Nizami Ramadan Repast at Spice Haat, HRC

The aroma of ghee wafted across the entrance of the restaurant. At the live cooking stations, chefs were warming up portions of haleem and stirring in a little more ghee before filling small bowls with them. A topping of fried onions, a little chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime juice later, they were served to waiting diners. But my eyes were riveted on the raan. The roasted leg of lamb was covered by a blanket of masala and only the end bones were visible. The chef carved out a few slices, warmed it up in his skillet with some more masala and a spoonful of ghee. It was transferred to another skillet and topped with chopped coriander leaves before it too was taken away, only the aroma lingered in the air.

Haleem

Hyderabadi food developed in part because in the time of the Nizams, cooks worked on other cuisines and incorporated them with their own. This accounts for the popularity and uniqueness of the Hyderabadi biryani and other meat-based dishes the region is known for.
Friends on Facebook have been bemoaning the lack of good haleem in the city. The first time I had haleem was a few decades ago when an aunt's Hyderabadi friend sent some home. That was also the first time I was hearing of this dish that is popular in the subcontinent. Haleem is a stew of mutton, wheat, lentils and spices cooked over low heat for hours and then beaten into a thick paste-like consistency and garnished with fried onions. To call it a stew would be a disservice to all the work that is invested in making it. Calorific and filling, it is ideal for those breaking their day-long fast during the month of Ramadan. Spice Haat's haleem was dense and creamy, the aroma of ghee and mutton was divine. There's also a version made with vegetables for those who do not eat meat.

Dum ki raan

Dum ki raan, on the other hand was luscious. Tender meat and the perfect blend of spices, red chilli and cashewnut paste. Just wow!

Subz shammi kebab; paneer potli; tandoor gobi; murgh tikka; mutton seekh; achari macchi

Of the appetisers, tandoori gobi musallam and murgh tikka kali mirch were excellent - the lingering taste of mustard oil on the cauliflower was the perfect finishing touch.

Kacche ki gosht biryani

Cooking biryani is like a science project - it should either be perfect or the imperfections will be all too obvious. There's another challenge to cooking a kacche ki gosht biryani - the meat used is raw and if any of the proportions are off, it could result in overcooked or undercooked rice and / or meat. The right amount of liquid is crucial to  this method. Chef Surender's was aromatic, flavourful and could give every other biryani a run for its money; each grain of rice was separate, speckled and the meat was fall-of-the-bone tender. Mirchi ka salan, biryani's faithful companion, was equally delicious. The familiar flavours of dessicated coconut, peanuts and sesame seeds, the tang of tamarind - they were all there. What bliss!

Mirchi ki salan

Dawat e murgh

Hyderabadi subz biryani

All veg: Nizami handi; lauki musallam; paneer do pyaza; dal saat nizam

Rotis & naans

Double ka meetha; kubani ka meetha; sheer khurma

Double ka meetha, the Hyderabadi version of a bread pudding is usually made with slices of sandwich bread but here, the cubes were rather large and was difficult to cut into them though it was nice and sweet. The kubani ka meetha, the famous stewed apricot was disappointing, tasting like liquid jam. In Hyderabad, it is always served with fresh dairy cream to cut down on the sweetness.  

Double ka meetha

The Nizami Ramadan Repast is on till June 25th, 7.30 pm onwards and is priced at 1450/++ per head.

Strawberry lassi

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Flavours of Chicken at the Punjab Grill

How many ways can you cook a chicken?

As a protein, chicken readily lends itself to almost all methods of cooking. Masterchef Vijay Sethi of Punjab Grill has curated an heirloom menu, "Flavours of Chicken" that presents chicken 9 ways, from soup to starter to main course. If you love chicken, this is one celebration that you need to try out.

Punjab Grill

The few times I've been to Phoenix MarketCity, the mall has been too crowded for comfort. But I've just discovered the best time to be there - on a Tuesday evening.

Aamras; kesar pisteywala lassi; mattha

The restaurant is a bright space, orange and cream-coloured upholstery give it a good vibe. Because there are no walls within, it gives the impression of being a large room (it probably is). Black table mats have printed golden motifs; the logo - the stylised head of a lion, is prominently displayed at the entrance, on the mats, on cocktail stirrers and even etched on the plates. Invited to review the new menu, we were asked first to select our drinks. We ordered half glasses of golden-hued Kesar Pisteywali lassi and Mattha - refreshing buttermilk with ginger, coriander and green chilli. We also sipped on a tangy Aamras which needed a little more of the masala. The lassi was delightful and came topped with a khoa peda.

Sliced onions & mint chutney; murgh shorba 

The Murgh Shorba was mildly flavoured and could have done with a little more barley. It's healthy, right? There were tiny bits of chicken in the broth and these 2 ingredients gave the broth a lovely texture but I couldn't understand what role the sliced beans had in the scheme of things.

From left: murgh ki chaampein; murgh dalcha tikka; tamarind tandoori wings; charga kukkad

Chef Sethi has given a slight twist to some of the classics - Tamarind Tandoori chicken wings is one of them. In a south-meet-north encounter, tamarind is used to give a hint of acidity to the tandoori masala; a bit more tamarind would have added oomph to the meat. Tender, boneless Murgh Dalcha Tikka was definitely a star, the paste of mashed lentil and spices covered the beautifully cooked meat in a velvety coat. Murgh Ki Chaampein was the best among the starters. It had been marinated in a perfect blend of spices and yoghurt and then baked in a tandoor. Far too often, meat cooked in the tandoor comes out charred but whoever was cooking these obviously had an eye on them and didn't let them burn. Not all the starters were cooked in the tandoor - Charga kukkad, a Lahore speciality, had been fried, the meat was succulent but bland.

Top: Murgh kofta; murgh roast fateh wal; churchur naan; aloo murgh ki tehri; raw mango chicken curry

Of the mains, Raw Mango Chicken Curry was unusual. We loved the slight sourness of raw mango and heat from green chillies, a delicious accompaniment to both naan and rice. The sole rice dish, Aloo Murgh ki Tehri is a layered pulao with chicken and baby potatoes. It too was light and mildly spiced; grated carrots gave the aromatic rice a little crunch. For me, it was a nice change from the usual biryani that's heavy on spices and oil.

Churchur naan; chicken and gravies

Chur Chur Naan (love the name) was stuffed with finely chopped cauliflower and apricots. The dough was a mix of semolina, rice and wheat flours and had been rolled out thick so as to hold the filling and was crisp when cooked. I did wonder if the apricots had been left out inadvertently.

Lime pickle-based Acharoska; Chakunder kanji masala. That Acharoska - mmm...

Phirni; litchi ki tehri

For dessert, we were asked to try Phirni and Litchi ki Tehri. Both were stunning but the litchi won hands down. The milk had been thickened and tasted like condensed milk - now who doesn't like condensed milk?

"Flavours of Chicken" at Punjab Grill is an interesting concept but needs a little tweaking to amp up the flavours. The menu will be served till the end of June and a meal for 2 is priced at 1700/++.

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Sunday Brunch at The Melting Pot: Market Cafe

The invite for Sunday brunch at the InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram came at the end of a tough week. The answer was a resounding yes!

InterContinental's walkway to the bay; to the left is the floating deck

Earlier trips to the resort had been late in the evening; however, on a Sunday afternoon, even with a merciless sun beating down, it had not lost any of its charm. The familiar driveway that leads into the cool portico, the steps that take you down to the ground level and straight ahead, you can just about see the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. Our destination was to the left.

Ingredients at the ready. Pic credit - passingports

Ready for judging: Pachiamma with matching sunglasses (!) at top. Pic credit - passingports  

We were a group of about 20 bloggers and food reviewers who had been invited to the exclusive launch of Culinary Sundays - a Brunch with a Dramatic Twist at The Melting Pot Market Cafe, the resort's casual dining restaurant. Some of us were meeting for the first time and to break the ice, the organisers, travel blog passingports and ICChennai, split us up into 3 groups and we not only had to "invent" 2 mocktails but also sell them to the judges. The floating deck opposite the restaurant, surrounded by water inspired our group to come up with our winning entry - Pachaiamma, a concoction of kiwi and lychee juices and green chillies - cool like the sea, spicy-hot like the weather. We won dinner to ICC's Tao of Peng, an experience I'm looking forward to.

How do you like your eggs?

The Melting Pot, turf of Executive Sous Chef Negi, is a pretty large restaurant with 4 food islands that serve salads, Western, peninsular Indian and pan-Asian (not counting desserts that have their own island) and 7 cooking stations. The buffet set up extends from one end of the restaurant all the way across to the other and believe me, it is a long room. In other words, one of the most lavish, fabulous and colourful buffets in the city that represents a melting pot of cuisines.

The Med spread

Cold appetisers

So where does one start? A second breakfast with waffles and pancakes? Or across to the Mediterranean counter for mezze and other delights like hummus, lavash, olives, tabboleh and pita? Or load up with a selection of cheeses and cold cuts?

Salad and soil!

At the salad counter, the chef had "planted" vibrant green lettuce leaves in soil. He served me a spoonful - no, no, I don't usually eat mud but this one, made with breadcrumbs, cocoa powder, ground nuts and other yummy stuff, is delicious.

Fresh sushi

Noodle add-ons

Was a whole baked fish!

Bread baskets

Pasta perfect

Mexican, another popular counter

Catch of the day!

Bacon wrapped chicken

Pork belly, jumbo tandoori prawns; fried noodles & lobster

My favourite was bacon wrapped chicken. Set on a mound of risotto, it was the simple flavours and neat presentation that made it stand out. Pork tenderloin was equally good, the chef had tossed it in a dark soy-5 spice sauce with pepper strips for texture. Jumbo tandoori prawns were super spicy and it tasted like it had been marinated in a sambal paste - to cook large prawns this perfect is truly a skill. Two friends who ate the stir fried noodles just couldn't stop raving about it.

There's teppanyaki, dimsum and appam if you have a yen to try a mix of cuisines. Especially for parched throats, there's a juicery and mocktail bar. Maybe they'll even make you a Pachaiamma if you ask nicely!!

Live music too!

A dessert table just for kids

Just a part of dessert island

Raspberry opera; mango cream cheese in choc; house made ice cream; mousses, profiterole; macaron; mango choc cup

There are just too many desserts to list (23, I'm told) and too many to sample but if I had to choose the best of those I tried, the stand outs would be raspberry opera, profiterole and the chunky chocolate ice cream that's made in-house.
For the kids there's a dedicated buffet counter and a dessert section too. They have a play area where they are kept busy with activities.

The Melting Pot's breakfast buffet timings are from 7.30 am to 10.30 am, Culinary Sundays - a Brunch with a Dramatic Twist from 12.30 pm - 3.30 pm and is priced at 1999++ per head.
What a delicious way to spend time with the family on a Sunday.

ICC Mahabalipuram Resort
No. 212 East Coast Road
Nemelli Village.
+91 44 71720101

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NZ Roadtrip: 6. Homeward bound and Thai red curry

Back in the car, each of us were engrossed in our thoughts. We had stood on a glacier and admired its stark beauty yet seen its destructive power resulting in the creation of the Sounds. Both were beautiful facets of Nature, both were life changing. Climate change is going to be even more catastrophic.

At Hokitika

The clock tower

It would take us 5 hours to drive to Christchurch from the FJ village. A couple of hours later, we pulled up into Hokitika, once a booming gold mining centre from where gold was carried out by ships. Today, it is known for its art galleries and jewellery made of pounamu, a kind of jade, that is crafted in studios there. It's a pretty little town beside the sea with wide, neat streets and a bell-tower in the middle of the crossroads. After coffee and sandwiches at Stumpers, we were on our way again.

On the Great Alpine Highway

The Great Alpine Highway connects Hokitika with Christchurch and we travelled on that route, watching alpine forests give way to temperate vegetation. The railway line and wide riverbeds lay on one side where at times, 3 streams flowed across the vast riverbed and at times they lay intertwined. Dense forests and gorges lay on the other. At places, steel meshes had been placed along the mountain slopes to prevent rockfalls which are quite common. Roads are checked to ensure they are motorable. The highest point is Arthur's Pass but just before that is the Otira Viaduct, a cantilevered bridge built over a gully. Scary!!

As we came down towards the Canterbury plains, we left the mountains behind and the terrain became flat and the roads wider. By late afternoon, we reached Christchurch. We stopped to top up the tank and give the car a wash. We had driven about 2800 kilometers over 11 days.

At the Airbnb

A few minutes later, we reached the house of our Airbnb host, Matt. It was a super neat, super tidy home that was full of sunshine, as promised. Once again, we had the whole house to ourselves.

Rendezvous on Barrington; pineapple fried rice; BBQ pork ribs; sprouts and stir-fry veg

We headed for a Thai dinner to Rendezvous on Barrington. Fortunately we had called ahead and the staff was kind enough to wait for us. Stand out dishes were the pineapple fried rice and BBQ pork ribs. Service was extremely good.

We went different ways the next morning. The family was going to North Island where my other nephew was waiting for them to continue their roadtrip while I had a long flight back to Singapore.

Kia ora South Island, stay beautiful always.

Thai red chicken curry

A bit of spice to end this series and it's a quick recipe for a Thai red chicken curry using ready made curry paste as individual ingredients are difficult to source in Chennai. Usually, bamboo shoots are added in the red curry but I'm using zucchini instead.

Thai red chicken curry 
500 gm boneless chicken strips
1 pack Thai red curry paste
300 gm thick coconut milk
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
20 Thai basil leaves

Method
Place 3 tablespoons of the coconut milk in a pan and heat till the oil separates.
Sautė the curry paste in the oil for about 5 minutes, add the chicken strips, cover and cook.
When half done, add the zucchini slices and cook.
Add half the coconut milk and a quarter cup water to the pan along with half the basil leaves.
Cook till the chicken is done, add in palm sugar and fish sauce, bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and add the remaining coconut milk and leaves.
Remove from heat just before it comes to a boil.
Adjust seasoning, serve with jasmine rice.

 

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