Category: Delhi

The Oregano Santa

Yeah…Skeety has a different Santa from that of you guys. Hers, unlike yours isn’t red, but blue and red (dress wise o’course). He comes anytime of the year, month or day, whenever she calls him, unlike yours who throws a lot of weight around, appears once a year, dresses in red (ol right I know Skeety loves red), wears a fake white beard, fills up your socks (how uncool) with goodies and may sometimes not even deliver what YOU want.
Skeety’s Oregano Santa is known by the layman as Domino’s delivery boy. The one you people start bullying, even if he is just one second late than the 30-minute deadline. Duh!
Skeety is no Domino’s fan. As a matter of fact, she despises the Domino’s Pizza that most drool over. Only GREEK works for her.
Anyway, the Oregano Santa gets Skeety a pouch full of flavourful oregano sachets. He gives her a generous number of sachets on his own. But what Skeety likes about him, is the fact that he does not hesitate to let go ALL the supply of the oregano in his pouch, if Skeety asks for it. And does she love it?!
Later, Skeety safely tucks away all the sachets in a tumbler, while the family is busy downing the pizzas. These are thereafter used for making toasted bread with toppings that vary from butter, parmesan cheese n black pepper, or just about any other cheese that Skeets is fond of.

The story of My Pleasure Cavern and Fondue

A late morning cuppa, a quick brunch, a quiet evening.
In introspection. In jubilance. In gloom.

Whenever Skeety does not want to tax her brain about the place she should be headed to, the brain, on its own, pops out the answer: MARKER CAFE.
Pleasant blue walls, good service, decent food, serene ambience – I show you, today, My Beloved Pleasure Cavern.

In one of the backlanes of Khan Market, I climb up a dozen broad stairs to reach this place.
And then, the fun begins.
This winter, I was there to sample their Fondue.
Skeety knows that the Fondue being a community dish, is not meant to be had alone, but then, for want of peace, Skeety had it all by herself 😛

Okay, Skeety did order the Kahwa alongwith. If that is any relief for those who go back with growling tummies after reading my posts 😛


The Fondue is tastefully served in an earthern pot (with a tealight flickering beaneath to keep the cheese bubbling) with squared pieces of bread and crackers.


People at Market Cafe happily admit that they don’t do an authentic Fondue, but what is their own variant of the original recipe. And Skeety says it tastes oh-so-lovely, though she is YET to taste the real thing.
The Kahwa was not as good as it ought to be. But then, they claim to have learnt it from a Kashmiri guy whose preparation is much appreciated in the Delhi party circuit.
The Hot Chocolate Mud Pie is their clame to fame and I absolutely love the Goat’s cheese on baked Walnut bread with Za’tar that they do.
Coming back to the Fondue (which is the swiss national dish), there are interesting legends which do rounds as the printed word spreads across the globe through some of those wonderfully bound books on food (not recipes books, mind you).
I will share two with you:
One goes that during the harsh winters, the shepherds of the Alps, having little or no vegetation around, combined cheese, wine and milk to make the cheese sauce, and ate it with the thick bread.
Another interesting version is that during the Swiss Reformation, when food supplies fell alarmingly short in Zurich, the Catholics and the Protestants merged all cheese, wine and milk into a big pot and ate it by dunking pieces of bread into this pot of cheese sauce, and hence was born, the great FONDUE.
What are you waiting for? Dunk your way to a riot of flavours, before the foggy mornings fade away to pave way for the scorching summers. And come to me with a happy tummy and smiling face 🙂

If food and love were not made for each other…

…I wonder if I would bother cooking!!!
So says The Twisted Gourmet.
And since the day I’ve read this line, I am a fan.
It holds true to the T for Skeety.
So here goes this post for Pa, Ma, Nearly Headless Nick and Chicken Little (for whom I love to cook).

A subway-style salad that Skeety made 😀

Potato rings from Tesco with sour cream and mint dip (made by Skeety again)

I ate my drink!!!

Hot chocolate at Costa is NOT passé. But, Skeeter has found a new flame, the Sao Tome Hot Chocolate at Choko la (Khan Market branch ONLY please).
Choko la (meaning let’s drink chocolate together) is Delhi’s very own chocolate boutique at Khan Market.
As she sits down one pleasant evening by the window seat, Skeety is attended by a lady with the most pleasant smile across her face.
Skeety takes eons to decide on her food and drink (as always). The lady patiently keeps an eye on Skeety to see when she is ready to place the order. A while later, she gives up on Skeety, comes to her rescue, asks her preferences, and recommends a Sao Tome (single origin hot chocolate made from cocoa beans of that region). Skeety surrenders, and to accompany the drink, she orders a Chocolate Mousse.
Eight minutes pass by. Enter, Sao Thome alongwith a piece of the chocolate in the unmolten state. Sao Tome is made with dark chocolate and contains 70 percent cocoa content. It is characterised by its firm body and distinct taste. Skeety enjoyed each sip so much, that she ended up eating her drink!
Having finished the drink and the mousse, Skeety speaks to the Manager who believes in making customers relish the ‘real’ chocolates rather than the regular Cad bar or the Fererro Rocher for that matter. Thus, he encourages all to try their Liqueur Truffles and Tanzania hot chocolate (with 73 percent cocoa content).
Skeety then moves on to meet the man behind the scenes, the chef Nikhil Baveja. After a small chat session, she asks him what would he call the specialty of the house. Ice-creams comes the reply.
According to Nikhil, they are as good as home-made ones and are freshly churned. Skeety shall wait till summers to see (read taste) it for herself.
Till then, let’s Choko la!
P.S.:The staff at the Khan Market branch do a better job than the ones at Basant Lok. The Basant Lok branch is their first one and is more sought after. Choko la at Khan Market is a new-kid-on-the-block and is doing quite well. Atleast for now.
Update: Nikhil no longer works at Choko la.

Aloo Karare!

Happy New Year All!

The humble potato is Delhi’s delight during the winter months. And aloo chaat, is the best form in which the potato can be consumed in this part of the world, at this time of the year.
As the temperature drops to the season’s lowest, I sit down and close my eyes. I see a photo slide of the various foods that I’d love to gorge on this winter (as any other). Aloo chaat, shakarkandi, jalebis from Chandni Chowk, mom-made halwa, kaanji (the blood red spicy drink made from bleeding carrots), and what not flash before my eyes.
I happened to visit the Ham House (known to people as Hamilton House), aloo chaat wala twice in the past two weeks and thought of talking (read writing) about him here. As the name suggests, the chaat wala sits (in a corner) outside the Hamilton House, Inner Circle, Connaught Place.

I’ve been having the alu chaat made by him ever since I’ve been visiting Connaught Place.

A visit to Connaught Place is rather incomplete without a nibble at this spicy snack, priced slightly high at Rs.20 for a plate.
Vijay is the man who carries forward the legacy of his father and elder brother of selling the famed chaat. And it has been 35 years since Delhiites have had the pleasure of gorging on it.

Vijay also does a fruit chaat for you, if you want. During winters he also does the sweet potato or shakarkandi to please your tatse buds. But nothing beats the humble potato: diced, fried, spiced up (mild spicy to fiery hot) and served hot. Ahaaa! Yummm!

And yeah he faced the axe from the Supreme Court when the street food vendors and stalls were asked to be removed. Later, everything fell in place (only for old players like these) and now he sells chaat to you legally. 🙂

Love, Care, SHARE

Have you tasted some foods which, if you do not share with a particular person, don’t taste the same good ‘self’?
I have tried it many a times. Hot and Sour soup hasn’t tasted the same in last 18 months since Nearly Headless Nick left. There is no fun having Hot and Sour soup without fighting with Nearly Headless Nick over who would get more Shiitake mushrooms.
Ditto about the Greek Pizza. It has never tasted better with Pea-NUT not around. NEVER EVER!
Call it love if you may.
I love my Pea-NUT and Nearly Headless Nick.
Cheers to them!

Mister Master Chef

Attitude, suits some perfectly. One of those people of course is Skeeter (maybe kidding, maybe not). And the other is Gordon Ramsay. I have read, heard and seen so much about this attitude thingy of his, that I thought it would be but unfair not to share it with people who read this blog.
So, the story goes like this:
Gordon, was once asked by a Japanese journalist (a she) how can he “still” call himself a working chef when he ran 11 restros in 4 different countries, and was simultaneously making two TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic?
So, Mister Master pointing to the Armani jacket this journalist was wearing, said: Did you ask the store where you bought your jacket from, if f*****g Giorgio stitched every f*****g button on your f*****g jacket with his own f*****g hand?! Heeee
Point being, Mister Master has invented his dishes and trained all people working under him to follow his exact style and what you get to eat at Ramsay restros is the exact f*****g replica of the dish as it would be if made by Mister Master. 🙂
You can watch the last 3 minutes of this video to see the same incident being narrated by Mister Master himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZF5EI_JWj0

I love Attitude, if it has substance. Do you?!

The Classy Glassy: Costa Hot Choc

Hola Boys and Girls!
Finally, I unleash what lies inside the ‘Glassy’ for all those who have been dropping in umpteen questions about Skeety’s love for the Glassy(s).
The term Glassy refers to a glass in which Skeety is served her drinks [soft ones mostly ;)]. The Glassy has, and always will play a quintessential role in Skeety’s drinking rituals.
Here are two random facts about Skeety:
* Skeety can get high on any drink she likes.
* She does not like being disturbed when she is enjoying her drinks and can get really angry if disturbed.
And now the POP = Point of the Post:
Skeety has a reason to rejoice as Costa Coffee has re-opened at Shopprix Mall, Noida (yeah I know this is the first time Noida is featuring on this Delhi blog). And in the Glassy lies Costa Hot Choc.
Man, is she at a loss of words or IS SHE?

Skeety’s poison, Costa Hot Choc (wish she could rename the chain that), is best served with two sachets of brown sugar, a generous dash of chocolate powder, and that, preferably at a moderate temperature as tongue-burning has become a ritual with her at Costa. *Grin*
Oh yeah NOT TO FORGET, it should be in the Classy Glassy (take away cup/mug/glass for you). The drop dead gorgeous colour of the Classy Glassy’s exterior is Skeety’s eye candy.

And then of course there is the rich creamy texture, the light brown-ish colour, the slight nutty taste of the Hot Choc itself. Skeety dies and goes to heaven for the 30-45 minutes long drinking session. Oh Boy!

Coinciding with the re-opening of Costa is Skeety’s newest discovery in Noida, which would make her shut up and stop cribbing about the place: the chaiwala near Skeety’s office. He serves good ealichi tea @Rs.3 a glassy. Pata ni kahan chup ke baitha tha ab tak (Don’t know where was he hiding all this while?!)
Another random fact about Skeety: Tea tops the list of Skeety’s LDOMW: Lovely Drinks of the Muggle World. Costa Hot Choc comes a very, very, very close second.


Mustard Sting…ting ding

It is sarson season in Dilli, and I savoured the first offering of the season only a few days ago. Give me Mustard Greens any time and you won’t hear a ‘no’. I absolutely relish the mix. And I take pride in being mommy’s veggie supplier. She instructs me, and I go out to the market/mandi/Big Apple/Reliance Fresh, wherever time permits, to find her the best and freshest possible produce. For this season’s ‘first buy’, I walked to a rickshaw vendor. He combined bathua, soya, palak and of course sarson and chopped it for me (they do it on request) in his hand-driven chopping machine.


And since I am talking Mustard here, I might as well add about my obsession of using Mustard oil in my cooking. When cooking with Mustard oil, you have to be a little patient else you get that bitter taste in your food which all (barring some nerds) dislike. The Mustard oil, unlike clarified butter and vegetable oil, takes a lot of time to heat up. But, as I have a penchant for elaborate cooking procedures, waiting for it to heat up is no issue for me. The simple ‘stir and serve’ does no good to my creativity as far as the kitchen is concerned. That perhaps ‘may’ explain my prolonged absence from my place near the cooking stove (yes it remains that for me, no matter what fancy names you may want to call it).

Anyway, back to Mustard oil: Many consider it unhealthy, some call it outdated compared to the much celebrated Extra Virgin Olive Oil, yet others make the weirdest face expressions to display their hatred for it. I confess I was one of them too. But then that was ‘Once upon a time’. Now, I propagate its use in the same manner as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar promotes The Art of Living. It does wonders to your hair (heat it and add 4-5 small cubes of camphor after crushing them), to your digestive system and what not. And then, the ones who create a lot of noise over their dislike for Mustard Oil should not forget that ages ago, when there was no Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Vegetable oil and blah, Mustard oil was the sole medium of cooking.
I do the simple stir fry aloo with Mustard oil, which is a personal favourite. It takes about 45-60 minutes to prepare. Then there is the ‘On Special Request’ gobhi aloo dish that is relished by all in the house; of course it is done by me in Mustard oil.
And then to add some zing to the mustard sting is this silly little boy called Brother Bear. He hates the smell of Mustard oil. Every time I cook in it, he comes out of his room shouting curses at me. He even goes to the extent of making some hilariously outrageous statements that the ‘smell’ of Mustard oil causes ‘rashes’ on his body. Now, how absurd and silly can it possibly get?

Adventures at the Moon-lit square

I take one step and stop to look around. To my right (down), is sitting, a paanwala engrossed with filling and wrapping the paan (betel leaf) as per his customer’s order. I look up across the street, there is this famous Indian sweets and savouries shop, Haldiram’s, which is running to a full house. I walk a few more steps. There is this vendor with his small mobile stand, selling moong dal ke gulgule (fritters of an amazing sort) surrounded by customers shouting orders. I take a few steps more and I reach Ghantewala, the much acclaimed sweet shop of Chandni Chowk. Get a few rasmalais from there. White ones. Yes! White! Gol and chapet. That is round and flat ones. I walk down again. Another few steps. Reach Kanwarji‘s. Madhouse this. Mister P loves this shop. He says nothing can beat this place. I keep shut here, as I still haven’t tasted all that Chandni Chowk has to offer. At Kanwarji‘s, I got. Hold Your breath. I got Malpudas, Paneer ki Jalebis, Kachoris with HOT aloo ki subji, Aloo ke lacche (I chose medium spicy ones), and Dal bhuji (maximum spice variety) which might be known to some of you as Dal Moth. I am yet to taste the Malpudas and the Aloo ke Lacche. The rest of everything was good. I am bereft of words more than these.

A winner, however, was this list that my eyes rolled upon. It is a list of Mirza Ghalib’s favourite food. And I found that unke aur humare zayke kaafi mel khate hain.