Anna Perenna Pizza
The Mint cooler lemonade served in a glass jar with the right amount of sweet and tang will quench your thirst and make you forget the sweltering heat outside for a while. The olive-studded bread and hummous were a great starter. The hummous was creamy and full of flavour and the olive-studded bread was wholewheat. What else could one ask for? I know it’s gonna be on my dinner table again and again, and more!
From the pizza selection, Skeeter tried the ‘Roast zucchini, tomato and basil pizza’, that has a light and crisp base. The base sauce is made in-house and was finger-licking good. The pizza was overall perfect and I did not realise the absence of cheese. I would’ve loved a crispier base and if the zucchini was char-grilled it would make for a better sight on the plate, but then that’s just being greedy and asking for more. This pizza makes for a perfect treat for weight watchers, as is.
The ‘Jalapeno, pineapple and rocket pizza was rather inspirational and it’d be my go-to pizza in the days to come. If there is poetry on a plate, this is it, this is it, this is it! A crisp base, smeared with tomato sauce, topped with generous helpings of pineapple slices and rocket leaves. You get your pizza fix, you eat your dose of the favourite fruit and you munch some salad, all at a go. Oh did I mention, they have a low cheese and no-cheese option as well. Just ask them and they oblige. They claim to procure as many organic ingredients as possible. Plus ten for that. Vegan pizzas, anyone? Almost everything on the menu can be made vegan if it already isn’t. They even cater to the needs of those suffering from celiac or gluten allergies.
The Pizza cannot get hotter than this!
Meal for two: Rs 750
For more information, check the Anna Perenna Pizza website
Mr Choy, Khan market
For your meal, begin with an assorted dimsum platter which they call the snackbox. Plated in a no-fuss, old-fashion steel tiffin box on top of a banana leaf, the simple presentation ensures the focus is on the food. There are six dimsums in a portion, so you try all and order the next portion on the basis of what you like. Our Veg assortd snackbox contained a piece each of: Vegetable dimsum in kinchin sauce, Green beans and celery, Four seasons, Assorted mushroom, Tofu Bok choy and the Bok Choy roll. Skeeter’s favourites were the vegetable dimsum in kinchin sauce and the Assorted mushroom. The Vegetable Sticky Rice and Cheung Fun were ordered separately. While the Sticky Rice was decent, though not great, the Cheung Fun failed miserably as it came dunked in soy from the kitchen and fell apart on the very touch of the chopstick. Pouring soy at the table could salavge the Cheung Fun for them.
Mr. Choy Special noodles |
Ramen noodles |
For the full menu and prices, click here. An average meal is approx Rs 1500 for two people.
Slow Food Movement catches up in India- Good, Clean, Fair food @ Olive, Qutub
This time round, I took my seat in their GreenHouse to sample the best of local produce from India. It is only opportune to salute the sheer brilliance of Chef Sujan Sarkar and team who have taken modern gastronomy to another level in India. There are no gimmicks involved. Only. Real. Food. The 9-course Slow food dinner with a welcome drink was pegged at Rs 1900. The same menu is available with wine too.
Here are my top picks from the fairy-tale like dinner
Pumpkin and Goat Cheese,Fermented Gooseberry, Oreo
Crispy pumpkin strands, cape gooseberry fermented in lactic acid with a slight tang and a gorgeous faux oreo made with black olive shortbread to get the colour right, filled with creamy citrus scented goat cheese mousse to make a fab filling. Brilliant trailer, this! Sorry, not sharing a pic as the one I have is half eaten.
Best of ‘The Green Bean’ farm
Wood sorrel, Gondhoraj Lime sorbet
Gondhoraj lime is the Indian equivalent of Kaffir lime and is a favourite of the Bengali community. Its flavours were combined with wild wood sorrel to form an aromatic sorbet served in a gondhoraj lime shell. The natural notes hit the spot and the taste lingered in my mouth for a long, long time.
Kalari, Gucci and walnut Thecha, a slice of Kashmir
All regional Kashmiri flavours on a plate! This dish is a modern gastronomical tribute to the valley. You may have had the Kashmiri Tarimi a million times, but this dish belongs right up there. Sautéed Kashmiri Morels (the prized fungi from the valley) came in a white onion and mushroom gravy, topped with pan-seared Kalari Cheese from Kashmir and sprinkled with a walnut and coriander thecha crumb that gave the dish a crunch. The walnuts, again coming from the valley, are much sought after. Overall, the dish had an earthy flavour from the morels, woody rendering from the nuts and robustness of the Kalari cheese. The white onion gravy helped the flavours merge well. It was wilderness on a plate with unparalleled textures.
Ash gourd, Radish, 4S Buttermilk
Buttermilk (from 4S brand) was churned into an ice-cream and served along with a candied ash gourd strip which is actually our petha and a thin strip of caramelized radish. While buttermilk ice-cream was a first for me, who knew it’d taste so nice and go well with radish? The candied ash gourd rendered sweetness and blended with the rest of the flavours like no other. These were topped with a pretty red apple blossom flower (from Krishi Cress) that made the dish ooze oomph as if it has descended right from the ramp and walked to my plate. Whee!
Priya rice, burnt butter, chocolate, coconut
About Slow Food movement
The Slow Food movement supports local produce and respects the environment. To know more click here
Rustom’s Parsi Bhonu
Radish cress, Microgreens
Trendy Microgreens
Guppy by ai – a weight watcher’s delight
The other stars of the evening were a Beetroot and Plump Avocado tartare. Slowcooked, tender beetroot and avocado tartare in a citrus dressing. A weight watcher’s delight. I also had my usual fix of Sushi.
Desi Roots, Saket
My last visit was different, as I entered one called Desi Roots. What seems like a one hall restaurant from outside is actually a spacious three hall dining space. You enter a cafe with desi knick knacks (coal irons, pickle jars, film cameras and more) holding your attention. Do not miss the dining table made from an old-fashioned sewing machine on which you can actually rock your feet!
Just a little ahead is another dining space which gives way to the semi private dining table and a bar. As I was invited to the restaurant, the management enlightened me with more desi elements of the design before we settled down for an amuse bouche of dal/masala vada on a bed of fresh coconut chutney in a mason jar topped with a crisp kadi patta.
Haak – Kashmiri greens recipe
Recipe:
For 1 medium bunch of Haak: Wash the leaves well. Look out for worms. I put them in salted water for 30 mins, rinse and then use. Snip off the ends and use the leaves as well as the tender stem. Heat mustard oil in a wok. Add 1 or 2 whole red chillies, depending on the quantity of your haak. Chop a fat garlic clove and add. Immediately thereafter, add 1.5 cups of water and let it simmer. Now add the whole Haak leaves and salt to taste. Let it boil for 7 to 10 minutes or till the leaves wilt a little. Enjoy Haak hot off the wok with steamed rice. Bliss!
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As mentioned earlier, I don’t follow any typical Kashmiri recipe mentioned in recipe books and sites, but do follow some basic rules:
Use whole leaves and some stem.
Keep spices minimal to bring out the flavour of the haak well.
Do not overcook.
Ideally, do not reheat and make it 15 mins prior to serving.
Serve hot with steamed rice.