YE DELHI HAI MERE YAAR…!

Hello Folks,

So many random thoughts in my mind. So many cravings every now and then. You guys won’t believe I changed my whole post last night. Just because of sudden cravings.

So, today I am gonna take you to Delhi ki sawari!

Ye Delhi hai mere yaar….

No! No! No! I wasn’t in Delhi. But when you have good restaurants in your city itself, which serve good cuisines, why go to Delhi? :P

So, I am gonna give a review on PIND BALLUCHI and DELHI DARBAR.

I have been to these places many a times so I am gonna give a combined review.

PIND BALLUCHI

Pind balluchi restaurant at DB City Mall is one of the awesome restaurants serving north Indian cuisines. I absolutely loved there interiors. A totally different world. They have tried to give it a village look. They have a Tree inside! Imagine (Tree on the 3^rd Floor DB City Mall) :D

This is not the Actual Bhopal's Pind Balluchi

Basically it’s there to give that apt look of a village and people having food under the tree. Plates were of heavy steel and they play some Punjabi songs which are quite good.

So, I had heard a lot about the kebabs over here and I ordered DAHI KEBABS.

DAHI KE KEBAB

Dahi ke kebabs were one of the most delicious dishes I could have over here. It’s way too yummy. It’s made up of hung curd and bread. It’s the best starter you should have over here.

This is how it actually looked like

PANEER TIKKA

Next, must try starter is Paneer tikka. It’s Punjabi restaurant, how can one not have paneer over here? :D  I am not a panner tikka lover, but Pind Balluchi has one of the most finely cooked paneer tikka that you should not miss.

Main course

PANNER MAKHNI

Next, I ordered paneer makhni. It’s a lil sweet and spicy paneer. Paneer was soft and served well. I could easily smell the spices. It was really good and it becomes all the more yummier when served with Tandori butter roti.

DAL MAKHNI AND RICE

Yes, this is all time favourite dish of almost everyone. Who doesn’t love dal rice?! :D

Specially, when you are at a north Indian restaurant, this is A MUST!

Dal was freshly cooked and when it is garnished with butter on it, I swear it becomes so damn tempting! :D

GULAB JAMUN

I was full by that time. But, there’s always a room for dessert. :D So, Gulab jamun was next.

It was an instant gulab jamun which they might have purchased from some other place. The issue was they heated it slightly more than the limit. It lost all it’s worth just because of this and I ended up with having a pastry at a coffee shop!

PIND BALLUCHI: I would rate it 4/5.

Loved having lunch over here. On my next visit, I would like to try Parathas and Cholle khulche.

DELHI DARBAR

Day before yesterday only I visited this place with my buddies. It’s situated at E-4 Arera colony.

The interiors of this place are really good. But when we visited, there were hardly 2-3 people who came here for lunch. Most of the tables were empty.

We were starving like anything. So we quickly ordered the starters.

Worst issue we faced was that, we had to wait 45 mins. Forget about hunger, it made us angry! :P

We were extremely hungry and waiting for this long especially when the restaurant was empty. It was such a pain!!

CRISPY VEGETABLES

Before ordering I rechecked with the waiter that is it like Veg Kothey? He said yes and they are a lil crispy. But as soon as they were served, I was pretty shocked. No sauce?!! Tasted it, even more shocked. It tasted as if I am having bhajiyas. :/  Why would one order bhajiyas?!! It was extremely oily , we just gulped it just because we were starving. Terrible experience!

A Big NO to crispy vegetable.

PANEER LABABDAR

I have had this dish many a times, but over here it was the first try. We were just praying that the main course is fine just because our starters experience was bad.  Finally, it came. Seemed Yummy and Mind it, it was actually yummy. :D It was spicy. One could actually spot green chilly in the dish. But the taste was just unforgettable.  Absolutely brilliant it was.

Butter Naan and Tandoori Butter roti added more brilliance to it. Just loved it!

And yet again I ended up eating sweet dish at Bake ‘n’ Shake just because I had a bad experience with starters and had to wait for so long.

DELHI DARBAR: I would rate it 3/5

Suggestions: Please work upon your kitchen. It’s annoying to wait for so long. Also, the starters are not that good.

So, this was short Delhi Food visit in Bhopal itself.

Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Make sure to drop in a comment. I love reading your feedback.

Thank You in anticipation.

You can connect with me on twitter: @Mudrakeswani

http://culinarychronical.blogspot.in/
http://gourmetdiaryblog.wordpress.com/

Cowboy Resto Lounge

Hello Folks,

I know I am posting really late but, like every other human being I would like to specify some dumb reasons for being late. I have been really busy since past 3 weeks. Family Business, Mom Dad’s Wedding Anniversary, events, friends’ birthdays, office work, and month end pressure. :/

One of the main reasons for being this late was that the restaurant I visited, I asked the owner to send me the pictures of the food they serve. I mailed them and even texted them on facebook but I guess they were that darn busy to not even check mails. :/

So, I visited this new restaurant called “Cowboy Resto Lounge”

I liked this place; it’s been like my 3 visits over here. So I am going to give a combined review.

Cowboy Resto Lounge

The first time I visited this place was with my friend during our work breaks. I quiet heard a lot good things about this place. As soon as we entered, it was an absolutely different world. Wooden interiors, American flags, Cowboy statue etc. A typical Mexican look. 

I just loved the way they have come up with this restaurant. The waiters were very co-operative enough. Mind it; you can click loads and loads of pictures over here. They will give you hats, guns and even click it for you. :D

The first thing everyone does over here is a PHOTO SHOOT. (Truth)

After getting loads of clicks and starving like anything I had a quick look at the menu.

Mexican Potatoes:

Mexican Potatoes

The first thing that caught my eye was Mexican Potatoes.The Mexican potatoes were the most brilliant dish I had over here. It was absolutely yummy.The potatoes were crispy and were cooked in schezwan sauce and garnished with sesame seeds. It looked just mouth watering and was a fabulous dish.

We order two mocktails that were: The Valentine and Orange Strawberry Twister.

The Valentine:

The Valentine

The name says something in red and lovable. Expectations were too high from this mocktail. As soon as it was served, it was a tiny glass with pink colour drink. Not able to recover from the shock that why was it such a tiny thing?! We tasted it. It was good. It was a blend of Rose and Cranberry juice with vanilla ice cream. It costs Rs.225 per mocktail.

Orange Strawberry Twister:

Orange Strawberry Twister

This looked absolutely yummy. The way it was decorated and the blend of red and orange color were just awesome. But I didn't like it. It wasn't that good. The Valentine was way better than this.

The moment I saw the main course I was pretty shocked. Most of the dishes they had were Indian.

Mexican restaurant serving Indian food! :D

I asked the chef why so? He said, Bhopali’s are not that aware of the international food. Very few actually know about it and they have just started up. With time they would try and add up more Mexican food. So, then we ordered Indian.

Vegetable Kothey:

Veg. Kothey

This was the other starters that were ordered by us. The presentation was nice. The quantity was huge enough for us, but I personally didn't like it. There was only capsicum and cabbage in it. What about other vegetables? :/

Paneer Butter Masala:

Yes, I agree paneer is my favorite dish and I just can’t ignore it. In my first post I said, there are very few places that serve good paneer dishes. One more added to this number. :D

The paneer was absolutely brilliant. Soft and fresh. Finely cooked and garnished very well.

Mexican Rice:

Mexican Rice

To be very frank I never had Mexican rice. So, I asked the waiter what it is like. What he said was that it is sweet yellow rice with dry fruits. :/ What sweet?!!

I had a talk with the chef and he told me it was brown rice which is spicy. Two opposite reviews. ?? Confused Much!

Finally I ordered it. It was good in taste. It was spicy and was finely cooked. It was my first try so I liked it.

In my next visit I would like to try are Tacos, Mexican Penne and Bean Burrito. :)

So here comes an end of my review for Cowboy Resto Lounge.

Suggestions:

1.       The waiters need to be trained a lot.

2.       The staff was unaware of the dishes. The management needs to work on that.

3.       They need to check feedback from the customers and work upon that. Like I mentioned earlier I mailed them so many times. But, No response. They need proper management for that.

4.       Also, they should add more Mexican dishes.

I would rate Cowboy Resto Lounge 3.5/5

Hope you all enjoyed reading my post and feedback is appreciated. :)

Please drop in a comment about the post.

Thank You in anticipation.

You can follow me on my twitter account and let me know more about food. @MudraKeswani

http://culinarychronical.blogspot.in

http://gourmetdiaryblog.wordpress.com

INDORI SWAD

INDORI SWAD

Hello Lovely People,

First of all Thank You for making my first post a Super hit. I loved reading your feedback and who does not love the appreciation? Also my apologizes for being too late for the next post. Well I got really busy cause its summer. Remember the time when it was summer vacations and we used to be very excited to visit our grandparents. Well yes it happens that even today. People were so excited about my second post some even called me up or text-ed me “come on girl… what’s the secret of your next post...” and I was like “yaar bahar hun Indore me” :P 

I wish if this could happen with me. I am still thin! :P

It’s always fun to visit places and so I thought my next post should also cross the boundaries of my hometown. Also I could write my reviews on any lavish and superb hotels of Indore like that of Sayaji, Radisson Blu, Fortune landmark etc… But then I thought let’s do something creative and catchy so that when people read they rush to Indore.

P.S. Indore is the best place to tickle your taste buds.

So now here I am sharing with you all some Indori Swad. The typically street food of Indore which makes Indore city famous for Its Awesome Food and Taste.

So my first Food review is on Chappan (56)Dukan!

CHAPPAN (56)DUKAN

Okay so I went to MG road for a Haircut, how could I stop my eyes and ignore the food? :P

It was 3:30 in the Noon, terrible heat but I swear when you have food in front of you heat doesn't matter. :D

MASALA PURI:

So I first head out to eat the masala puri. Okay might have heard about Pani Puri, Dahi Puri….what’s masala puri? It’s basically a plain puri stuffed with onions, Sev, Coriander leaves and some masalas.

It was something different but awesome. Though it was a lil dry but it was nice to try it out.

Masala Puri

INDORI POHE:

Heard about Kanda poha but boss this is Indori Poha. A lil sweet in taste and they garnish it quiet well. It's garnished with plain onion (Kanda), Long sev and Boondi Sev. Boondi Sev is one of the specialties of the Indore food.  If you visit Indore eating a Poha is like a ritual. You eat that anyway.  :D

Also a must try drink at Chappan is Shikanji at Madhuram. 

Indori Poha

NARIYAL/KHOPRA PATTIS:

Well In Bhopal a Pattis is a baked thing stuffed with potatoes/ spinach/ paneer etc. But in Indore this kind of pattis is called a Baked Samosa. I really get confused at times. :P

So I finally had to eat the indori pattis. This is called Kopra Pattis. These Pattis are small ball type in shape and has a thick outer covering of Boiled Potatoes and inside it was stuffed with Coconut (Nariyal) or Khopra  (Dried chopped coconut). I swear it is the yummiest thing I had at 56 (Chappan).

Fabulous Taste. Also I got to know they are made of some special kind of potatoes. They are put to test after boiling. If not appropriate are rejected. Only Vijay Chat House has this great thing. A must visit at Vijay Chat House.

Nariyal/Khopra Pattis

SARAFA

Sarafa Bazar

Next I headed out to Sarafa Bazar. This place is open for food only at Night. Otherwise it is a proper Gold market of Indore.

This Place is GIANT. I repeat Giant…..I felt as if it won’t ever end. There are hawkers who start there cooking as soon as the gold shops close. I went there around 9:30 so that I get the actual feel of the sarafa. The list of food items you can get here is ENDLESS. I had a really hard time to decide what to eat and what to leave. The hardest decision was finally taken and I started to head out and look for good food. One of the funny things I found over here was the names of the hawkers. OMG that was hilarious.

Here are the items I had at Sarafa.

BHUTTE KI KIS

Okay if you ever visit Sarafa and did not try bhutte ki kis your visit will be an epic fail. :P

I tried this Bhutte ki Kis from Sawariya. (Haha Not the movie)

This thing is is just so yummy I have been eating it since I don’t even remember.

I don’t know the exact recipe but I asked my mom how it is made. The Corn is thickly grind and then it is made in Pure Ghee with Hing, Rai, Jeera, Green chilli. Garnished with Khopra (Dried coconut) and coriander leaves.

I won’t say it’s my favorite dish but then I won’t even say it’s bad. Its Yummy anyway. Soft and easy to gulp.

Bhutte Ki Kis

Sawariya

Also a must try at over here is Saboodana Khichdi which I couldn't since I wanted to go in for other food items.

CHOLE TIKKI

You might have tried yaha waha ki chole tikki  but Dude it’s Indore it has to be different and yummy the tikki (cutlet) is shallow fried in pure ghee. The chutney’s they add are absolutely superb and guess what they add Paneer in this dish. I couldn't make out when I saw this but when I tasted it was a totally new experience.

DAHI BHALLE

There is  a specific shop Joshi ji  Dahi bada house he makes absolute yummy dahi bhalle. He rolls the bhallas over  (like some circus thing) and then the bhalla’s come down straight in dhai. (Lol some entertainment stuff) But I swear the Dahi bhallas are just fabulous.

DOSA’S

Okay so the typical south Indian dosa’s are quiet mainstream. :P what if I told you have a Chinese dosa? “Noodle Dosa” “Cheese Dosa”? Haha Its different so I was really excited about Dosa’s. I had one Potato onion and Noodle Dosa. They were just fine. I won’t say Amazing but just okay okay types.

Dosa

CHINESE

Okay so Next stop was Chinese. It’s a true fact that the Chinese dishes in India are not the actual ones used in China. Indians have added all masalas and sauces to add in more taste to it. For street hawkers Chinese Food, I first ordered Manchurian. I was very sure that it’s gonna be extremely chilly. I am gonna get tears in my eyes. But to my shock this Manchurian was absolutely yummy. Exact amount of ingredients used and finely cooked.  The quantity was also enough for us to finish it up. I wanted to try out Kothey as I heard it from many that they make really good kothe, but I was too late for that as they were running out of it. Bad Luck!

Being highly impressed with Manchurian Next I ordered was Fried rice. Eagerly waiting for it and thinking how awesome it’s gonna be. :D So it was there looking Fine and finally tasting part goes out to be a mess. It was not as per the expectations. It had too much of vinegar. The vegetables were not finally chopped. I felt I am having Pulav sort of a dish. It was really hard to finish it up. L

SAMOSA

Next was the samosa. This shop is one of the oldest shops in Indore. I remember when I was a child I visited this place with my Grandfather. This shop is near to his workplace so he used to buy Samosa or Alloo Kachori for me. :D Yummiest and Fresh Samosa’s are just here.

KUCH MEETHA HOJAYE

Well I was Pretty much full but I cannot say a No to sweets!! So I am gonna tell you guys what is A MUST try!

MAWA BATTI

Mawa Batti or GulabJamun ka bhai :P You have to try it. It’s just one of the incredible sweets you can get in Indore.

JALEBA

Bhai Jalebi suna hai…..Jaleba kya hai? Jeleba is the Giant Jalebi. OMG it’s Too heavy. I wasn't in a state to consume this big thing. But I swear it was my mistake to miss it. I tasted it though. If you ever visit Sarafa make sure you have enough space for Jaleba.

HALWAS

If you still have that much space in your tummy Halwas are a must for you. Cooked in pure Ghee and Sarafa has a big variety of Halwas which is a must try.

KULFI

Its summers… Kulfi’s are just the right sweet thing to have. Matka Kulfi, Kesar pista and Chowpati Kulfi’s are my all time favorite. You can even get sugar free Kulfi if you are a health conscious person.  You have to try out Sarafa’s Kulfi. It’s just Superb.

So here I ended with my Foodie days at Indore there are many more things which are a must try for you all. I am gonna state them below. Also I found some really funny names of the shops and I could manage to click so I am gonna feature them as well.

Facebook Maggi Point

Lassi Bhi Ghamandi hoti hai!

Arey Yaar Kya Dhasu Hai Barf Gola! :P LOL

MUST TRY’S

·         Paani Puri

·         Alloo Pyass Kachori

·         Pav Bhaji

·         Cholle Bhature

·         Maal Pooa

·         Mangode

·         Gadaduu

·         Halwas

·         Jalebi’s

·         Shikangi

·         Lassi

So this was my experience at Sarafa and Chappan (56 dukaan).

FULL TOO CHATORA DESTINATION.

Hope you all enjoyed reading my blog and also hoping you just got some cravings while reading this.

Feedback and suggestions on the post are welcomed. J

Thank You in anticipation.

P.S. You guys can connect with me on twitter. Follow me @Mudrakeswani 

Let me know more about food and my blog.

Heartiest Thank You to Ibad Khan for the Picture. :)

POWER LUNCH!

Hello Folks!

Well this is my first attempt in writing a blog so please spare me for my writing which is not that great, but I assure you that, it shall improve in the future. It was like since 3 years I got inspired by one of my twitter friend and then thought that I should also start up my food blog but due to some other priorities I couldn't. Also there are very few good places to eat out in Bhopal. But then two of my friends recently motivated me to write because it’s never too late so here I am with my Blog. Before starting let me tell you all that I EAT A LOT. I am tiny and thin but I am a big time foodie. Uncle and Aunties at family gatherings ask me “Beta tum kuch khati nahi ho kya?/ Kitni dieting karte hai aaj kal ke bacche!” My friends at times have a gala time by calling me with funny names such as “Piddi, Tilli, and Fuuu kardunga to udd jayegi” P.S.  Does that happen in real? :P Worst of all “You’re a vegetarian how can you even eat?”  Vegetarians do not eat? I am a vegetarian and I eat like a hippy. :P Well by god’s grace, It’s the great metabolism that I posses keeps me fit and fine. Being terribly pissed off hearing such stuff I guess now this blog is an answer to all.

Okay so here is my First review on TEN DOWNING STREET, Bhopal.

Ten Downing Street located in DB City Mall, Bhopal is a Pub and Family Restaurant. I have visited this place quiet a lot of times. This time it was with one of my best friend that we head out to lunch over here. Firstly, let me tell you the ambiance is nice, interiors are of pure western style. The walls have pictures of best Hollywood movies so you can actually have a great feel as soon as you enter there. Also the staff is very cooperative and helpful.

TDS or Ten Downing Street has one of its all time Hit POWER PACK LUNCH. It’s one of a great idea that TDS has come up with.  They offer you a Complimentary Drink (soft drink/ soup/ cocktail) as per your choice, one main course and one complimentary sweet dish (vanilla ice cream).

This all just for rupees 230 only (Excluding Taxes). Isn't that great?

As soon as we entered we were damn hungry so at first we ordered Crispy Vegetable as starters. TDS have a variety of main courses such as Chinese, Italian, and Indian.Next we ordered Italian, Chinese and Indian for main course.

The Crispy Vegetable is somewhat like the kothe  but it’s more crispy and Yummy in taste. I really loved having them.

Next came the Lasagna. It comes up with a choice of vegetables and stuffing you want, so we ordered corn, spinach and mushroom stuffing. We also ordered soft drink with our power lunch because we felt it was too hot in summers to go in for soup. :P As soon as our Italian food came it looked just mouth watering with an eye glancing cheese covering and garlic bread with it. We couldn't wait to start eating it. 

Just by merely tasting it we got it very clear that it’s not that great. It tasted somewhat like the Arabiata Pasta with red sauce. But I guess even that’s better. We had to actually eat it up just for the sake of finishing it and not leaving the food wasted. 

Then came the Chinese which is my favorite but this time it was ordered by one of my other friend. Let me also tell you I have visited TDS many a times and it has never disappointed me with the Chinese food.  They give you a choice in your order. Choose between Noodle or Rice with one gravy dish. So my friend ordered Baby Corn with Fried Rice. The Baby corns were yummy and the gravy was same as that of Manchurian. The fried Rice was absolutely brilliant and I loved them.

Next came the Indian Food. We ordered Butter Paneer and Choice of bread. The paneer was soft, tasty and just fabulous. The gravy was brilliant one could actually get the fragrance of the spices from it.

Let me tell this was one of the best paneer that you can get in Bhopal. There are very few places that excel in making the paneer dishes. TDS is one of them.

By then we were pretty full but who says we cannot go in for a sweet dish? Our power lunch offers us a complimentary ice cream. The ice cream they serve with power lunch is vanilla flavor with chocolate sauce. So it didn't really matter because we had something sweet. Since there were three power lunch orders by us we got three ice creams.  So the ice creams were there and mine was awful just because it got freeze more than its limit and I could actually taste ice in my mouth. It was the chocolate sauce that kept me quiet. Then my friend offered me her ice-cream as she was full and couldn't take more, to my shock it was absolutely fine. So one must check and ask the waiters to change it for you.

So with this it comes to an end of my food review on Ten Downing Street, Bhopal. I would conclude that it was a brilliant experience having the power lunch for just Rs. 230/- (Taxes Excluded) which is really affordable to many and I would like to visit TDS for power Lunch again.

I would rate Ten Downing Street for its Power Lunch as 4/5.

Suggestion to TDS: Work on your Italian Food. All other items were great.

The Power Lunch is on every week day from 12 pm-4 pm. Also the place was about to get full since it was peek lunch time and they also conduct private parties. So to avoid waiting one can book there table before. Call them on 7747067400 for queries and 7415013100/ 8109643000 reservations.

Hope you all enjoyed reading my post and feedback is appreciated.  :)

Thank You in anticipation.