Crave Bits

Day: June 11, 2014

  • IndiJoe:Foodie dream come true

    IndiJoe:Foodie dream come true

    Behold!Here comes IndiJoe !Another page int he foodie diaries is about to be filled!A true foodie heaven(figuratively)has been uncovered from under folds and folds places and cities.Situated at the  Ambiance mall,Gurgaon,this food joint comes across as an actual foodie dream with an ‘all you can ‘eat buffet.You name it and they have it.Indian,Chinese,Thai,Continental,Italian,American,Mediterranean,Mongolian ,and so on and so forth.The list goes on and on.Where some other restaurants may claim to provide similar variety,they cannot maintain a very consistent quality in every dish that they serve.Yet at IndiJoe ,the persistence and consistency is near perfect.From the most simple to the most complex of dishes,they tend to create each dish with equivalent finesse.As you enter,you would see elegant and private looking tables and cubicles that are set to provide for a one to one experience between you and your food. The walls speaking volumes of the craziness with Bollywood and Hollywood stars adorning it,Marilyn Monroe in her much loved smile and grace,urban art and figures surround you.

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    And from between the sections provided for the tables lies your path to the foodie salvation.At the end of the dining section lies a humongous array of food ,arranged in a buffet.Each pan,each casserole,each vessel brimming with hot ,mouth watering food that is ready to be served.All you have to do is pay for one plate and then you may please your appetite and taste buds as much as you can.The only labor being that of self service.

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    It is but obvious that as you come to the position of deciding ‘where to star’t and ‘what to eat’,you shall be confronted with a dilemma.The only sure shot way out of it being that you must  quickly shortlist a few dishes according to your personal preference and take small portions of each of those shortlisted dishes.Take your own sweet time,indulge in the flavors,relish the aroma and tingle your taste buds with each savory bite,though keeping in mind the awesome taste of each dish I cannot fully assure you that you will be able to zero down on a dish or two,though you will surely learn the skill of rotating the dishes in turn to eat.Confronted by the same dilemma,I found myself stuck between the Mongolian chicken,Garlic noodles,cheese,mushroom and capsicum pizza and prawn curry with rice.Yes that is some variety on a single plate!The Mongolian chicken harbored a soft oriental tinge balanced with the flavor of spices,indeed a much relished form of chicken,the garlic noodles were absolutely remarkable for having maintained a subtle tinge of the strong flavor of garlic without overdoing it,the noodles being non greasy and well seasoned with the requisite ingredients added to the pleasant experience.

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    An all time favorite pizza,it was hard to resist this temptation,a thin crust well layered with cheese ,capsicum and mushroom chopped finely,a scrumptious treat indeed.

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    Coming to the prawn curry,maintaining the spicey tag with a tangy taste of tomatoes,the beautiful pinkish brown shade of prawns made it one hell of a delectable dish.An honorary mention to the regular Indian dishes such as Arahar ki daal and aloo ki sabzi that were totally worth eating and paying for.The crispy Kachoris and the burgers with juicy patties were also much enjoyed.Their menu is subject to rotation each day,though each dish is worth eating,absolutely delicious and unforgettable.

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    There is more out here!For those with a major sweet tooth,here lies more to your ultimate frenzy !They have a fountain that is brimming with molten chocolate,and its really hard not to go and dip one of these soft spongy plain vanilla or chocolate chip cakes in it!

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    A beatific blueberry cake,so light on the tongue that each bite melts in your mouth leaving the most delectable of all tastes on your palate.The lemon tart with an amazing balance between the sweet and sour taste was indeed well made.Hot walnut brownie with vanilla ice cream,the ‘melt in your mouth’ mal- pua and gulab jamun,and the list goes on and on.You shall definitely end up eating more than the usual.Getting up and serving rounds after rounds,to get some more of their scrumptious food.Every possible way of satiating one’s hunger lies in your plate! Simple or complex,Indian to international,sweet and sour,spicey to subtle,crazy yet gracious,that is how IndiJoe is.Keeping their consistency and quality intact in each dish that they serve,a friendly staff,delectable food,amazing urban yet cozy decor and ambiance,this place is sure to add to some really good memories.You might as well have a full stomach yet you just cannot help eating a few servings more than your actual capacity,and seeing the menu for the desert ,well the stomach itself shall crave for more!The entire world’s cuisines are in your plate,served at a single place,none other than at IndiJoe,what more could you ask for!Foodie dream come true!!Indulge as much as you wish to,a total Paisa Vasool food. BON APPETITE!!

  • Kebabs- something you can drool over.

    Kebabs- something you can drool over.

    Kebab is a Middle Eastern dish where pieces of meat or vegetables are grilled or roasted. They can be both vegetarian and non vegetarian. The traditional meat used for the preparation of kebabs was lamb however depending upon local tastes and preferences of the consumers, other options such as beef, chicken and pork also started being used. The kebab was so famous in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia that it became a part of the everyday cuisine. From the Middle East it travelled to Central Asia and then slowly became a worldwide favourite with time. During the earlier days, the Greeks used portable trays made up of ceramic to grill pieces of meat and vegetables while Persian soldiers used their swords to grill meat over open flames.

    Kebabs can be prepared at home as well. One of the methods for the preparation of chicken kebab is given below. Similar way can be used to make other non veg and vegetarian kebabs by just substituting chicken with any other meat or vegetable.

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    Chicken  kebab

    Directions:

    • Dilute 2 tablespoon of cornflour in 1 cup of water
    • Clean the chicken and chop the meat in medium size pieces
    • Marinate the chicken with salt, vinegar and black pepper and place it for 15 minutes
    • Add to chicken the cornflour mixture with curd, ginger green chillies and garlic with 1 tablespoon of ghee and mix well
    •  Cover and refrigerate it for about 8-10hours
    • Melt ghee in a pan and slowly add the pieces of chicken on high flame
    • Fry till the piece turn golden brown
    • Once all the pieces are fried, serve with chutney and salad.

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     Green chicken kebab

    This is another recipe for the preparation of chicken kebabs which uses coriander leaves, mint leaves, methi leaves and spinach as well.

    Directions:

    • Wash about 400 grams of chicken and chop them in medium sized pieces
    • Apply salt, lemon, ½ teaspoon chilli powder on the pieces and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.
    • While the chicken is marinating, chop the methi leaves into thin slices and grind it with mint, coriander, spinach leaves, ginger, garlic and green chillies to form a paste.
    • Now add curd and spices in the paste and mix well.
    • Coat the chicken pieces with the paste and cover it and place it aside for 20 minutes. During this time span the chicken will suck in the smell and flavour of the green paste.
    • After soaking the skewers in normal water for, apply oil and arrange the pieces of chicken onto it. Spread oil over the chicken pieces.
    • Preheat the oven at about 350F for 5 minutes and after that place the skewers in the oven and leave it to grill for 18 minutes.
    • A check has to be kept to see that all the sides of the skewer sticks cook evenly.
    • Once the kebab is ready, remove it from the skewer and arrange it on a serving plate and serve with lemon wedges and spicy green chutney.

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    Veg Chilli Milli Kebab recipe

    This is a vegetarian kebab recipe for the vegetarians out there

    • Mash 4 potatoes in a bowl and at the same time boil spinach for some time then drain and blend the spinach to form a puree.
    • Combine 1tsp of ginger and garlic each with 4 green chillies and capsicum and chop them finely.
    •  Now mix all the items together. The boiled potatoes, the spinach puree and chopped mixture of ginger garlic with chilli and capsicum.
    • To this add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, black pepper, coriander and garam masala powder (1/2 teaspoons each)
    • Also add 2 tablespoon of breadcrumbs and salt to taste.
    • Wash and clean the skewers and then apply oil over them.
    • Preheat the oven at about 350F and arrange the kebabs onto the skewers and then again apply oil over the kebabs.
    • Grill the kebabs for about 20 minutes till they are golden brown and have a crispy crust.
    • Once the kebabs look nice and golden, remove them from the skewer and place it on a serving plate and garnish it with some fried chillies.
    • Your vegetarian kebab is ready to be served.

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     Vegetable Seekh Kebab

    This is another vegetarian dish of Hyderabadi cuisine. This dish can be eaten both as a snack as well as a starter. The main ingredients used in this dish are French beans and cabbage and the special fact about this dish is that it is prepared on a stone.

    Directions for cooking:

    • In a pan heat 2 tablespoon of oil and then add chopped french beans, carrot and cabbage on one side of the pan and on the other side add about ¾ cups of green peas and mash them nicely.
    • Mix everything and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
    • In another pan roast gram flour (3 1/2 tablespoon) and caraway seeds for about 2 minutes.
    • Now mix the flour with the vegetables along with ginger garlic paste and green chillies and mix well for half a minute.
    • Add salt, chat masala and cashewnut powder with the flour and mix everything well.
    • Take portions of this mixture and cover it on the skewer and press it around the stick till it’s evenly layered.
    • Put oil on the grill stone and heat.
    • Now place the kebabs on the hot stone for about 3 minutes till all the sides are slightly coloured.
    • Serve the dish by sprinkling it with some chaat masala.

    There are many more of such tasty kebab dishes which can be prepared at home. Earlier kebabs used to be consumed only by the royals but with time it became a favourite of all.

    Georgie Rajan