A Ten-course Saturday night!

When I first saw the exciting Otto Infinito dining experience from GourmetItUp I knew I  couldn’t let it pass. It was only a good two weeks later that we managed to find time to go there. K wanted to go for another 10 course meal while I lobbied for the one at Otto. No surprises, I won the battle and we picked Saturday night so that we could take our time over dinner.

Very conveniently located in BKC, it took us 15 minutes to get to from Bandra. We decided to sit outside since the night was fairly pleasant and the restaurant was nicely lit. However, being a perpetual mosquito magnet didn’t go very well with this plan of ours and we moved inside to be spared the torture of the bites.

Since K chose the wine the last time, it was my turn and I picked the Reveilo Chardonnay. White wine is my preferred choice but in hindsight it was a great choice for the 10 course meal. The wine was bold yet so subtle, it paired well with nearly every dish on the menu.

            

“We began with a Mezze dip – the hummus, labneh , muhamaara and mutabel with crispy bread was a perfect way to start the Mediterranean feast. Having picked out my choice of the menu two weeks ago, K had no choice but to eat the other options. Prawns were delightfully crispy with potato straw and the pineapple dip made the dish exceptional, the combination was unexpected and brilliant. K had the yukon gold potato soup which didn’t look very appealing but the tiny bits of potato and parsley transformed it into somethinng quite delectable! For the third course, I opted for the Cypriot Grain Mix only because it had a combination of various seeds and yoghurt which would have made my mother very proud of me and to prove my point I sent her an image and named all the seeds in the mix, the texture and flavour of the seeds combined excellently with the yougurt. K’s balsamic chicken salad wasn’t as interesting, but he seemed to enjoy the slices of fruit that came with it. In view of all this, there was nothing exceptional about the Pave D Aubergine Confit or the Chicken Supreme A la Forno. The ricotta ravioli was very soft and creamy combined with an excellent tomato sauce. But sadly, that wasn’t the case with the Spaghetti – rich in taste, but a bit undercooked. The pomfret of course 6 was dry by itself but perfect with its accompanying sauce. K loved the mix vegetable Malfatti and didn’t stop remarking as to how tasty it was! Tagine was the only dish on the menu that none of us liked because it tasted like upma gone wrong. The Pan seared lamb dipped in chocolate was a unique combination and very high in flavour, if it were a little more succulent it would have been a perfect main course. The Mushroom ragout was tasty but the texture seemed like breakfast oats! Course 9 began my most favorite part of any meal – dessert. The cucumber lemon sorbet was hands down the best dish on the entire menu – served on a lemon rind, a perfect cure to the sultry summer. Dessert was the only course which you got all of the options and each was equally brilliant. Perfect bit sized desserts were delicious and the highlight was the yoghurt and pieces of mango which left me wanting more.

       

The one disappointment Mr. Ice Mafia said we had to mention was the speed of service! While they were a very friendly bunch they had, in Mr. Ice’s words, “a very slow response time to serve, whether it was coke, ice, water or mosquito coil” I think he had to ask for his glass to be filled with ice atleast thrice before it actually happened!

4 hours after we walked in to Otto, we waddled out- happily full and content. One happy Saturday night. Would we come back again, most likely yes!

What military food is not – Cafe Military, Fort

This post is written by our monthly columnist – Rebecca D’Souza  based on her experience at Military Cafe and Bar

Very few of us can boast of having had the pleasure of working in Fort at least once in their life. Walking by Flora Fountain, past the majestic Bombay House and then up or down rickety, colonial style staircases to quaint little offices definitely adds a bit of romance to the monotony of a week day. But the real charm of working in Fort is the innumerable places to spend the sacred lunch hour we all eagerly look forward to.  One such lunch hour highlight was Military Cafe and Bar just behind the Bombay Stock Exchange.

What always amazes me is the diversity of diners here – Lawyers, college students, stock brokers, couriers, heyday Parsi couples, all giving what’s on their plate their full attention. As you walk in, you expect it to be like any other Irani restaurant in South Mumbai – a rude old man at the cash counter and bright pink pastries on the shelves. However I can guarantee you, after numerous visits, that it is nothing like you would expect. You are greeted with a warm hello and then given a table of your choice. The pink pastries are replaced with bottles of Foster’s and the gentleman serving you tries his best to make you feel as comfortable as possible.

       

This is a meat lover’s paradise, with not much of a choice for the vegetarians. The Mutton Kheema Pulao Dal is my favourite dish at Military. It is a no frill pulao mixed with greasy mutton mince topped with soft potatoes. It comes with a portion of Parsi Dal and is definitely not recommended if you have an assignment or client meeting post lunch. The Sali Boti is made the way it should be – tender pieces of mutton cooked in sweet and spicy gravy topped with crispy Sali. Another great recommendation for the die hard carnivores is the Bheja Fry Masala. I don’t mean to be offensive but you actually get the whole brain on your plate and it is yummy! I didn’t think the Mutton Dhansak was extraordinary, I prefer it at Britannia. Most importantly should not leave Military without trying their famous Caramel Custard! I am sure all of us have had our share of Caramel Custard but I reckon nothing compares to this. The custard is so creamy that even if you catch yourself doing a calorie count as you bite into, you still won’t give a damn! Military is easy on the pocket, with nearly everything on the menu priced between Rs. 100 to Rs 300. Forget about ambiance and fancy appetizers, here delicious wholesome food is given the first priority.

Photo credits: My colleague and lunch buddy Yohhan Pereira (www.instagram/yohhanp)

Rebecca D’Souza started her career in gastronomy with The Wine Society of India. She continues to travel to vineyards across Europe, explore new cuisines in Mumbai and bake till the wee hours of the morning!

Recipe – Banoffee Pie

“This is the recipe for banoffee pie prepared by Caroline Cardoz for our Easter lunch”

Banoffee pie is an English desert pie made from bananas and toffee (dulce de leche) either on a pastry base or crushed biscuits and butter. I have adopted my recipe from Sprinklebakes.com and Nigella.com. When I tried it earlier I topped the bananas over the caramel and the result was not as tasty as the way she does it at sprinklebakes. Also it can be done in a springform pan but I prefer doing it in a rectangular pie dish. Either way it is quite an easy recipe to prepare!

Bottom layer:

• 400g Digestive biscuits (I used about ¾ packet; you can use less)
• 8 tbsp butter melted
• ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
• If you use unsalted butter add ¼ tsp salt

Caramel layer:

• 2 tins condensed milk (400g tin)

Filling:

• 4 to 6 bananas (normal long variety)
• 2 tsps lemon juice
• 1 tbsp castor sugar

Topping:

• 2 – 3 cups whipped topping or whipped cream
• Chocolate curls or shavings

Preparation:

Crush digestive biscuits with a rolling pin. Add melted butter and cinnamon powder and mix thoroughly. Grease a rectangular Pyrex dish with butter. Add the crumbed mixture to the dish and line the bottom and sides of the dish. Put it into the freezer and chill for about 15 mins till nice and firm.

For the caramel layer, take two unopened cans of condensed milk and keep in a huge vessel. Add water and cover the cans. Let the cans boil in the vessel on a medium heat for about 1 ½ hours. Make sure the cans are covered with water at all times. Keep adding water to the vessel to make sure the cans are covered. After the required time, remove the vessel from the fire and let it cool completely. Open the cans, the condensed milk will be nice and caramelly. This can be done a few days before you make the pie. Stays well outside the fridge.

Slice the bananas into rounds, not too thin and toss lemon juice so that they do not discolour. Add some castor sugar and mix gently. Keep aside.

Beat the whipped cream till soft peaks form. Grate chocolate curls.

Assembly:

Remove the Pyrex dish from the freezer. Layer all the bananas over the crumbed mixture. /use all the bananas. Place dollops of caramel over the bananas to make the filling. Cover the bananas completely. I used about 1 and ¾ can of the caramel. I used the rest of the caramel for breakfast as a topping for pancakes. Yummy! Add dollops of whipped cream over the caramel. Cover completely. Sprinkle shavings or curls of chocolate over the whipped cream.

Keep it in the fridge till ready to serve. Tastes better after about 2 hours.

Enjoy!

Something bread, Something bacon

“This is the best beef burger I have eaten in India” –RD exclaimed with her mouth stuffed at Between Breads in Bandra.

Our lunch break is the highlight of our work day and our choice of restaurants is thoroughly thought through and well planned. After walking by and wanting to eat there many a time, we finally made it to BB – a restaurant decorated like a burger with an excellent taste in country music and Archies comics.

After 5 minutes of studying the menu and deciding what to eat, we ordered the BLT (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato), Beef Cheese burger and the Bacon Fries. K joined us later and ordered the BBLT (double portion of bacon added to the BLT. Double!)

Since I had a cold I was gracious enough to let RD eat first and pass me my share once she was done. But the Beef Cheeseburger was so good I almost had to wrestle it away from her! The beef patty was so tender and fresh that I could feel it melting in my mouth!

K, a mega bacon fan, devoured his BBLT in no time and half of the other BLT too! Despite the juicy bacon and the strong mustard sauce, we were still able to taste the flavours of the other ingredients. The BBLT, with it’s double portion of huge bacon strips, scores a definite win over the BLT.

The BB recommended Bacon Fries were a work of genius. It is bacon cut up into tiny strips mixed with french fries. Considering how much I love bacon fat and potato, this was the perfect combination for me.

Conveniently located just down the street from our office on 16th Road, Between Breads will see more of us. And the fact that it is quite reasonably priced (not the cheapest burgers but definitely worth it) will see us eat there quite often!  Best.Burgers.In.Mumbai. Need we say more?

(K says: Everything we have written about today revolves around bacon! I think the world would be a happier place if it revolved around bacon :D)

Menu: http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/between-breads_bandra-west_mumbai_fast-food-shops/14736723762__CA__menu

Craving an authentic South Indian breakfast in Mumbai

My South Indian roots play a major role in my insistence that dosas and idlis are terrible at most restaurants. On days I can’t ignore the cravings, N and I journey to King’s Circle.

There is a long standing debate on which of the 2 restaurants in King’s Circle are better- Cafe Mysore or Madras Cafe? To me there its Cafe Mysore all the way. Eating here is as good as being home and been a favourite of my family for generations. In a rare moment we managed to convice V- a diehard Madras Cafe loyalist to join us at Cafe Mysore

N asked for her favorite – Masala Dosa, I ordered a plain dosa and V ordered a kottho idli (Idli steamed in a Jackfruit leaf) with coconut chutney and sambar. I love adding a bit of the spicy mologapudi to go with it.

The dosas were so crispy and melted in the mouth, as was the idli. Making the most of our trip there, we ordered the second course – pineapple shira  and rasam vada. While the shira wasn’t very exciting (I think it was a bit too dry for my liking though N enjoyed it alot), the rasam vada was absolutely fantastic with the outside nice and crisp and the inside soft like a sponge. The slight tanginess of the rasam complimented the vada. V enjoyed it so much that he commented that he found Cafe Mysore better than Madras Cafe. Round one to Cafe Mysore!

Reasonably priced and a familiar atmosphere that transports me back to one of the small fast food joints that I grew up eating with my grandfather, Cafe Mysore is almost like home away from home!

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Menu: http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/cafe-mysore_matunga-east_mumbai_restaurants/111108198__CA__menu