Celebrate the day with your first SuperHero at Vivanta by Taj - Gurgaon

~ Avail exclusive culinary offers on the occasion of Father’s Day ~

With Father’s Day around the corner, express love for your first mentor and hero who has loved, guided, motivated and pushed you all your life, and continues to do so. Gift your dad a specially crafted menu curated by the Master Chefs at the stylishly spirited Vivanta by Taj - Gurgaon and celebrate this special day with the entire family.  

Surprise him with an expansive global feast paired with free-flowing bubbly at Latitude, the award-winning world cuisine restaurant at Taj. Exquisite delights comprising European classics and culinary favourites from the Far East, delectable mezze, charcuterie, artisanal salads, sushi and grills alongside traditional Indian delicacies will delight him on this special day.

Special: Enjoy a complimentary brunch for your father for every table of four.

Date: Sunday, 18th June, 2017

Venue: Latitude, Lobby Level, Vivanta by Taj – Gurgaon

Timing: 12:30 hrs to 15:30 hrs

Pricing:

With bottomless brews: INR 2850/- inclusive of taxes per person

With bottomless sparkling: INR 3500/- inclusive of taxes per person

With bottomless sparkling and pool usage: INR 3900/- inclusive of taxes per person

To book your reservations, call 0124-6673000 or write to latitude.gurgaon@tajhotels.com.

The Quest for Biryani - Paradise

It was a tough decision for me to move to Hyderabad, after living in Delhi-Gurgaon for seven years. Of course I have moved around all my life, but now I was looking forward to a stable life in one place. But life had other plans and once again I am all set to discover yet another city. 

What I have seen of Hyderabad so far, I like. Compared to Delhi, it is quieter; not much traffic on the roads, people are very patient and polite. The food of course, is something I have always loved without even visiting Hyderabad. Who can deny the pre-eminence of dishes such as Hyderabadi Biryani, Haleem, Mirchi ka Salan, Baghara Baingan, Double ka Meetha and Khubani ka Meetha in the foodscape of India. But it is indeed in this city that you get the most authentic versions of these stellar dishes.

To experience the richness of Hyderabadi cuisine, our first stopover was Paradise restaurant, a name I have been hearing a lot over the years. Although experts say there are many more contenders, but Paradise is still a must visit place for traditional biryani, kebabs and other Hyderabadi delicacies.

Although Paradise now has 11 outlets including take-aways spread all over the city, we wanted to start with the original branch in Secunderabad. Situated in an area which is now called Paradise Circle, after you have crossed the Paradise Flyover, you come across this massive three story structure with big hoardings proclaiming itself with pride. It would be difficult to park here. Thankfully there is valet parking available. 

You enter the ground floor and you see on the walls pictures of the Paradise journey and of famous celebrities, filmstars and sportspersons who have visited this place. We are guided to the second floor by very courteous and smiling staff. The second floor transports you to a dimly lit, formalist eatery in the 80s that your parents would take you to once a year with forgettable upholstery and no particular theme in interiors except boring maybe. Clearly the emphasis is only on food here, although everything is clean and hygienic. 


The restaurant is packed with large, decent families on a Saturday afternoon, the kinds that eat out with decorum and dignity(I tell you, the tehzeeb inherent in this place!).The manager too reminds you of a bank manager of the 80s, helpful, gentle and happy to see you. He helped me make the best choices as a first-timer. I was fawning over all the yummy sounding kebabs and was almost about to order 4-5 varieties when he suggested the kebab platter which would suffice. In the main course we settle for one chicken and one mutton biryani although there is a version which offers both(this seems to be a Hyderabad thing-chicken and mutton together in a dish).

Assorted Kebab Platter

The kebabs are truly mind-blowing. Well marinated, tender, smokey and not spicy, they simply melt in the mouth. I personally loved the Kalmi Kebab the most. The biryanis however were ordinary. Having had so many versions of Hyderabadi Biryani outside Hyderabad, can't say I found this out of the world. It kind of passed muster, nothing else. The mint raita was runny and tiny in portion. We had to ask for 2-3 extra bowls as the Mohan family loves its curd but they did give as much as we wanted.

Since the biryani was pretty regular, we ordered dessert, although that wasn't the original plan. One portion each of Double ka Meetha and Khubani ka Meetha amongst the three of us. Both the desserts are absolutely delicious. I had somehow envisioned Double ka Meetha to be similar to Shahi Tukda that we are used to up north. But this was a delicious, rich orangish bread halwa, perfectly moist and sprinkled with dry fruits.

Double ka Meetha

Khubani ka Meetha

There is no condensed milk sauce on top and it isn't required even. Khubani ka Meetha has a lot of texture and layers-sweet, sour, fruity, syrupy and apricot-y! So all in all a satisfying meal. I would certainly go back for the kebabs and desserts, although the restaurant has an extensive 'North Indian' and 'Chinese' dishes menu too! But Biryani? Well, my search for that perfect Hyderabadi Biryani continues.....

Vankaya Kura-a Tangy Andhra Style Eggplant Recipe

Entering the kitchens of Hyatt Hyderabad Gachibowli, during the mid-day, you actually feel yourself a part of a battle ground. With the sounds of rustling knives, the steam horns or the call of the restaurant manager order, there is a lot of activity going on. Each and every individual doing a bit to bring out the best he or she can. Amidst this, we see one person moving around with all smiles, creating wisps of magic and settling the odds.  This is more than just a help, an inspiration to everyone.

Chef Anand Kumar, the man behind this magic, started his career in 2002, with JW Marriott Mumbai as a kitchen management trainee. A young lad, who initially picked up knives in the magnificent property, would have never thought what he would become. Now, Chef Anand serves as an Executive Chef at Hyatt Hyderabad Gachibowli. He believes in sharing his knowledge and know-how with one and all. He specializes in Arabic, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Italian and western cuisine, although today as per our request, in order to get the local flavour of Hyderabad, he shares a delicious Andhra style eggplant recipe. I have often mentioned in my earlier blogs that eggplant to me is the litmus test of a good chef. If he can make eggplant taste tantalising and exotic, he certainly is super talented. This is indeed one of the best eggplant recipes tasted by us:

Vankaya Kura (Small eggplant curry)

For soaking brinjals:

Ingredients                                                                  Quantity

Small purple or green brinjals                           250 grams

Salt                                                                                  ½ teaspoon

Water                                                                              Enough for soaking the brinjal

Other ingredients:

Ingredients                                                                  Quantity

Large onion chopped                                           1no

Ginger garlic paste                                                  ½ tablespoon

Mustard seeds                                                         1 teaspoon

Urad dal                                                                       ½ teaspoon

Cumin seeds                                                              ½ teaspoon

Curry leaves                                                               1 sprig

Oil                                                                                   2 tablespoon

Water                                                                              ⅔ cup

Salt                                                                                  as required

Chopped coriander leaves                                2 to 3 tablespoon

For tamarind pulp:

Ingredients                                                                  Quantity

Tamarind                                                                     ½ tablespoon

Warm or hot water                                                   ¼ cup

For masala:

Ingredients                                                                  Quantity

Peanuts                                                                        60 gms

Desiccated coconut                                              2 tablespoon

Coriander seeds                                                     1 tablespoon

Cumin seeds                                                              ½ teaspoon

Methi seeds                                                                ¼ teaspoon

Dry red chilies                                                          3 to 4

Turmeric powder                                                    ½ teaspoon

Method of preparation of tamarind pulp:

·             Soak the tamarind hot water for 15 to 20 minutes.

·             Then squeeze and extract the soaked tamarind into the water.

·             Keep the tamarind pulp aside.

Method of preparation of roasting peanuts, spices and coconut:

·             Heat a frying pan and add all the spices for masala and broil them and keep aside

·             Grind everything to a smooth paste

Method of preparation of stuffing of Brinjal:

·             Now rinse and slit each brinjal from the base, keeping the stalks, soak the brinjals in salted water for 15 to 20 minutes.

·             Then drain and keep aside. to make the brinjals stand while cooking, just thinly slice a small part

from the base.

·             Stuff each brinjal very well with the masala paste and keep aside some masala paste for gravy.

Method of preparation of gravy

·             Heat 2 tbsp oil in a 3 litre pressure cooker, add 1 tsp mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.

·             Then add ½ tsp urad dal and ½ tsp cumin seeds.

·             Sauté till the urad dal turns a light brown.

·             Then add ½ cup finely chopped onion and 1 sprig of curry leaves.

·             Sauté till the onions turn translucent.

·             Now add ½ tbsp ginger garlic paste.

·             Add the remaining masala paste along with 2/3 cup water and mix it very well.

·             Now place the stuffed brinjals gently in the vessel.

·             Season as per requirement

·             Cover the lid till you see the brinjal is tender

·             Garnish with coriander leaves and serve gutti vankaya Kura with chapatis or steamed rice.