fun | thehungrybird

Nocturnal (Biryani247!)

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Pratyasha

The Hungry Bird’s back and cheeping! If you look at this blog closely, you will notice that the last time a food blog went up, it was quite a while back. Post June 2016 after starting MBA, my food tales here have been okay, kinda dismally low and the experience and standard – just not whip-out-your-pad-and-start-scribbling types. This is where I miss Hyderabad. And if you know me, I don’t do things unless something’s so darn good or evokes a total reaction from me. With that being said, I’d kinda like to introduce my peeps to this sudden new online ordering website Biryani247.com. During my internship in Mumbai, I loved being hyper busy for two months and hanging out with friends in the spare time and ordering in excellent food very late in the nights.

As a typical student, not just restricted to B-schoolers only, we can totally get the last part. I mean, we want great food, not always at 8 PM in the night but probably at 12:00 or 1:00 AM – or even 3 AM. (Hey anyone remembers that solid Thai Curry and Jasmine Rice at 4 AM in Mumbai – so deelish with friends all around). While we are at it, we want to be able to choose from a huge array, whether it’s a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, or Malaysian Chicken or even well cooked Mushrooms. Also, we’d like a home delivery service that has no faults. Whether you are at the Old Campus or New Campus, as per Raul’s philosophy, hey, equal and fair liberties when it comes to food options. And that’s how Biryani247 struck a chord in my heart. And there are very very less options in Bhubaneswar if you factor in all the above points. Super Late Night deliveries – check. Huge array of food – Check. Excellent Customer Service – check.

From what I’ve checked, the website’s a new food start up by the restaurant and serves a mean array of dishes that recently expanded its home delivery range. You go to their clean, efficient website, literally play around and shop for food, build up your cart, give it your details and choose any form of payment. If that doesn’t work call them up, order and go PayTm or COD or whatever. I’ve been ordering from this brand new place for two days continuously at different times, so I think I am entitled to review how it all is. No?

And they don’t have your typical items only. No, this place can make and deliver great wraps, salads, soups, Thai curries along with dry fried keema, sumptuous vegetarian starters and Tandoor delicacies. And not to mention – 5-6 types of Biryanis.

What I am about to show here, or write here might either warm the cockles of your heart or terrify the living daylights out of you, because you will be witnessing what a monster (or monster(s), two if I am counting Parul) orders. Well, End Terms were over, I’d not gone out in weeks, have been religiously working out since god knows when and that particular day, we were done with an ICSE styled Project Management term paper.

So when Parul went – Anyone up for Biryani247?

I was all Me, Me, Me. Let’s go shop for food.

And SHOP we did. I do hope my parents don’t read this fully now. We went a bit crazy. Two of our guy friends ordered a modest biryani for themselves. But have a look at what we got for ourselves, just the two of us (and we polished off everything, okay? – we just have big appetites and a pretty good metabolic rate):

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If you’ve recovered from the shock and want to read on further, this is what I ordered again the very next day – coz well, I was hungry. Again. Judge all you want brosss 😉

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I preferred to call ’em up to place my order, because that’s easier and sometimes that’s how I can predict how the customer service will be. To my happy surprise the guy on the other end of the line was perfect and extremely efficient. “Yes, we can customise your dishes – the way you want it.” “Yes, no worries you can Paytm when the delivery guy reaches the hostel” “Yes, we deliver to both the campuses in less than an hour” “Yes we have every dish on the menu”.

I was mentally singing ” Angellllll ” by Taher Shah.

So anyway, when the order came in, the perfect packaging again struck a chord with me. I’m a stickler for food being treated good if it’s travelling a long distance to reach its desperate people. Right now, I’m usually a semi-messy person, but I don’t like cold food that hasn’t been packed well – and then you go searching for spoons and all of that. No they took care of everything – including putting in saunf packets with the order. Cute.

Each and every dish was so well cooked and smelt great, and I’m not even kidding when I say there was almost nothing to complain about. Oh yeah, our gates close down by 11 PM so me and my friend had to get up, walk all the way to the main gates and get the package in.

It was very hard to point out my absolute favourites but I’d say that the Chicken Tangdi Kebab Biryani, Mughlai Paratha, Malaysian Chicken the mushroom dishes kinda stood out. Next time I’m only ordering the latter with some plain rice – and that would create heaven for my tastebuds.

I honestly have no idea if this place and the deliciousness and the convenience of it all has managed to go viral, but I totally think it should. 3.7 rating on Zomato only as of now? Excuse me?

For vegetarians and non vegetarians – bliss right here guys.

Good things come to those who wait

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Pratyasha

First of all, a dozen hugs to Pooja, who recommended this place. And we all, the hungry bozos that we are, were all “Yeah, why not”. Cafe Italiano is a spunky, cluttered, uncafe-like cafe that we decided to “grace” with our noisy presence. I initially thought that this was a bistro with air conditioning and waiters who’d wear uniforms and hand you menu cards. Oh boy. It was cute, but slightly run down shack with self service and only about a few people at the counter. But then most of the foodies had given it a 4.00 on Zomato and that totally intrigued me. That meant there was something more to it, beneath all the drab facade. Checking out restaurants is a lot like checking out people. < Puns intended.

So, in we strolled and snatched a couple of menus and got down to deciding what to order. That sucks, ’cause I don’t order A dish for myself. I like to get three. And maybe a dessert. And maybe a frappe in the end. I cannot thank my stars enough for having Deepshikha around. Others may raise eyebrows and what not, but she’d never. It’s all casual for her. Like, I say “I’m going to go get 6 packets of chips and 25 cupcakes, be right back”, she goes, all unblinkingly “Haan, me too, hold on, I’ll join you”. She and Srushti already know that it IS possible to eat whatever you like, whenever you like, sweat it out and that they all go so well together. Much love.

Back to the topic, Cafe Italiano looks a little run down, but that is the only minus point to it. Because when the food starts coming, in the form of well-toasted fat sandwiches, subs so stuffed with goodness that they look like they’ve been fed with steroids and botox, cold coffees with royal treatment you forget all the little blemishes that the cafe may have. And then you dig into the food. And dig in some more.

I think it’s safe to say that five of us ordered ALMOST everything on the menu. It was a shame that the brownies weren’t available or we would have piled them on to the list too. Out of everything, I loved the sandwiches.Toasted to perfection, stuffed with happiness and made the best crispy noise as you bit into one.And let me tell you, Cafe Italiano does not hold back. Oh no, the sandwiches are stuffed till they are bursting and they come with very sophisticated tomato and mustard squiggles on the side. Everything else was sumptuous. It was a good day, with the erratic rain and shine, competition launches, meeting friends and talking all kinds of “bullseeet” with the other friends. Food blogs aren’t food blogs without food, so here it is.

The Punjabi Factor

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Pratyasha

Aw, the hungry bird’s cheeping after a while.

Anyway, a group of us went out on this LONG let’s-check-out-Bhubaneshwar trek very recently and though most of us can’t quite feel our legs anymore, we do certainly have immense feels for the food that we ate.

Narula’s Restaurant is a pretty little place, located in Ashok Nagar and it’s easy to locate this badass out. Doling out some (well, more than some) mind blowing dishes, Narula’s has like a rating of 4.0 on zomato and tell you what, I’m not surprised in the least. Initially I did feel that the service was slow, and the music was too low, but it picked up pace and as the food arrived, we kinda forgot about it all.

The menu was spunky, a punjabi affair, with dishes like “Aloo ki Nazakat”, “Jugni Musallam” and what not. While I’m not too sure what the vegetarian gang ordered, I remember trying out their Hara Bhara Kebab and a Stuffed Paneer something and both were yum, to put it simply. Us hardcore non vegetarians went for the Pahadi Chicken Kebab, Patiala’s Special Chicken and a Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaarh Chicken. (Haha, it’s Raarh, actually).

Everything tasted top notch, with Butter Tandoori Rotis as the vehicle. A very special mention goes to the Patiala Chicken for being so sexy. Shredded chicken cooked in a medly of spices and folded into a large omelette, that was drenched in a creamy gravy – you couldn’t get better than that. You just couldn’t. Needless to say, we ate like pigs. Decent ambiance, kickass dishes, like-minded foodie friends all around you. Wouldn’t you?

pic credits to some new friends who were very very patient 🙂

Narula’s Special Patiala Chicken

Good-ie day to you (Review on Snackishq)

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Pratyasha

When it comes to food connoisseurs, experimenting with food is very important and also, the BEST part of being a food fanatic. I remember this one incident when on TV, one of my idols, Nigella Lawson, was reminiscing about her vacations, and she said that she doesn’t collect souvenirs from different countries. She in fact, buys the local food and snacks, to take home, and that, in my opinion is one of the best ways of knowing a country, it’s culture, and carrying a part of it with you.

Snackishq is trying out something along those lines, and their products would delight people who enjoy relishing new and different munchies sourced from every corner of India, (Without leaving the comfort of their homes) in a pretty assorted box, that changes every month. I have nothing against travelling, but the truth of the matter is, it’s not very easy to snag a trip out to so-and-so place, abandoning other things in the process. Unless of course, your work entails travelling and writing and eating. In which case, I am super jealous of you.

Coming back to the topic, the peppy Snackishq concept is the brainchild of some dedicated, food-loving and food-sharing people who have been working on this for almost a year. Every box has a combination of some of the best eats from India and none of them have a supermarket vibe to it. In the sense, you will find sweets, savouries and other quaint (and for the most part handmade) non- perishable snacks in modest amounts from some well-loved local places that have some history attached to them. And why this is so important? Umm, let’s say you’ve never had biryani before and you’re up for it. Would you rather eat biryani from a random generic food court or get a sample from the very city of its origin, that too from a most loved establishment? I guess that’s what they are trying to do.

I was very happy to have received a complimentary Snackishq box of assorted eats, and after trying out the products, I have to say that each and every snack in the box is of a very high quality and is delicious. What’s great is that, the assortment of products change every month, so you’re always given a nice surprise. I received – SKS Badam Halwa from Coimbature, Ellora’s Stick Jaws from Dehradun, Kayani’s Shrewbury Biscuits from Pune, Jouzi Halwa from mana Hyderabad, Banana Chips right from Alappuzha, Kerala and Caesar’s Chocolates from Kodaikanal’s Manna Chocolate Factory. Was very satisfied with the taste, though I have to increase my workout duration now 😛

Nice concept, cute packing and well curated products – I’m sure this venture will go very well. Looking forward to the day when you guys have international snacks onboard as well. All the very best! 🙂

Newton’s Law? Every buffet has an anti-buffet

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Pratyasha

I’m not kidding. I’ve heard of antipasti and anti-this and anti-that, but never have I heard of an anti-buffet. So what do I do when I get a delicioso opportunity to try out a special weekday anti-buffet at one of my favourite places that happens to serve my favourite cuisine? I say yes, thank you and head over to Mamagoto on the 28^th of April for all the pan-asian goodies that they dole out to eager, hungry little foodies like me.

I love all the #bloggerstable events. It always means fabulous food (on the house), excellent service, meeting fun people, indulging in great conversations, having something great to write about and the best thing is, you aren’t judged if you are completely psycho about good food and new food experiences. I remember this one incident when I was telling my friend about Tinder. I told him, I don’t minding swiping right if the profile picture consists of people posing with burgers/food or dogs. Got such flak for it. I’m sure my foodie buddies would perfectly understand. And my mother would. If she’s reading this. Haha. No, chill I don’t use Tinder seriously at all, Ma.

So, back to the topic. Shout out to the host, the quirky ambiance, and the nice group of people that I enjoy conversing with and most importantly, eating with. The anti-buffet at Mamagoto is a special weekday affair, with a very nice buffet-slash-a-la-carte thing going on. I mean it’s LIKE a buffet, a plethora of fragrant dishes, with every dish customized and cooked then and there. Get it? I think you just did. What was so nice about all of it was that, no dish felt boring. I guess when you cook really good stuff, and serve it up fresh and hot, put many such bowlfuls on the table, there’s scarcely any room for disappointment. As always, I love describing each dish and so, here we have it – some of my favourites.

Khow Suey –Loved the Khow Suey when I’d gone to Mamagoto for the very first time and loved it now as well. Utterly comforting, beautifully textured with fried onion, peanuts, chillies and spring onions, this Khow Suey was creamy but not too creamy – just right.

Veg/Chicken Dumplings–I’m the ultimate dumpling fan. Love the silky casing with the warm filling inside. These dumplings were really good, but so very delicate. I tried to pick it up, couldn’t. 😦 Beautiful play of flavours here, though.

Satay Chicken–Ah, the Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce. How can one resist this? I’ve had some really good Satay Chicken at equally good restaurants and they all taste slightly different – the wonderful kind of different. Guess every restaurant puts it’s own spin on this classic dish. The chicken here was soft and tender with a great after taste. Absolutely my kind of food.

Stuffed Grilled Mushrooms–One word. Sumptuous. The softest mushrooms, still strong enough to hold in all that cheese and other flavourings were a hit with me. If you were in a GossipGirl series, in some gala, I’m sure these would be served around as the perfect hors d’oeuvres.

Thai Crispy Vegetables–For the love of all that is battered, this should be everywhere, every time. I’m a huge fan of battered goodies, and the little vegetable pieces were coated in that perfect tempura batter that I love so much. They were super crispy and did not feel unhealthy in the least. (I delude myself). This dish could be friends with everybody.

Fried Fish with Fragrant Chilli Sauce–I love seafood more than anything. The little crispy fish nuggets were cooked in a chilli based sauce that had great flavour without the excess heat. Sometimes, the fiery red chilly can ruin a dish for you slightly, but this did not. Not in the least. BIG thumbs up to the dish 🙂

Teppanyaki– The teppanyaki came in Chicken and Veg versions and you could choose your very own sauce from Ponzu, Hibachi and Sesame. My Chicken Teppanyaki in Sesame sauce was brill. Great presentation and a great combination of flavours. I hope they include a Prawn Teppanyaki in the buffet menu someday. *_*

Fish in Toban-Djan sauce–This was a part of the main course. Again, good flavours. Went so well with steamed rice. The gravy was cooked well and the fish was succulent.

Konjee Crispy Lamb– This could have been a tasty entrée actually. Crispy lamb dishes have always been on the top of my food lists and this tastes as good as it sounds! K-O-N-J-E-E.

Prawns in Red Curry–The prawns were a tad over cooked, but gravy was beautiful, emanating mouth watering aromas. Eaten with rice, this would soothe you well if you’re having a bad, grumpy day. Easily one of my very-liked dishes from Mamagoto.

Thai Green Curry–I used to snort when people use the word “bae” and all, but I take it back ‘cause I now know what feelings arise when someone says it. Thai Green Curry from my personal viewpoint is one of the easiest, versatile, tastiest, soulful and the most Asian-ey dish that I have come across. I have had many versions of this classic curry and they are all like different beautiful covers of a great song. So, yes. Thai Green Curry is my bae. Bite me.

I also enjoyed the Peach Ice Tea and the Spicy Lemonade that helped clear my palate and was very refreshing. There were several other dishes, like Chicken Wings, Kung Pao Potatoes, Stuffed Potatoes, Schezwan Chicken in gravy etc that tasted good, but the ones that I’ve specifically described were a notch better. Much better. The restaurant was pretty crowded and I can see why now. A huge pan Asian buffet with dishes cooked RIGHT then and there, very reminiscent of Asian street style food joints. And perfectly priced. Who wouldn’t be wowed?

Foodplay

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Pratyasha

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I will truly go to food hell, if I miss out on a few utterly wonderful restaurants where I’ve had a great time eating, talking and more eating. I’ve always had a thing for the wild, quirky and yet earthy – and Mamagoto is all this and more. The name actually means – ‘to play with food’. Unless you are someone who lives, walks and talks food, you will not be able to appreciate the level of beauty and poeticism in this humble name. But that’s okay, you’re normal.
As you enter this cute establishment, you’re hit by the fact how simple and yet spunky the décor is. And then suddenly, you can see kitschy and quirky splashes of colour and adornment here and there. Almost feels like a fun playhouse. I see what you did there, Mamagoto. 😉
It was a special event that day. The pre-launch of the restaurant to be precise. I was pretty excited to be a part of yet another foodies meet up here (courtesy one of the biggest food groups of Hyderabad).
The best thing ever? To have a large, super pretty menu handed over to you by a courteous and a busy looking waiter so you can order absolutely whatever you like – and the food just keeps on coming, guys. #Every foodie’s favourite thing.
We all tried and tasted A LOT of dishes. A LOT. In another world, I would probably say what an embarrassing amount of food I’ve eaten and I’m such a pig, but nah, not here. Very proud of it and supremely happy to have tried out beautiful and interesting creations from Mamagoto’s kitchen.

What I’ve had and really liked (with my comments, if you’re interested 😀 ) –

• Vegetable Basil Cups – Great party snack and not so hard to make, now that you think about it.
• Crispy Chilli Potato – Potatoes are always FTW.
• Honey Chicken with Bell Peppers– Soft chicken with stir fried bell peppers have always been my love.
• Rock Shrimp Tempura with Ponzo Chilli Pepper– Battered non vegetarian stuff. Need I say more?
• Shrimps with dry red chilli– Seafood. Need I say more?
• Beach shack Soya Garlic Robata Marinade with Mushrooms– Never had these kinds of velvety mushrooms before. With the bundled asparagus rolls, the dish reached a new level of posh.
• Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce– Peanut Sauce. YUM.
• Grilled Fish with Thai Herbs– Thought it would be bland, but it was succulent and so feel-good.
• Traditional Peking Dumplings– Wonderfully aromatic dumplings with a fried ginger topping in chilli oil. Or, I THINK it was fried ginger. The most gorgeous dumplings I’ve ever had.
• Street Style Dumplings– ^ whatever I’ve written above. Increase the yum factor by 30 more points.
• Green Bean Salad / Thai Chicken and Water Chestnut salad– The night before Mamagoto happened, my cousin suggested that I try this out. And try I did. Refreshing, with a nice play of textures, from the soft chicken, to the crunchy chestnuts.
• Chiang Mai Train Station Noodles– Came in a HUGE bowl, with a lot of adornings on the side to be sprinkled on top. It looked like a rich, creamy curry, albeit it was a little too sweet for my taste.
• Fish/TenderLoin in Black Pepper Sauce– One of the best dishes after the dumplings. Crispy fish with a spicy black pepper sauce. Heaven.
• Mama’s Homemade Chocolate Cake– A HUGE slice of rich homely chocolate cake that I ate greedily. And I say that I don’t have a sweet tooth. Bwahah. Whattey fake.
• American Chunky Caramel Sponge Cake– Ditto. This cake had zero icing (the kind I like), and had that burnt caramel flavour resonating from it. It was served with hot caramel sauce in a pixie mug separately, to be drizzled on top and of course, ice cream.
• Coconut and Palm Sugar Ice cream– Was pristine and humble looking and helped me out of the food high that I was in.

So, as you can see. I did not eat much(!). Also, I do not have pictures of all the fabulous dishes. But that happens, when you’re busy eating and have little patience to fiddle with your phone. Especially when a canine has cracked the whole phone screen from top to bottom.

Planning for a nice cam soon so I can click away at spectacular looking food, pets and all the weird wonderful things in general. Wish me luck! And no, I won’t call myself a photgrapher or something. Relax.

Rooftop charm

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Pratyasha

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There’s a reason why people say TGIF. There’s a feeling associated with it. And that feeling keeps you rejuvenated and refreshed no matter how tired you get at the end of the day. When this state of mind is elevated even further, by spending a fabulous time with fellow foodies at a breezy rooftop bistro, sampling all forms of deliciousness – you know you have a great night in store for you. And what’s more, you can sleep till whenever the next day without too many excuses (If you’re lucky).
So, I went to Up The Bistro with a group of foodies on a fine Friday night (13th Feb). OMG, just realized, it was Friday the THIRTEENTH? Anyway, a good friend of ours was the host of the evening and he’d invited us to try out the restaurant’s specials in the form of a pre-set menu. I was half grinning like a Cheshire cat when I got the invite.

*Drum roll* Come Friday, and I reached Up The Bistro. It was a wonderful breezy night with the perfect temperature and a pretty nice ambience. Totally set the meet-and-greet-and-eat mood. Meet and greet PEOPLE, eat FOOD. Just so we are clear. It was a fun time though, meeting new people and bumping into quite a few foodies that I’d met before. Oh, and karma is a *female canine*. I took a nice seat that would ensure I got the first dibs on all the drinks and entrees that were to reach our table any second. For eating and clicking (A highly impossible feat due to the dim lighting and my recently broken phone). But no, Dharma productions did not direct my life with perfect situations coming into play. We all wanted to sit together and asked for tables to be connected and it so happened that I found myself somewhere in the middle. Boo me. But I wasn’t too disappointed; I ate like crazy. So did others.

I had Mocked Champagne and Passion Fruit Delight for drinks. Mocked champagne was nice, fizzy and fruity and Passion Fruit Delight would have been solid, had it been less syrupy, taste-wise. I’m thinking – lots of ice, mint, and soda with only a tiny hint of the passion fruit flavour would have been fab.

The soup – Chicken Tom Kha Hed, was warm, velvety with a slight coconut and lemongrass hit – sumptuous. Coming to the starters, I am only going to mention my favourites. The Malai Broccoli was a beautiful amalgamation of bite sized broccoli florets, cream and cheese. I’m going to try it out at home, post snaps of it, and eat it all while you guys watch. :p The next entrée that I really liked would have to be the Pesto Prawns. Loved the mild tang and the flavour of basil, and the fact how they were completely married with the flavours of the prawn. The Mylapore Fish Fingers served with two dipping sauces were very succulent, warm and crunchy – reminded me of Kolkata’s epic Fish Fry. I’ve loved such kinds of fish goujons for years and will continue to do so, till I die. The mushrooms and paneer entrees were tasty and moist, without any chewiness. The style with which most of the dishes (such as Murg Mirch Tikka) were presented were fun and innovative, although it could improve and be a trendsetter someday. Up The Bistro also had hookahs in various flavours and a decent live band for us (Cornerstone was the name of the band, I believe). I don’t do hookah really, so cannot comment on it. Shall leave that to the experts. 😉
I was too full after the huge array of starters (haven’t mentioned most of them here – only my favourites) to eat all the main course dishes. We got a good variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian gravy dishes to relish with some good Naan. I must say, the Mughlai Korma and Paneer Ki Daal were pretty delicious.

After dinner, we were served three to four desserts, Blueberry Cheesecake being one of them that I absolutely liked. I don’t have a sweet tooth at all. If someday, a guy I like asks me out for an ice cream or something, I’ll pass on that. I have to. The only sweet treats I can manage are a) Kit-Kat b) Cakes without icing c)Chocolate flavoured granola bars and d) the newest – cheesecake.
I am deviating from the topic again. Anyway, I got to eat only the cheesecake as I had an errand to run and had to leave early. Missed out on a couple of touted-to-be-epic desserts.
To sum it all up, Up The Bistro has a lot going on for it. They have interesting food concepts, hookahs, good presentation skills, nice décor and the live band aspect. I enjoyed thoroughly there, even though the food wasn’t absolutely spectacular. The ambience made the whole experience fun and chilled out. This new bistro can certainly up it’s ante with respect to service and food and it won’t be long before UTB is the talk of the town. Cheers.

Flavours coming alive

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Pratyasha

Dum-dum-da-dum. Here comes my second post. And nothing much beats sitting and blogging about a fabulous restaurant and all the experiences there, unless you’re not very…food-writerly? Did that make sense?
InAzia of the Sheraton Suites and Hotels will be today’s hot stuff. I have to say, the whole building (Sheraton) is so sleek and sophisticated that as you step in, you already know that you are going to have a good time. What made 13th of February so special was the fact that it wasn’t just a casual, fun zomato meetup (thank you peeps 🙂 !). There also was to be a Masterclass by Chef Ninja, where we’d know all about Thai cuisine and cook together in the actual InAzia kitchen.
I’ve always thought of myself as a dog-person, not really a people person. Might as well have to change that. Because every time I go to such meetups (or any meetups for that matter), I always meet fun, terrific people, and bump into some friends from the previous meetups. Obviously you’d want to chatter away and eat to your heart’s content. So, maybe I am a people person after all.
Moving on, the décor at InAzia is pretty nice – in a cute, glitzy way with beautiful centre pieces everywhere. Chef Ninja’s food workshop was something else. Now, I’d expected Chef Ninja to be someone very tall, serious looking and a tad intimidating. Instead she was tiny, feisty, friendly and so at ease with all of us. You could almost feel her excitement and passion for food as she spoke lovingly about the signature ingredients that she incorporates in all her dishes.
Amidst a lot fun hullabaloo in the kitchen (I mean, there were about 15+ people in the kitchen, and that’s excluding the bustling chefs inside), we managed to recreate a bevy of dishes with Chef Ninja as our guide. And they all tasted pretty great. I also realized soon enough that skewering is absolutely not my strong point – can’t even skewer chicken to save my life.
Oh, well. Time passed by gloriously, and we ate, cooked, conversed and clicked a gazillion pics. I can’t decide if I spent quality time with food or the foodies.
What we had:
1. Tom Kha hed – A spicy, creamy soup with different kinds of mushrooms, cooked to perfection.
2. Som Tom salad – Raw Papaya salad with thin papaya gratings, vegetables, peanuts and chillies tossed in a wonderful tangy concoction,
3. Satay Chicken and Mushrooms with peanut sauce – Wonderfully scented and well seared chicken and mushrooms with an epic peanut sauce. I could eat that sauce with everything.
4. Thai Green Curry – The best Thai green curry I’ve ever tasted. We coupled it with some jasmine rice and our taste buds reached new heights. I give this dish a 100 stars. :p
We were also served some really good stir fried noodles, fried rice and a wonderful crispy , fish dish with veggies and gravy that was very well received.

And we cleared some excellent loot. Dark rinsed denim aprons, crème filled chocolates, a booklet with our favourite recipes from that day and of course, a chef’s cap. Did I have a great day? Absolutely.

Read my zomato review here

6 Minute Magic

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Pratyasha

So, after getting inspired by most of my foodie friends (You all know who you are), I think maintaining a blog solely on food seems like a good idea now. You know- recipes, reviews, funny food trips- that sorta thing. So, I thought that I’d start my blog with a microwave cookie recipe because that was one of the first things that I’d started making, and it hadn’t turned out bad. Microwave ovens and I never saw eye to eye when it came to baking- I spent a lot of time burning cookies and researching -and suddenly these microwaved cookies came out so yummy, that they just HAVE to be one of the first things I’d write about. You need:

130 grams (1 cup) flour
100 grams (1 packet) of good butter
60 grams (half cup) of white granulated sugar
50 grams chocolate chips (maybe even more 😉 !)
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Baking sheets/Thick paper brushed with veg oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt

Keep three medium sized bowls, 4 spoons, and a whipper/fork ready. Take bowl 1 and add a 100grams packet of very soft butter (Take the butter pack out of the refrigerator and microwave for 20 seconds) and half a cup of ordinary castor sugar. Beat it with a fork/whipper until very very creamy. Add a small spoonful of vanilla extract. Keep aside.

In bowl number 2, crack in an egg and whisk lightly, lazily for about 10 seconds. Add it to bowl 1 and stir gently.

In bowl 3, sieve in a cup of flour (130 grams) and add a dash of baking powder, a pinch of salt. Mix it using your hands and add to bowl 1. Combine everything patiently and yet, gently with a spatula until well mixed. Add in lots of milk chocolate chips, or maybe a combination of all different chocolate chips.

Line a microwaveable tray with small square sized pieces of baking paper or paper pieces (brushed with vegetable oil) and drop in small spoonfuls of cookie batter on each sheet. Try to flatten the cookie dough on the baking papers with a spatula. The cookie size should be twice the size of your average coin.

Microwave at 50% power for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, let it rest for 10 seconds before you microwave the semi cooked cookies for a minute again. (Keep checking it every 20 seconds now, to avoid burning the cookies. Every microwave is slightly different). Let it rest for a minute now. Semi soft, buttery and slightly chewy cookies be ready yo.

Tip: In case if the cookies are still not cooked, microwave them at 50% power for 10-20 seconds more or so and KEEP checking!