We Have Moved

We are back and we decided it’s time for a new look and feel… to change how we operate here!

We now stay at: http://ani-da-dhaba.blogspot.com

🙂 Luv ya all! Please update and continue visiting!

Hiatus

I continue to eat n pamper myself.. taking a break till diwali and a lil beyond! 🙂

cya around soon!

Ani Da Dhaba!

🙂 The dhaba aka my kitchen was doing brisk work! Roomie started of the weekend with a bang by making the yummiest capsi-aaloo and nice garma garam butter rotis! The excess of sabji carried us through a verrrryyy lazy Saturday afternoon (where i barely managed to crawl out of bed) where Roomie again blessed my tummy with super yum masala parathas dripping sinfully in butter! 🙂 Ahhh! Jannat!

Soon after a good ol buddy and a sweet ol fren turn up and it begins to rain! Lo n behold we wanna have bhajias! With an angelic helper cutting the aaloo pyaaz and urs truly making ‘sheera’ aka sooji ka halwa it was bliss complete with adrak ki chai on the side! 🙂

The hogs decided dinner is what we’ll be hungry for as well! Divine roomie blesses us with the yummiest and easiest to cook shaahi paneer! (all queries for the recipe hafta go thru me! But guaranteed they shall be answered by the culinary Mistress herself!) 🙂 Yours truly decides to add on rajma chaaval to the whole deal! (Now a thing I’ve noticed here is that Rajma with a lil amchoor for the khattapan tatstes nice.. but Rajma with extra tomatoes, no amchoor and no haldi tastes awwwwwwwwwsum!!) 🙂 Tip: To the rice add a few sprigs of dhania… (be it in the cooker or boiled rice).. gives a nice fresh tingly flavour!

Well.. u’d think that would be the end! The morning saw her in the kitchen brewing nice adrak ka chai again and then making cheese-tomato-corn pasta! Tip: It was breakfasty types.. so make a lil less of the white sauce (barely enuff to wrap up the whole pasta in), saute the tomatoes before hand and add some freshly grated carrots to the deal! On the side were brown bread and cheese! 🙂

And even that wasn’t the end! The hogs wanted to go out someplace to eat and ended up at 20 ft high! (The one attraction that pulled them there was that it’s the one place in Bengaluru which serves Malibu!) 🙂

PS – Monday evening found me back in the kitchen cutting a lot of veggies and making some noodles! Ordered Momos and made a nice hot packet of Knorr soup! 🙂 Majaa ni life!

Special note to Sam: The dhaba is open 24×7 fer ya! 🙂

Desmond’s!

Yes this foodie has been out of sorts! Well.. this blog is back in business!

Sam: The stirfried sauce gave me some really awwwsum results! 🙂 Loved it to-talli! 😀

Been to a lot of places… been cooking up a lot at home too.. mainly the world around me decided it had to fall apart so I had to provide it with comfort food! It’s been a choc-cake-beer-athon all the way for sometime!

I am not an addict! 🙂 Mommy and Daddy dearests were in town and li’l ol me took em to a lot of places mentioned on this blog! 🙂 The one more place I treated them at was Desmonds!

Dessie’s has 2 branches… One on Lavelle road and one at Koramangala. mez wentz toz koramangalaz! (thatz anotherz thingz – thiz ‘z’ thingz haz gottenz intoz mez badz!) 😀

The outside wall is right out of a fairy tale! 🙂 Totally dramatic! The insides are plush.. yellow light, well shaped solid cutlery! You are not afraid of handling it but are careful on auto pilot! The food is a wiiiiide variety! Desi, Conti and loads o other stuff as well. Yours truly somehow cant spend too much on desi food! So continental it was! The all time favorites of Shepherd’s pie and Spaghetti Bolognese were ordered and the portions were more than enough for 3 people! (# people of the khaata peeta Gulati Khandaan!) 😀

The desserts are a sin if you miss them and if you don’t the calories can haunt you! 😀 The Blueberry cheesecake is a MUST MUST MUST have! The mousse is one of the better mousse’s available around here! The flavor of cocoa stands out distinctly as it should! 🙂

The waiters tend to be a li’l confused so double check on your orders… it’s a love;y place for a semi-grand quiet evening! Go enjoy! (PS – therez a lunch buffet for 99 bucks!)

(Still too tired after cooking 1 n half kilos punjabi chholas for a friend’s house warming party! the food she turned out was amazing! And the dessert par excellence! Still hafta learn it! 🙂 Yummmyyy!!! And her angelic li’l helper is a joy to have around to cut fruits and veggies!)

Details:

Desmond’s

#48, The Terminus Residency,

5th Block, Koramangala Industrial Estate,

Tel : 41466300/ 01

Lotsa Meals and Friends

Question: What do you do for your daily fix of breakfast?

Answer: 😀

– Poached eggs! Healthy and verrryyy simple! Jab tak nahao, tab tak tayaar!

– Boiled eggs! Perfect for days when you don’t wanna tinker around too much!

– Always, but always! Keep a can of baked beans handy!!! That and cheese spread and bread! 😀 If you have the time then egg and onion rings as well! Yummm…!

– A can of Tuna works the same… Bread and that! If you have the time and the cabbage… chop some of it and add to the sandwich! 😀

– Boil corn, mix with cheese and pepper! Voila! 🙂

– When all else fails… Bread jam!! 😀

So now the cats outta the bag! Easy fixes aren’t they?!! 😀 Eat people eat! Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day!! Not for anythin else but for the energy balance it provides!! 😀

Ok ok! Stop staring at me like I’m a crazy fat foodie on a nightmarish health trip! Saturday evening with 9 hogs around watchin the cricket match and eventually the movie Hum, she ended up making Dal Fry and Tamatar-Mushroom (sounds more desi this way!) :D. The Dal fry got a nice butter ka tadka and was topped with some more butter…. there was bread (makkhan me seki hui) and jeera rice in tow! The secret to the Tamaatar-Mushrooms – Chilli sauce and leftover chilli flakes and oregano from a pizza ordering household! 😀

Sunday morning found her at a friends place gobbling up aaloo parathas… 🙂 And they discovered Maska-Bun on commercial street! Ahhh! Bliss!

Dinner you ask? Big nodding yes! At Friends Fast Food in Koramangala! I explicitly mention Koramangala ‘coz a pakka Bangalorean admitted he had no idea it was there was well! In his words, “he always went cross country to BTM” for Friends!!! Imagine that now! Goooooooooood Steaks! The flavor is oh-so-just-simply-superbly-perfect! 🙂 Pastas et all also make a good fare and the cup runneth over with pungent Iced-Tea! Quick service… neat place and amazing food that’s easy on the pocket! 🙂

Details

354, 1st Main Road,

7th Block,

Koramangala,

Bangalore

Phone 25712018, 28913901

Taste of Rampur

Sounds sidey! But is an experience worth having especially if you r a Gulati female going ga-ga over the menu! (You’ll figure as you read on!) 😀

It’s a plush place with traditional decor, ornate chairs, colors of the rich and royal, elaborate drapes, walls done up with artefacts from Mughal times…. muted yellow lights!

The differentiator: A staff that smiles and treats you royally the minute you walk in! Grandpa concurred: ‘There’s nothing more terrible than an under-trained staff! And here its good!!’ ~profound grandpa expression on his face!!

Well the name is ‘Aneesha Gulati!’ 😀 And on the menu was a starter called the ‘Gulati Kebab’! It’s this nice succulently done mutton kebab! Melt in your mouth moment!! Accompanied with a cocktail which had Peach Schnapps and Sparkling wine and another which had Melon Liqueur and Sparkling wine, it was pretty blissful

The other stuff that followed was the Haleem (which a true mumbaikar claims was really good! Haleem it turns out is a speciality in the parts close to his home!), Chicken Dhaniya Adraki (lived up to its name!!), Saag paneer! The basket of rotis that came their way included Lachcha Paratha (true Punjabi style.. only it had a lil extra maida!), Mughlai Rotis (Humongous rotlas!) and Pudina and Methi parathas! ~Go ahead Drool! 😀

How can the hungarians move without trying the dessert especially if the menu includes a sweet-dish called the ‘Gulathi’! 😀 Yeah, I was rocking!! We ordered the Shahi Tukra and the Gulathi! The Shahi Tukra can be a wee bit disappointing! The Gulathi more than made up for it! 🙂 ~Warning: Proportions are small! But the stuff is heavy!

End of the month, it pinched our pockets a bit, but it’s a must-go!

Details:

24 1st Floor

5th Block, Koramangala

Contact: 4146-7000, 4110-2888

Of Chhola Bhatooras and Home cooked meals!

This Punjaban was having a field day…! Friday evening found me on the phone with mommy dearest asking the recipe for Chhola Bhatooras! Long, daunting task for a first timer but that’s the only way I could satisfy my craving for proper Punjabi Chhole in Namma Bengaluru! Out I went hunting for the ingredients and my search proved successful! 🙂

Trick: Soak the chholas in water overnight… add baking soda! 🙂 They are nice and munchy after pressure cookin the next morning! Trick 2: Pressure cook them with the dalcheeni (cinnamon), badi elaichi, tej patta (bay leaf)!! The flavour seeps in… And use the same excess water for cooking finally to retain the flavour!

Most importantly – add loads o aamchoor! And the jeera needs to be freshly ground and dark brown! That’s how you get the colour! (Anaardana if available is a must add! After hunting high and low and not finding it the remedy is a li’l extra aamchoor and a lil darker jeera!) 🙂 Another note: The pyaaz tomato mix has to be well bhoonoed! And DO NOT ADD EVEN THE TEENIEST BIT OF HALDI! (that’s more than half the problem in these parts!) Let it cook nice and slow on slow fire! 🙂

The bhatooras also have a tiny lil trick attached – goondo the maida with dahi, a lil bit of oil and water! Add baking soda… and leave for 2 hours….. then start beloing and frying! 🙂

End result: 🙂 The chef got lauded!! The hungarians in my life claimed this to be one of their best meals in my humble home from my tiny kitchen! I was postitvely glowing! It’s an amazing feeling… a first time effort all cleaned off! 🙂

Someone decided to cook for me for a change! 2 friends called me over for breakfast… 🙂 A yummy yummy for my tummy kinda breakfast with the world’s best homemade poha and totally scrumptious tomato mushroom toast! (yes, i learnt the finer points of making the toast but the poha is still the lady’s speciality!) 🙂

The evening found me back at Koshy’s with us enjoying ‘Masala Bombay Toast’, ‘Mince Mutton Toast’, ‘French Fries’, ‘Wafers’, ‘Lamb Burger’, ‘Cutlet’ and ‘Caramel custard!’…. We were just two semi-hungry women! 😀

Herbs and Spices

Long day… lil down in the dumps! The two saviors in my life walk past and suggest ‘Herbs and Spices’ for din din!

It attracts you… it calls out to you! You see it from the outside and end up playing on the pavement stones around it…  As you walk into muted light.. (muted.. not dim!) the place just sort of calls out to you and you end up taking a walk on the premises and spending a lot of time at the dessert and fresh breads counter staring in mesmerized delight!! You eventually make your way to the table… which is strategically located near the menu.. (the menu is a blackboard with the days offerings written on it… and not the handout that gets handed out in all other places!:D)

Well… we eventually got around to ordering! Portions are enough for a stomach thats decently hungry at dinner time and not for hogs like us! But it’s perfect… ‘coz it leaves jus the right amount of space for all of those lovely yummy desserts! It’s a chocolate lovers paradise and the chocolate haters as well!!! The yummy fresh fruit ones are  very very hard to miss!!! The Pavlova is a must have!

With it’s wooden furniture and interesting fix with the lights, with the blackboard and the smell of fresh breads (and a bread basket that gets served the minute you order so you have nice extremeley fresh bread n sticks to keep a-munchin!) and with an aura all its own, this place is a ‘must-frequently-visit!’ 🙂

Details:

No 221, Ground Floor,

7th Cross,

1st Stage, 

Indiranagar,

Bangalore

Phone 080-25290399.

Aaloo Parathas and Sonakshi Sharma!

Ok this is a two in one post! 😀

A nice saturday morning after already having celebrated a weekend by staying home on thursday and friday and having too much khichdi for want of an upset stomach had me raring to cook for the hungarians in my life! Menu: Aaloo Parathas! Dahi and Butter!!!:D

End Result: 1 n half kgs of aaloo’s… gobbled up in the form of parathas by 5 men in a matter of minutes 🙂 I was in the kitchen from 1 to 4! So you can only imagine how many I made and how many they ate! 😀

My best compliments came from my two big bros:

Bade Bhaiya was like ghar ki yaad aa gayi! and Big Bro compared them to his Mum’s parathas calling mine second to hers!! This is big now!! :)))) Thus stood a chef with aata all over her and aaloo in her hair but glowing!!!

Now what did I do with the parathas?? Key ingredients: Aaloo n aata of course! Trick: Freshly goonda hua aata… and lots of dhaniya powder, aamchoor and freshly chopped dhaniya mixed in with the aaloos! A lil bit of onion, salt, red chilli powder as well! Punjabi dil khol ke bharo the parathas with the aaloo and cook them on the tawa in sufficient oil… (not drippping but enuff so that they don’t turn into papad!) 🙂 Top ’em with Amul butter and a feast is ready!!!

The evening gave way to the lazy bums watching the cricket match and feasting on Apple flavored soy milk first (which by the way is one amazing flavour!) and then on lychee twirl! This led to discussions that if anybody walks in they will assume that there’s some kind of alcohol mixed in the milk and juice… ‘we’ (the whole bunch!) dry on a saturday and on top of that freaking out on good, healthy soy milk!!!!! (~who’s ready to faint here?!) 😀

The hungarians had her back in the kitchen making jelly and custard… but before that she was on the phone with mum asking for instructions! These are 2 things for which instructions on the box never ever seem to work!!!

The Jelly: Heat half the water and dissolve the crystals…. add the remaining half as cold water to the mix once the crystals are fully dissolved! Sets better and quicker! (Now ain’t this a hint only a mum can give?!) 🙂

The Custard: It was like garbled greek written over the packet! For 8 bowls take 2 packets milk n boil. Stir in one katori of sugar. Take 3 tsps (heaped) of the custard powder and mix in lil water till its a nice liquid consistency…. stir that into the milk n sugar mix and as it thickens turn it off the gas and let it set! 🙂 For want of fruits I ended up adding walnuts and cake… 😀

And hour and a half later the hungarians were at it again! 😀 Wiped off! Every li’l drop! :)))

Talking about Sonakshi Sharma now… there’s this amazing North Indian Restaurant in Kormangala 1st block called, ‘Sonakshi Sharma’s Family Restaurant!’. That’s where the hungarians ended up for dinner! The portions are huge!!!!! The food is awwwwsum! The chicken kebabs are wortha try… the Homely Chicken and Saag Meat totally Rock! And taking Grandpa’s word for it, the Ginger Paneer was awwwsum as well! :)) Sone pe suhaga factor: Butter fulkas! (fresh, soft and garma garam off the tawa!). The waiter was quite a charmer as well and kept us quite entertained with his antics! 😀 It’s a must visit! (The gulab jamuns were a weeny lil disappointment though!)

Plus since I’ve had a long day at office and have entered home tweet home after 10 in the night, I have ended up ordering from there! 🙂

Bon Apetit!

Details:

No 1018,1st Block,

Near Raheja Residency,

7th Main, 80ft Road,

Koramangala,

Bangalore, 560034

Phone: 080 2552426, 080 41101491

Cafe Terra

Quaint li’l cafe… nice for a quiet afternoon where you want to take shelter from the noise of the world and sit ensconced while looking down at it!

The food is Belgian…  the ambience is the just walk in do your own thing variety… they have this whole bunch of comic books that you start reading and keep moving from one to the other without realizing where time goes…! 🙂

We jus sat there readin asterix n calvin n garfield n peanuts and finished a whole humunogous meal of thukpa soup, crepes and pasta! we were so stuffed we couldn’t have the waffles so back it is soon for the waffles! 🙂

It’s different and it makes you feel nice on the insides! 🙂

Details:

 V3 Trinity 1st Blk 1020 1st Flr,

80ft Road,

Koramangala,

Bangalore, 560034

Contact: 080 41313553

(Its more of a breakfast n lunch place than a dinner place!) 🙂