Barbeque Nation's Grand Trunk Road food festival

The Grand Trunk Road, all of 2500 kilometers, stretches from Kabul in central Asia to Chittagong in Bangladesh. It has existed for the past 2000 years and conjures up images of caravans trundling across the plains of Asia with precious cargo for trade. Today, trucks have replaced the caravans. Major cities located on this road include Peshawar, Lahore, Delhi and Howrah. Barbeque Nation has taken over this route(!) till the 17th of August to showcase its take on the specialities of this region.

As usual, on entering the T'Nagar branch of the restaurant, the ambiance is striking. It's a lively place, the music is loud, waiters rush hither and thither with grills and trays of skewers, happy diners brush marinades on skewers and the sizzle and aroma of grilled food is everywhere. On the walls are thermacol boards with road signs that try to make you think you're driving on the GTR.

Invited to review this celebration  of food, we are led to a slightly quieter space. Service begins almost immediately- a portable grill is embedded in our table and a tray of marinades placed near it. Skewers appear and other starters are served on our plates.

There's a 2 man band playing live music when the lights dim and a space is cleared in the middle of the restaurant. Six men dressed in costumes, their faces painted, take their places. And then Minnie Mouse wanders in. The tempo of the music changes and the dancers break into a boisterous dance. They are an enthusiastic lot and manage to twirl about in that confined space without bumping into each other.

As for the food, there are 8 vegetarian and 7 non vegetarian starters. And also chaats which include Bengal's pani puri aka puchkas.

Dahi vada

Hara bara kebab, from Punjab, is delicious, crisp outside and the inside is meltingly soft (is there even such a word?) The cajun spiced potato was another delicious starter, so also the Peshawari stuffed mushrooms and the grilled pineapple. Anari aloo- potatoes halves stuffed with khoa and anardhana had us asking for more.

Hara bara kebab, anari aloo and cajun spiced potatoes

From the selection of meat starters, our pick was the chapli kebab from Lucknow. Made of minced lamb and cooked on a tawa, it was soft and perfectly spiced.

Chapli kebab

As was kasundi chingri from Bengal. Threaded on skewers, the prawns were brought to the table for the final grilling. The sharpness of mustard enhanced the juiciness of the prawns. The kebab roll, also from Bengal was disappointing- the flavour of ajwain was overpowering and the filling was meagre. Tala gosht, a speciality of Lucknow was spicy but the meat was full of bones.  

Kasundi chingri and pineapple segments

The dinner buffet service started with Peshawari shorba. While quite flavourful, it was faintly bitter. There was a range of salads to try out, including kimchee!

The buffet counter was loaded with food as usual. The robust taste of the chole masala, reminded me of those served at roadside dhabas on the old Bombay highway. I loved the piquant flavour of the Lahore style lazeez subj saag.  And of course, the potol bharwan, a speciality of Bengal. Thick dal Khyber from Kabul was the perfect accompaniment to both rotis and rice. Another unusual dish was jinga posto- ridge gourd cooked in poppy seed masala.

My favourite was the creamy chingri malai curry. Subtle flavours indeed. It was the perfect accompaniment to the Mushirabadi biryani. I've always loved biryani at Barbeque Nation and this one was no exception. The rotis are perfect for mopping up the gravy of gosht Jahangiri kurma, another Lucknow speciality garnished with strips of ginger.  

Nayab murgh masala; gosht Jahangiri kurma; Musirabadi biriyani

Jinga posto, kosha potol,; lazeez subj saag, chole masala; plain rice, dal Khyber

Barbeque Nation's desserts are a celebration of enthusiasm rather than taste. The usual ones were featured- fresh fruit, dry brownies, slices of cream cakes, fruit jelly shots and this time, cham chams. The ganne ke rassi ki kheer flavoured with sugarcane juice was  mild and creamy. Invariably everyone ODs on gulab jamuns and ice cream!

The dessert table

Paan

And for those who can't end a meal without it, the paan wallah has set up his stall on the way out of the restaurant.

The festival is on till August 17. A meal for 2 would cost around Rs. 1800/. Don't miss this festival if North Indian style grills is something you love.

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At the Sunset Grill at the Westin

It was sunset alright when I left home but on the way to Westin Chennai, the heavens opened up and I reached the hotel way past the appointed hour.

At the lobby, I was met by a charming young lady who took me on a quick tour of the hotel. Willows, their sports bar had an interesting bar counter made up of cricket balls.

A quick peek into EEST, the Pan Asian restaurant was my undoing. They have 14 dimsums on the menu every Wednesday and me being a dimsum aficionado, simply must go back to try them out.

I was at the Westin to review their new dining space, Sunset Grill, but the weather gods had other plans. From afar, I could see that dinner in that alfresco setting wasn't going to happen that night. Instead, the chef had set up a table at their all day cafe, Seasonal Tastes. It's an elegant space, well lit and having to sit in front of the dessert buffet was not helping me one bit... but I was going to be served from the menu of the Sunset Grill- totally acceptable!

I was joined by the executive chef and Chef Akshay, the architect of the menu. Two months in the creating and designing of the space and menu, and Sunset Grill opens during the rains. Isn't timing everything? However, there are plenty of plans afoot to keep the rains out and diners in and dry.

 
We started with a platter of breads - focaccia slices and rye buns, accompanied by 3 dips- slow cooked tomatoes, pesto and garlic in olive oil.

This was followed by Ocean Crumbed Calamari- crisp calamari rings that had been marinated in a lemon pepper marinade and served with garlic aioli and thickened tomato sauce. The crumb coating was crisp and the calamari tender. Perfect little morsels that bode well for the evening ahead.

Chef Akshay ordered a mocktail for me which looked like sunset in a glass. It doubled as a palate cleanser too.

The Lahori paneer tikka, big triangles of paneer and capsicum and Bharwan e khumb, mushrooms stuffed with mozzarella cheese, arrived soon after. Cooked in the tandoor, both were delicious, especially the mushrooms with their oozy melting cheese.

The boti talwar kabab, strips of boneless lamb, was another utterly delicious starter. It was tender and the well marinated meat had been cooked on a thread of heat and then finished off in the tandoor.

Then there were peri peri prawns-jumbo prawns in shells, the peri peri flavour was quite mild but the prawns themselves were juicy.

The mesclun salad with orange segments and feta cheese had maple syrup in the dressing which gave it an unusual twist. It was just about ok. I did wish there was some aragula to liven up both colour and taste.

Sunset Grill encourages the diner to play chef- by choosing from a selection of meats or seafood, marinades, sides and sauces. You could then cook it yourself on a portable grill that is brought to the table or have the meats cooked by the chef.

There was a selection of three main courses for us to taste- spring chicken with jerk marinade, served with home-style roast potatoes and barbeque sauce;

a beautifully done, juicy tenderloin steak, pink in the middle and served with jus, fries and steamed veg;

and Sunset Grill's signature barbeque baby back ribs, artfully garnished and served with Oklahoma fries and an interesting bean cassoulet. Those ribs, with the meat practically falling off the bone, were about the most perfect tasting ribs I've ever had. Each of the sauces perfectly complemented the meats. What I liked most was that there was no charred bits on any of the grills.

All the meats undergo a 2 stage marination process and are then grilled to perfection. The 14 kinds of marinades are mostly Continental but also include Cajun, charmoula, peri peri and lemon garlic for seafood. Of course, there's tandoori too. And 9 sauces to choose from. Each grill is accompanied by a sauce and sides.

Also on the menu are risotto, eggplant parmigiana and lasagna, in case you want to give the meat a miss.

When it comes to dessert, it seems that most guests just can't make up their minds on what to order. Very thoughtfully, the Sunset Grill sampler comes to their rescue. It's the prettiest selection of desserts I've ever seen- a trio of tiramisu, New York cheesecake and baked yoghurt with raspberry coulis. The tiramisu, made with mascarpone cheese and flavoured with Amaretto is the real deal though I'd wished the coffee flavour was a tiny bit more pronounced. The cheesecake, tangy with Philadelphia cream cheese, was simply superb, the passion fruit puree was just the thing to cut through the richness; the creamy baked yoghurt was a little too sweet for me.

All in all, a beautiful evening spent with good food and good company. Sure, I'd love to go back and do this all again and this time, in the perfect setting.

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Lunch at Lavash

All the way to Lavash, my mind conjured up images of soft breads and fabulous dips. If only Chennai was blessed with a Mediterranean type climate as well. Wishful thinking!

Inside the restaurant, soothing shades of blue and green cooled us down immediately. Simple table settings and wall decor added to the idea of informality.

On the counter, stoppered glass bottles filled with various oils were arranged neatly. Middle Eastern music put us in the mood for a relaxed lunch.

The menu is quite impressive and has a good mix of  various Mediterranean cuisines which include Moroccan, Turkish, Lebanese, Armenian cuisines, even Greek and Italian. Vegetarians will certainly not be disappointed with what's on offer.  

The meal started with a selection of pickles- chillies, radish, cucumber and carrot, and a basket of bread- crisp lavash sticks dusted with za'atar and triangles of foccacia.  

It was followed by an amazing soup made with roasted tomatoes and thickened with fennel. Topped with a dash of foam, it tasted sublime. Accompanying the soup was a slice of toasted bread with a vegetarian tapenade.

We were served a mixed mezze platter. The cold mezze selection had hummus, a refreshing tzatziki, muhammara, muttabal and babaganoush- both aubergine based, tabbouleh and some interesting dolmades. All the dips came with a garnish and I liked this attention to detail. I found the hummus a little stodgy but the others were true to form. The breads that accompanied the platter were thin and soft and dried out quite soon. The platter serves 2 and was just right in terms of quantity.

The hot mezzes included harissa marinated winglets, lamb kibbeh, cheese sambousak and falafel. As is customary, it was served over pita breads. The cheese triangles were absolutely delicious, the pastry crisp and light and the cheese filling deliciously tangy. The winglets were a tad tough, and not as spicy as I thought they would be. The kibbeh  was hard but the falafel more than made up for it. We loved the texture of crisp outside and soft beany inside.



About then, a delightfully thin crust pizza was served. It's one of those pizzas where the cheese is stretchy, the tomato base perfectly flavoured and you make a spectacle of yourself licking your fingers because how else can you clean up the last of the smears from your fingers?

For the main course, we decided on a lamb tagine with prunes and almonds. What's a Mediterranean meal without one of those?

The long, slow cooking had resulted in fork-tender lamb and the sauce had a wonderful richness and depth of flavour though I did miss the tang that a bit of preserved lemon would have added to the dish. However, the soft, fluffy couscous was the perfect mop up for the savoury sauce.

Dessert was pannacotta and creme brulee. The star anise pannacotta, served with a raspberry coulis, was simply out of the world, the flavour of the star anise barely perceptible. The creme brulee came with the mandatory burnt sugar crust, but it was disappointing- it tasted eggy and was a tad overdone.

Only two other tables at the restaurant were occupied, I guess it's a nice space for an unhurried  lunch with a bunch of friends. Service was good, though I did hear the ladies at the next table murmuring about how much time it was taking for their orders to be served.

As for me, if I have a craving for Mediterranean food, it will result  in a trip to Lavash.

Lavash is at No. 9, 3rd Floor, Oyster, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Chennai.

*Update:
The restaurant is now shut down.

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Espresso and Oreo chocolate brownies

Are you one of those people who buy stuff on a whim? Like, if you go into a supermarket or a grocery store, you pick up all the things that are on your list, then decide to take a look around to see if there's anything you've missed? Welcome to the club. Oh, I'm the queen of whim -cannot leave any store unless I've bought something that wasn't on the list. And then bring it home and spend hours pouring over recipes to justify the spend.

The latest was a jar of espresso coffee powder. Any sensible person would have just made cups of espresso coffee and be done with it. But not me, I had to incorporate it into some recipe. But then again, I've never claimed to be sensible.

Like anyone else, I like a good chocolate cake. Or a coffee flavoured cake. But not a mocha because the flavour is neither here nor there and it always looks anaemic. Don't you agree?

So there was this pack of Oreo biscuits sitting around (another whim) and I had this absolutely brilliant flash of genius that maybe I could mix them up in a brownie (easiest thing to make) so I googled to see if anyone else had come up with this awesomely brilliant combination. Of course, what was I thinking- there were several others who had had the same brilliant idea before me. And baked them years before me!!

So the next best thing was to work around the ingredients of a good fudgey brownie and justify both the espresso and the Oreo. In one fell swoop!!

What can I say about these lovelies? Deep brown bars of gorgeousness on a plate. Moist, ultra fudgey brownies, smooth mouth feel until you bite into a chocolate chip or the Oreo itself. The textures, the flavours, the perfect match of chocolate and coffee, and the colour... and the aroma...

Hold that thought while I rush to the store to pick up another jar of espresso.

But let me give you the recipe first.

Espresso and Oreo chocolate brownies

Ingredients
120 gm flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

200 gm butter
270 gm chocolate, chopped ( I used dark compound)

210 gm sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tablespoon espresso coffee powder
150 gm Oreo cookies, broken into 3 pieces
50 gm chocolate chips

Method
Line a 9" square baking pan.
Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt, keep aside
Melt butter and chocolate over a gentle heat, leave to cool.
Place sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk till foamy. (Do use a balloon whisk and a roomy bowl.)
Fold in the melted butter and chocolate mix.
Also fold in the sieved flour, coffee powder, broken Oreos and chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared pan, pop into a preheated 180°C oven. 
Bake for about 30 minutes. The centre will still be a little wet, but that's OK.
Take it out, cool, then slice into bars.

P.S. 
It's true- a little coffee powder does enhance the flavour of chocolate.

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Biscuits and traybakes - a workshop

Break open the biscuit barrel!!

The jury's still out on this one- what is a biscuit and when is it a cookie. When I learnt to bake in school ages ago, we were taught to how to bake biscuits. We learnt to make chocolate biscuits, oat biscuits, butter biscuits, ginger biscuits and so on and we had them with tea. Then came the word cookies, definitely an American word. Because the Americans already had a product called biscuit which was more like a scone. If you've read cowboy stories, you'd know that that's what cowboys ate- a stew and biscuits that were used to mop up the gravy. American biscuits used a raising agent and were soft, unlike British biscuits that were crisp and dry confections. To avoid further confusion, Americans too made crisp, dry confections and called them cookies.

On August 9th, there will be a workshop on "Biscuits and Traybakes". What will be in the barrel?

Thumbprint biscuits, cheese and chilli biscuits, sesame biscuits, almond and orange bars, tiny burger biscuits, melting moments, oatmeal raisin cookies (aha!!), butter biscuits, surprise chocolate biscuits and brownie biscuits. And 2 traybakes-almond slices and choco peanutty bars.

So then, what are traybakes??

At Kottivakkam, from 10.30am-2.30pm.

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Tapas and Sangria at The Flying Elephant

This elephant sure can fly and took us to Spain for an evening of Tapas and Sangria.

Spread over 7 levels, muted sounds of cutlery on flatware, soft music and hushed conversations were the only noise to be heard at the Flying Elephant, Park Hyatt. It was a welcome change from the crazy traffic and general chaos on the road in front of the hotel. The vertically spaced spiral dining area is unusual and provided an aura of exclusivity despite several tables being occupied.  
 
In Spain, and elsewhere, tapas are very popular. They are bite sized appetisers, served hot or cold and include anything from seafood, meats and vegetables and definitely olives. As for the origins of tapas, there are many but my favourite is that of patrons in taverns who would put down their sherry glasses between sips and fruit flies, which had an affinity towards sherry, would hover over the glass. To prevent the pesky little things from falling in, bits of cured meat or bread were used to cover sherry glasses, thus giving rise to a whole new world of appetisers.

What's tapas without sangria? Sangria is a mix of wine, fruit juice, chopped fruit and a sweetener. We sampled the sangria blanca- white wine based sangria, crunchy with bits of chopped green apple and kiwi but my pick was the more traditional red wine based orange and sweet lime sangria.

Sangria and focaccia

This, then, was the Flying Elephant's take on tapas. Each day, 5 kinds of tapas are served, we started with the tomato degustation- a trio of gazpacho, vine ripened tomatoes in a tomato base and crisp tomato chips. I didn't think it was possible to go into raptures about a humble fruit. The vine ripened tomatoes were so sweet, the tomato chips the perfect foil, beautifully complemented with the cubes of goat's cheese and briny olives. Sweet, salty and tart flavours of the tomato that mingled in perfect medley. Spain is after all, the home of the tomato festival.

Tomato tapas 3 ways

The jicama was the star of the next tapa. I love jicama and usually use it for making spring rolls. The crunchy texture is perfect in a salad but here, the chef had made them into thin skins and proceeded to fill them with guacamole. The filling was a little too tart for me. The corn chips were delicious. Major techniques at work, methinks.

Jicama with guacamole and corn chips

Then there was grilled peach with burrata cheese. The plating was eye catching, with grill marks and drops of balsamic vinegar for visual effect. The cheese is creamier than mozzarella and the peppery aragula played the role of a good companion though I did wish the peach was a tad riper as the flavours would have been more complementary.

Grilled peach, burrata, aragula and hazelnuts

Bolster shaped chicken croquettes were served in mini frying baskets. The croquettes were held together with a white sauce and the breadcrumb coating was absolutely crisp- an interesting play of textures. It paired well with the spicy artichoke dip.

Chicken croquettes with an artichoke dip

The garlic shrimps in olive oil were just fabulous. I can't imagine tapas without a plateful of these and it lived up to all expectations. Succulent shrimps and a plate of Catalan flatbread to mop up all the garlicky juices. Tapas heaven indeed!

Garlic shrimp with Catalan bread topped with  Manchego cheese and olives

No way could we order the main course after this. But we were "persuaded" to sample some of their desserts-

-strawberry Romanov, The Flying Elephant's signature mousse cake, a chocolate shot, passion fruit glazed cheesecake and a pair of macarons. Something for every palate and then some more.

Service was impeccable and then the music got louder and  the service staff jumped in to do an impromptu dance to Psy's Gangnam style music.

Good food, some entertainment and a bit of Spanish history. What more could one ask for?
   

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