Year: 2015

Restaurant Review- Filmy Cafe and Bar

Restaurant Review- Filmy Cafe and Bar

Weekend in other words means exploring new places to eat and spend fun time with family and friends. This weekend was no different, and I got a chance to visit this newly opened cafe and bar called the “Filmy Cafe & Bar by Deez”.
Deez Biryani has been a synonym for best biryani for almost all Delhi Walas and I am no exception, so when I came to know about this new venture of theirs I got all excited.
Filmy cafe & bar is a cosy place tucked away in one of the most prime locations in Delhi, i.e. Connaught Place and further more, it is very prominently located in the PVR plaza building and makes it an ideal place to indulge in food after a movie at PVR. Anyway, movie, or no movie, it surely calls for a visit if you are a film buff. The entire place has a very thematic ambience with posters and dialogues of famous films adorning the walls. The seating is very comfortable and we see filmy cushions thrown away on couches adding more to the theme.
The music at the place, is a great mix of bollywood and hollywood numbers and keeps you in an upbeat mood.







Now coming to food, they have an elaborate menu to choose from, and very cleverly, the menu is also divided into bollywood and hollywood flavours, where in bollywood represents our very own Indian food, and hollywood serves  a mix of International cuisines from American, to Italian, Continental and Chinese.

They have a great bar menu as well and a wide range of cocktails and mocktails to choose from.

As per their manager, Mr. Subhash’s recommendation, we ordered Chilly Chicken Dry and Bhatti Ka Murg Tikka for starters, along with Cosmopolitan( A vodka based cocktail) & Safe Sex on the Beach.
The drinks were fabulous and so were the starters. The chilly chicken was spicy, just the way it should be, and the bhatti ka murg was a sure shot hit and highly recommended.





For the mains, we settled for the bollywood menu, aka our Indian cuisine, because of the big bollywood keeda that I have in me 🙂
We ordered, Dal Makhani, Peshawari Korma Gosht, and Murg Handi Biryani(how can one not try the biryani that the Deez group has been known for all the time).
Dal was rich in its texture and had a perfect taste, the mug biryani was great as expected from Deez, but the only surprise part was, that it had pieces of chicken tikka rather than the usual road chicken pieces. It did take away the authentic biryani taste somewhat, nevertheless the biryani in itself was good. The clear winner was the peshawari gosht, the gravy was very rich in texture and tasted just awesome. The mutton was tender and makes for a perfect meal with hot tandoori rotis. Trust me, you don’t need anything else, if you are a mutton lover.






I was almost full, but was tempted to try the desserts, because of the filmy names that they were given and got most interested in “Chakki Peesing Peesing” and ordered the same, and also on staff’s recommendation ordered “Fried Chocolate Bars”.
Chakki Peesing Peesing was a twisted version of Kesar Kulfi on a bed of strawberry crush, topped with vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce. It made for a rare combination and definitely a must try.
The fried chocolate bars, were also good to taste, but the only disappointing thing was, that barring one main flavour, which is the chocolate bar, and the kulfi, there was no differentiator in the desserts. The chocolate bars were also served with vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce and had the strawberry crush on the base. As a good gesture of Mr. Subhash, we also got a complimentary Paan Bahar to taste, but again the same thing, only the pan kulfi as a central flavour was different, rest all same. After the initial bites, once your dessert starts melting somewhat, all the desserts start tasting same. This is something I am sure they need to work upon.





All in all, it surely is a highly recommended place, and food and film lovers must give it a try. It has a great ambience, great music, and great food and you would not mind splurging your money on this one.

Filmy Cafe and Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Crispy Chilly Corn with Mushrooms

Crispy Chilly Corn with Mushrooms

If I have to describe this recipe in two words- Simple and Amazing. And yes these two words perfectly describe this recipe, because its really simple to make and amazing to taste.
So lets get started..

Ingredients:
1 packet corn kernnels( 200gms approx)
2-3 table spoons corn flour
Oil for frying
1 table spoon oil
1 capsicum sliced
3-4 button mushrooms sliced
1/2 carrot, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 spring onion along with its greens
1 table spoon soy sauce
1 table spoon vinegar
1 table spoon chilly garlic sauce
Salt to taste
1/2 tea spoon ajino moto.
Directions:
Take out the corn from the packet, and pat dry in a tissue.
Add cornflour to the corn and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a wok and fry the corns till golden brown in colour, just be careful, at times the corns tend to splutter. To avoid them spluttering over your hands or face, just half cover the wok with a lid.
Remove them on a tissue paper once golden brown in colour and drain out any excess oil.
In another pan, heat oil, add garlic and brown it.  Add onions without the greens and sauté will light golden brown. Now add mushrooms and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the capsicum, carrot and onion greens, now add the sauces one by one and stir it for another minute or so. Add salt, and ajino moto and another gentle stir and your crispy chilly corn is ready.
A perfect snack for winter evenings. Enjoy…!!
Restaurant Review: Guppy by ai

Restaurant Review: Guppy by ai

How do you feel, when you visit an unknown place, for a cuisine you haven’t tasted before, and you are completely unaware of whats in store..?? You either come home disappointed or you come home pleasantly surprised.

This Sunday, went by for me in a similar manner. We went for Guppy by ai, and I have to admit that I was completely unprepared in terms of what was I expecting. I had just no expectations, I had never tasted Japanese Cuisine before and didn’t know what it would be really like, would be spicy, would it be mild, what kind of appetisers, what soups, what main course.. I just had no idea.

But yes, I was very pleasantly surprised indeed. The moment I stepped in, I was in awe of the place, the ambience itself is so overpowering, that one automatically starts to get curious on how the food would be.






Guppy has introduced this special Sunday Brunch Menu, so you don’t have to toggle your head on what to order, you just sit back, relax and let the surprises come in. I didn’t even bother to look at the menu, and surrendered myself completely and waited patiently for the course of meal to start.
My mother accompanied me for this surprise brunch, and unlike me, she did have a pre conceived notion, and wasn’t really happy at my choice of coming for a Japanese Food Brunch.

As we sat down, the first thing that we were served was a variety of two soups, MISO SOUP and MUSHROOM SOUP, and it was a great start indeed. The soups tasted very different from the regular soups, but they tasted awesome. My mother too had her inhibitions dropping down and seemed pretty glad now.

The next in line was a set of cold appetisers, which included TENDERLOIN TATAKI, SALMON TATAKI, TOFU SASHIMI, POTATO SALADA, TAMAGO YAKI and SPINACH GOMA, barring the SALMOM TATAKI, which was a raw salmon, I tried everything and liked them all. TOFU SASHIMI was the best out of the lot, and its sauce was simply amazing.

Next was CHICKEN SHUMAI STEAMED BUN, and this cute little thing, tasted as good as it looked. They had options in PORK and MUSHROOM fillings as well in the steam bun, but I was content with my chicken bun and also by the time I finished it, I had already started to feel full.

And now it was SUSHI time, and to be honest, this word doesn’t excite me enough as raw fish is something I am allergic too, but after a lot of convincing from the staff, I settled for a VEGETARIAN SUSHI and I have to admit, it was a delight. I did tempt me to try the non- vegetarian versions, but I somehow refrained.

But I can surely say, for those who like SUSHI, this is the place. As and how I was tasting these dishes, my curiosity for what next was increasing. The next thing to be served was the TEMPURA FISH, a perfectly golden fried fish, very mild in taste, but fried to perfection. The spicy mayo that accompanied it, made up for the mildness of the fish. I also tried the TEMPURA ROCK CORN, which was basically baby corns fried in the same way as fish and they were delicious too.



My tummy was really full by now, but the curiosity was in tact and I eagerly waited for the next surprise. The next section was for the grilled menu, and it included MUSHROOMS, SWEET POTATO, TOFU, CHICKEN and FISH. I settled for CHICKEN AND FISH, I did try the SWEET POTATO too, but it was way too sweet for my liking, as it wasn’t dessert time yet. The grilled fish was just about ok, but the grilled chicken was definitely a hit. It was so tempting to even look at, that it made my son, who till now was only patiently watching me and my mom stuffing ourselves, get up and take a look at the chicken and expressed his will to now try it out.( He isn’t much fond of international cuisines and hence was just toying with a coke in his hand watching me and my mom eat). He liked it instantly and asked for more and this kind of gave him some confidence in the overall cuisine and now he went on to try other things as well, and enjoyed two steamed buns after this.
The next was JAPANESE PIZZA PANCAKE CHICKEN, and it was simply awesome to taste, tender chicken on bed of fried potato, made it a unique combo but amazing to savour.
Now was the time for main course, I didn’t have much space left to accommodate it, but I surely wanted to give it a try and hence asked for very small portions of the same.
The main course included CHICKEN CASSEROLE, NOODLES and GARLIC RICE, and all three of them were great to taste. Even my son liked them and by now was pretty excited with the JAPANESE CUISINE.



I was so delighted with the entire course of food, that I now desperately waited for the dessert. Desserts are the last part of any cuisine and it feels so great, when they end up being the best. The dessert platter was just amazing and each and everything was simply delicious. It included VANILLA ICE CREAM, CHOCOLATE CAKE, CHOCOLATE FONDANT and FRUITS. The ice-cream was surely not the regular vanilla ice cream that we eat, it had a very distinct taste, the texture and creaminess was just perfect. The cake was a mouth melting experience and chocolate lovers would surely fall for it. The fruits were OK, but the clear winner was the Chocolate fondant, I can’t really explain, what it was, but it was amazing to taste.

This brought us to the end of this HAPPY SUNDAY BRUNCH and I am so glad that I went for it, and even more glad that I didn’t set any expectations.
I have a special mention for the staff of Guppy’s, they were more than friendly and accommodating. The service was great too.
On the beverages front, tried VIRGIN MOITO, VIRGIN MARY and JUST LIKE THAT( a guava drink), all of them were upto the mark and perfectly blended.
Overall I had a great fooding experience and I am definitely going there again.

Guppy Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Restaurant Review- Cress Bistro

Restaurant Review- Cress Bistro

At the on set, I have to mention that this place is for those, who crave difference. If you want to experiment with your taste buds, don’t think twice, straight away head to Cress Bistro.



Its a cosy place tucked away in the DDA market of Masjid Moth, GK3. The ambience is simply amazing and ideal to spend pleasant evenings as most of the seating is outdoors, though they do have some space available indoors just in case, you can’t handle the cold, especially in the coming few days ðŸ™‚

Now coming to food, for the starters, we ordered, Chipotle Chicken Tikka, Chiang Chui Chilly Chicken and the Burmese Samosa. All these things were directly on chef’s recommendation and must say that he is well aware of his best offerings.
The chipotle chicken tikka, was the best out of the lot, it was a true mouth melting experience. The tender chicken pieces marinated with chipotle spices made it a perfect tikka experience, but far different from the regular tikkas. Same goes for the Chiang Chui Chilly Chicken, it wasn’t the regular dry chilly chicken that we Indians are used to eating. It had a very distinct flavour, but it was great too. The Burmese Samosa was something I had never eaten earlier, and hence a complete surprise. These were chicken dumplings served on a Burmese gravy, and I am sure this is one thing you will get to try at this place only and no where else. It was good, but personally speaking , this kind of a taste needs to be developed, I can’t judge it by eating one time, so this is for sure one thing that will take me back to Cress.
For the main course again, I left the recommendations to the chef and opted for Peanut Butter Chicken over the regular one, Dal Makhani and Meat Beliram and I really have to mention that all three of them were pure delights.
The Peanut Butter Chicken was very very different from the regular one, and the flavour of peanut was very evident, though not over powering. Dal Makhani was at its makhani best and the best from this lot was the Meat Beliram. I have to confess that I haven’t eaten a better mutton dish than this one and neither have I experienced such tender pieces of meat whenever I have eaten out.
The dessert was the Hero of the entire menu, The Chocolate Decadence. I am a baker myself and it takes a lot to appreciate what other bakes ðŸ˜‰, but I was totally awestruck with this one. It was a chocolate lovers delight and a must for all chocolate lovers.
Overall, a great food experience and a must visit for those who want to try different things.

Cress Bistro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Masala Egg Muffins

Masala Egg Muffins

A very very simple and interesting way to satiate your mid time hunger cravings…




Ingredients( yields 6 muffins)

1 medium onion chopped
1 small capsicum chopped
1 small tomato chopped
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chaat masala powder
2 cubes grated cheese

Directions: 

Grease your muffin tray using some oil and keep it aside. Pre- heat you oven to 180 degrees C.
In a bowl, mix all the chopped vegetables together.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, add milk, oil and baking powder and beat them a little more. Now season it with black pepper, chaat masala, and salt( be careful of not using too much salt, as chaat masala also has salt in it). Beat it till light and fluffy.
Now take the muffin tray and fill each cavity about half with the vegetables. Sprinkle grated cheese over it generously. Now fill the cavity with beaten egg mixture, just leaving about quarter of an inch of space.
Bake this at 180 degrees C for 20-25 minutes and you have a lovely egg muffin ready. Accompany it with a mug of hot soup of your choice and it will serve as a perfect evening snack for the coming winters.


Chilly Chicken Dry

Chilly Chicken Dry

This one is a sure shot hit at my place, Its my son’s favourite and almost an every weekend affair.




Ingredients:
250gm boneless chicken shredded into thin strips
1 table spoon ginger garlic paste
2 cloves garlics chopped
1 table spoon chilly garlic sauce
1 table spoon soya sauce
1 table spoon vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon brown sugar
1 onion cut into rings
1/2 capsicum shredded into strips
1/2 teaspoon ajino moto
2 table spoon refined oil
salt to taste

For frying the chicken:
2-3 table spoons all purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
a pinch of ajino moto
water for mixing
Oil for frying

Directions:
Take the all purpose flour in a bowl, and add rest of the ingredients, adding water, make a mixture of coating consistency. Dip chicken strips in this batter, and deep fry until golden brown in colour. Keep them aside.

Now in a separate wok, take oil, and add chopped garlic, saute it for sometime, then add ginger garlic paste, saute it a little more. Then add the onion rings and honey, and sauté till onions turn little brownish in colour. Now add the brown sugar and let the onions caramelize a bit more.
Now add the red chilly sauce, soya sauce and vinegar to the onions and garlic and sauté it for a couple of minutes on high flame. Add the fried chicken, and capsicum, stirring continuously, sauté it on medium flame for another two minutes. Now season it with ajino moto and salt and let it simmer for a couple of more minutes.
A very very yummy easy chilly chicken dry is ready to be served.


Riot of Flavors

Riot of Flavors

This cake is a true delight for the ones who want not just one but three flavours in a single cake..simply delightful…


Ingredients for the cake:

10 heaped spoons flour
1/2 cup oil
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1 spoon baking powder
A pinch of baking soda
3 spoons curd
1 spoon vanilla essence
Food colouring- red, green and orange
Directions:
Sieve together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, add sugar and eggs and beat them lightly. Add oil to this mixture. Now add the dry ingredients to this wet mixture, put curd and vanilla essence, mix nicely.  Divide this mixture in 3 parts and add the colours red, green and orange and mix gently. Grease the cake tin and pour the mixture into it line wise, one colour at a time, to make three different lines of the colours. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 170 degrees C or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After the cake is done, let it cool for sometime, then remove and let it completely cool on a wire rack.
Ingredients for the Icing:
1 1/2 cup whipped cream
3 table spoons strawberry crush
3 table spoons kiwi crush
3 table spoons orange crush
Directions:
In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks are formed. 
Arranging:

Transfer the cooled cake to a turn table, cut it in half from the centre. Moist the cake by sprinkling some water on it. Gently spread the whipping cream over it and cover the cake with top piece. Spread the remaining cream on the top of the cake and fully cover it. Add some cream to a piping bag and decorate your cake as desired preferably giving three equal spaces by creating boundaries. Now fill up each space with the crush of your choice, you don’t have to necessarily line the top colours with the base colours of your cake, this way however you cut, you will get a contrasting colourful cake, with a different colour on the top and a different colour of the base, though its purely your choice, I like it this way. A hint of surprise is always good. And there you have a colourful looking and amazingly tasty cake , you get 3 flavours to experience in one cake…


Chocolate Chip Mousse Bites

Chocolate Chip Mousse Bites

Ohh.. this is one of the best ways I use my leftover whipped cream and chocolate ganache( Sometimes, you just whip a little extra, and make some extra ganache too) or there are times when I need to purposely make these..as my son is just too fond of them.. they simply get vanished in a matter of few minutes.. I am sure you all will enjoy making and eating them as much as I do..and its really simple and easy to make..


Ingredients:

200ml whipping cream
200 ml chocolate ganache
1 table spoon gelatin
2 tea spoons cold water
2 tea spoons hot water
a few chocolate chips, both dark and white
Cookie cutters




Directions:

Whip the cream on high speed for about 10 minutes till stiff peaks are formed.
Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate ganache in to the cream.
Dissolve gelatin powder in cold water and let it soak for a couple of minutes, then add hot water and mix it properly.
Add this gelatine to the cream and ganache mixture.
Gently fold in a few chocolate chips into it.
Now on a baking sheet or a normal plate, arrange your cookie cutters.
Pour this mixture into the cookie cutters and fill up till the brim.
Tap it gently and garnish with a few more chocolate chips, and then let it set in fridge for about two hours.
Once it is firm and set, gently remove the cookie cutters and ta daaaah.. you have yourself mouth melting chocolate chip mousse bites..

P.S. Kindly do ignore the slightly untidy look of these bites as my son did not have the patience to let them set completely and removed them little before hand 🙂


Blackcurrant Swiss Roll

Blackcurrant Swiss Roll

As compared to the common myth, swiss rolls are actually quite simple to make, and I bet you will enjoy the process and be very glad with the outcome, I remember when I made it for the first time and it turned out super cool, it seemed like an achievement,
and left me exhilarated. So lets get started..

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 125 gms castor sugar and a couple of spoons more for dusting on the surface
  • 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 125 gms refined flour
  • 2 drops of purple food colouring
  • 1-tablespoon vanilla extract

 

Directions:

 

  • Line the base of a 10 by 15-inches swiss roll pan with a baking sheet. Grease the base and sides of the sheet with melted butter and dust some flour.
  • Take a large bowl, and whisk eggs and sugar together, till light and fluffy, approx 5 minutes of whisking at high speed will give you the desired consistency. Then add water, followed by vanilla extract
  • Sift in the flour, about 1/3rd at a time and with a metal spoon, fold it in the egg mixture.
  • Now separate about 3 tablespoons of this mixture in another bowl and add 2-3 drops of purple food colour and mix gently.
  • Fill a piping bag with the mixture and draw a patter of your choice on the baking sheet. Put this in oven and bake for about two minutes to let it set.
  • Now pour the remaining white mixture gently into the prepared pan, and bake in the oven until the center of the cake is slightly springy and the edges have shrunk a little from the sides of the tin, about 12 to 15 minutes.
  • Spread out a piece of baking sheet, which is slightly bigger than the tin on a work surface and sprinkle evenly with caster sugar. Turn or invert the pan onto the sugared parchment paper, and then carefully remove the tin and parchment paper from the bottom of the cake.
  • Put over a slightly damp kitchen towel over the cake and let it cool down for sometime, this will prevent cracks and breaking of the cake.

Ingredients for the filling:

2-3 table spoons black currant crush

Arranging:

  • When the cake is cool, spread the jam sparingly over the cake, leaving a 1-inch border.
  • Now with the longest side facing you, roll up the swiss roll away from you, then transfer to a plate to serve.
  • Sprinkle the cake with caster sugar or dust with icing sugar to finish and you have yourself an amazing looking and awesome tasting, soft and succulent black currant swiss roll.

 

Blueberry Cake with a Blackcurrant Twist…

Blueberry Cake with a Blackcurrant Twist…

Ingredients for the cake:

15 heaped spoons flour
2/3 cup oil
1 1/3 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1 spoon baking powder
A pinch of baking soda
1/2 cup milk
3 spoons curd
1 spoon vanilla essence



Directions
Sieve together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, add sugar and eggs and beat them till light and fluffy. Add oil to this mixture and whisk gently, now add milk, curd and vanilla essence and give it another whisk. Gently fold in the dry ingredients to this mixture. Grease the cake tin and pour the mixture into it. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 170 degrees C or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After the cake is done, let it cool for sometime, then remove and let it completely cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients for the Icing:
1 1/2 cup whipped cream
1/2 cup blueberry crush
100 gms icing sugar 
4-5 spoons blackcurrant crush
some purple food colour

Directions
In a large bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks are formed. Add icing sugar and whip some more. Then add the blueberry crush and whip till firm peaks are formed. Divide this cream into two parts. Let the first part be. In the second part, add 2-3 drops of purple food colour and fill in the piping bag. I used multi point nozzle for the same. From the first part, take a small amount a fill another piping bag using another nozzle, an open star or weaving nozzle.

Arranging

Transfer the cooled cake to a turn table, cut it in half from the centre. Moist the cake with sprinkling some water on it. Now generously spread the black currant crush over it and then spread the blueberry icing over it and cover the cake with top piece. Repeat the process of moisturising it with water, then spreading black currant crush and finally covering it entirely with the blueberry icing. Now using the blueberry cream-piping bag, create big flowers over the cake. Now using the purple coloured icing, create a grass like effect all over the remaining part of the cake. Use some coloured sprinklers on the flowers and you have yourself an amazing looking and awesome tasting blueberry cake with a twist of blackcurrant…!!