all good. 

The main part of the Hyderabadi Hyderabadi main course is incomplete without biryani. The cook has got separate style in cooking biryani and the flavor or aroma was awesome and the presentation was also good. The veg biryani was got more flavors than mutton biryani. The spices played equal part and the dum was well cooked, it never left the over cooked smell, which i generally observe in many restaurants. 

The mutton biryani was lacking the flavors, as the chef has used excessive saffron to the base of dum, which made it so flavorful, that the soices couldn't come with the distinctive difference. The meat was well cooked, but the spice level is not upto the mark and needs to be spiced enough. The over all biryani experience was awesome and i never expected the same from green park, as i never had a good feeling about green park biryani. But this time, hands down. 

The desert section was accompanied by the elaneer payasam and home made kulfi. The elaneer payasam was made with the coconut milk, little milk maid, and the fresh coconut grates and some of the sugar. The very first impression of the desert would be greasy and the you might end up with the decision that they might have added the coconut milk. But the reason behind is the old coconut milk which was the older one or the shelf life is short. Or else the elaneer was a different and unique experiment which can turn out to be a very good desert, 

The kulfi was outstanding with extra saffron and the dry nuts on the outer layer. I liked it. 

The service was very nice and the care taking is at par, The places like these will never compromise on the service. That's what drives me there occasionally. I would love to be there to taste the remaining dishes also on the menu, which will be available from December 1. 

I can proudly call it as a NIZAMI DAAWAT!!! 

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Review: slicelicks.blogspot.in

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Meghavi Spalon and O cafe!!!

Yes!!! You heard it right!! Its a spa, saloon and and a cafe in a well maintained residence which was modified for the business purpose. The very entrance is crafted with the hand painting by a group of children from a local school colorfully for supporting a cause. That was an amazing art. 

The concept of meghavi is unique and very different from different competitors and the line of businesses. Their urge for the natural remedy is what the main goal behind their work and success. They do have a spa and saloon which are well maintained and a separate place in the backyard for the cafe. That's named O CAFE. 

I was invited along with some other well noted foodies for a break fast session which was about a healthy one which has no artificial essence or flavors which lasted almost with the organic and its was way healthy. 

The menu was little, but the options are very good. We had

Veg dimsum with green chili chutney 

                        

Veg/non veg Quesadilla/ Non veg Quesadilla

Beet root and spinach Pancakes (small)

Devil eggs

Organic Whole Wheat Banana Peanut Butter Cup Cakes

Masala tea/ green tea

Tropical smoothie

Veg dimsum

Green chili dip

Quesadilla

Beetroot pan cakes

The Breakfast!!

Devil Eggs

Organic Whole Wheat Banana Peanut Butter Cup Cakes

Green Tea

Tropical smoothie

The menu was served each at a time. I started it with a smoothie and it was a blend of banana, watermelon and soya milk. The taste was very good and it was very light on appetite. 

The dimsum was served with a green chili dip and the dip was very tasty and spicy. I loved the flavor of coriander in it. The blend was thick enough and was perfect for the momo/dimsum. The dimsum is stuffed with some of the boiled veggies. The stuffing is less for my liking. Would prefer more. But i enjoyed it a lot. I suggest this to every one. 

The veg quesadilla was stuffed with the mixed sprouts and the same stuff used in the dimsum. The same green chili dip was same good enough for the taste and its as flavorful as the dimsum. The over boiled sprouts will leave a unpleasant smell which , some one cannot with stand it. The taste was decent enough. 

In between i had some green tea, which was accompanied by a pinch of in house honey, which made it my regular breakfast drink, which i have regularly for my early mrng. 

Over all the meal was very good and satisfactory. The ambiance and the hospitality are at par.

If you want to have something healthy, good for health along with some health tips and spa. The meghavi is the perfect destination for you and you will thoroughly enjoy the stay. 

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