Arriba — A treat for Delhi foodies from Mexico

Tags

Dining, Eating Out, food review

Tucked away in the maze of other restaurants in Asaid Village, Arriba with its unique interiors is a perfect dine in destination if you want to savour authentic Mexican cuisine and sip on the authentic drinks. The restaurant because of its open roof structure opens its doors to the patrons at around 7 pm. But personally I feel that is just one of the reasons for the restaurant to open its doors in the night. The other reason being the design of the restaurant, the careful and discreet play of lights adding to the character of the restaurant will not be visible in the broad daylight.

Though the design and the interiors are such, one would also enjoy the sunny winter mornings! Coming back to the night Culinary Delites was invited for the review – it was a pleasant night with gentle breeze and the chef apprising us of the menu and drinks.

We started with some traditional drinks – Pineapple ginger jalapeno Margarita, watermelon drink for hubby and a traditional Mexican drink for Prince A. Pineapple ginger jalapeno Margarita – the classic margarita from their house of drinks – and is a must for everyone who love their drinks. Moving on to the starters we were offered Tortas. We were served three varieties of Tortas – pork & pineapple, chicken, and vegetable. Though I am biased towards non-vegetarian and that too pork, vegetarian tortas are also good. As we were savouring our food, the chef informed that Mexicans are quite experimental with their food and hence the result is varieties of dishes that are so unique to this region.

The restaurant Arriba – The Mexican Grill and Tequileria, boasts of creating everything fresh and from the ingredients especially imported from the region. Hence the menu comprises of fresh and high quality ingredients cooked in an authentic Mexican style. The menu is a delectable mix of authentic Tex Mex favourites complemented with some mouth watering Mexican desserts.

Sizzling Pazita Chicken and Totas were other dishes we savoured that day. The best thing about these dishes was how the chicken melted in our mouths and released a spurt of flavours apparently unique to Mexican region. Incidentally, Arriba is  India’s first Tequileria and the innovative chefs have wisely used Tequila in the dishes to infuse that extra punch. Though you will not be able to detect it, the taste is definitely taken up to high level. With all the tortas we were served there were varieties of salsa sauce accompanying the dishes! The chef informed us that there is an exclusive Salsa and Guacamole bar that boasts of eight dazzling types of Salsa and the Guacamole is prepared fresh right on the table.

Moving over to the drinks menu, Arriba is essentially a celebration of all things that spell TEQUILA! Oh yes, their entire menu boasts of it. Tequila is extracted from the special plant called Blue Agave that is unique to the region around Tequila, the spirit is clear, fragrant and absolutely delicious – I have always been a fan of vodka and for the first time I tried this I have added on to my favourites list. While talking about the drinks the chef informed us that even the bar menu is specially curated with the thought that Tequila is a drink that can be enjoyed on the rocks, or blended with fruit and ice into margaritas, or even enjoyed as shots with salt and lime wedges – yes the way they show it in the movies. Am I luring to the restaurant to try the menu and the drinks.

If yes, then wait till I tell you all about the Mexican desserts. Desserts that rake havoc with your senses – tantalise your taste buds and make you yearn for more. We ended our meal with Mexican’s signature dessert Churros – cinnamon sticks served with spicy chocolate sauce and dark chocolate sauce. Now if you are a chocolate lover like me you will definitely love to taste the spicy chocolate sauce because spices and chocolate generally don’t mix together. However, here that is precisely what has happened and the result is stupendous.

So what are you waiting for – just get up and get your table booked to enjoy an authentic Mexican treat!

 

Tempt your Fussy eater with easy Recipes by Chef Sugandha

Tags

Food, Fussy eaters, Mother's Day, SelectCityWalk, SUChef, Sugandha Saxena

Incorporating Healthy Ingredients in Everyday Recipes
Feeding a child with healthy interesting recipes is a challenge for mothers. Besides this, mothers always wonder about how to incorporate healthy ingredients in everyday recipes that can help the children trump junk food. The Workshop on Healthy Recipes will have a renowned chef cum food blogger Sugandha Saxena preparing some quick and interesting healthy recipes that will not only be easy for mums to make, but will also tempt their little ones to eat. Register yourself and get a goody bag worth Rs 250/-

So what are you waiting for moms, hurry up as we have limited seats.

C is for Cafreal — a cuisine from Goa!

Tags

A to Z 2016

Third day of the challenge and the letter is C. C is for Cafreal! Another chicken dish comes from the coastal Konkan region of Goa.

Cafreal is nothing but a spicy chicken preparation that is a hot favourite in Goa. Well it is not just a spicy chicken preparation. Even the most basic preparation has ingredients like fresh coriander leaves, onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, chilli, mace, clove powder and lime juice. So you can imagine the dish when prepared for special occasions.

Apparently chicken cafreal is always made from whole chicken legs, which are flavoured with all the spices and herbs mentioned above. Then it is shallow fried. The dish is generally served with potato and lime wedges and savoured as snacks or can be eaten as a meal.

Chicken Cafreal is another dish that was introduced to Goans by Portuguese. In fact the dish has its origin in Portuguese colonies in the African continent. It is believed that African soldiers serving under the Portuguese introduced the dish.

C is for Cafreal — a cuisine

Third day of the challenge and the letter is C. C is for Cafreal! Another chicken dish comes from the coastal Konkan region of Goa.

Cafreal is nothing but a spicy chicken preparation that is a hot favourite in Goa. Well it is not just a spicy chicken preparation. Even the most basic preparation has ingredients like fresh coriander leaves, onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, chilli, mace, clove powder and lime juice. So you can imagine the dish when prepared for special occasions.

Apparently chicken cafreal is always made from whole chicken legs, which are flavoured with all the spices and herbs mentioned above. Then it is shallow fried. The dish is generally served with potato and lime wedges and savoured as snacks or can be eaten as a meal.

Chicken Cafreal is another dish that was introduced to Goans by Portuguese. In fact the dish has its origin in Portuguese colonies in the African continent. It is believed that African soldiers serving under the Portuguese introduced the dish.

B is for Banofee Pie!

It is the second day of the challenge and the letter is B. B is for the dessert Banofee Pie.

It is the second day of the challenge and it is letter B. B is for Bananas and B is for Banofee Pie. All those who love sweets or are dessertarians (a new word I read somewhere and really liked the tone of it) would know what Banofee pie is and for the rest of us the lesser mortals here’s what banofee pie is all about.

What is Banofee Pie?

An English dessert pie, Banofee pie is a dessert made from bananas, cream and toffee and boiled condensed milk. The pie either has a pastry base or crumbled biscuits and butter base. In some versions of Banofee pie bakers also include chocolate, coffee or even both to give it a distinctive taste.

Banofee Pie gets its name from banana and toffee. There are numerous versions of Banofee pie like banofee pie cake, ice-cream and even custard.

History

A little history about the pie won’t hurt anyone. So here it goes. It is believed that the pie was invented by one Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding – the owner and chef respectively of ‘The Hungry Monk Restaurant’ in East Sussex. It is said that they recreated the dessert by amending ‘an unreliable American recipe for “Blum’s Coffee Toffee Pie” with a soft toffee made by boiling an unopened can of condensed milk for several hours.’ Several efforts later they came up with the dessert that is relished even today.

A is for Ambot Tik

Tags

A To Z Blogging Challenge, AtZers2016

Today, I start the A-Z Challenge – April 2016. One 30-day month, minus Sundays. 26 Alphabets. A word for a cuisine or a dish and a dessert alternatively! April 2016 will be dealing with almost all desserts and cuisines that you may have tasted from all over the world. Ranging from Ambot Tik to Nogul; so sit back and enjoy this delicious journey of Culinary Delites. In addition a special thanks to Arlee Bird for bringing this to us. I’m so looking forward to this month of April.

So A is for Ambot Tik! Hmmm so what is Ambot Tik?

Meaning

Ambot means sour and tik is spicy in Portuguese. So Ambot Tik is a Goan dish, which has a Portugal influence to it. Ambot Tik essentially is made with fish. And it is believed that two popular types of Ambot Tik are Shark Ambot Tik and Prawn Ambot Tik.

Preparation

Ambot Tik is prepared in usual way any other curry is prepared with a slight Goan twist.

You may find some interesting recipes here

 

Keventers launches sixth company owned outlet

Tags

blueberryshakes, brands, drinks, Keventers, Milkshakes

When an iconic milkshake brand opens its 6^th company owned outlet at one of the most posh places for new eateries, you sure do expect something more than a regular milkshake. And KEVENTERS surely doesn’t disappoint in that. On a wintery Saturday morning I got an invite to attend a bloggers meet at the KEVENTERS sixth outlet at DLF CyberHub. And I was like wow! Just few months back I had gone to taste their milkshakes when they had opened their first outlet at Select Citywalk Mall and now the sixth.

But winters and milkshake don’t really go well together, so the brand did a smart marketing trick and introduced warm drinks as well! Caught your attention did I? J Yes warm drinks and the flavours include Hazelnut and Coffee, Hazelnut Hot Chocolate, Normal hot coffee and tea along with some new flavours like Blueberry Milkshake, and Cold Coffee along with Mango milkshake. Though the Blueberry milkshake was delicious and quite a new flavour, I felt it a little too sweet for my taste and I balanced it with cold coffee.

Talking about the future plans Aman says that there are more franchisee outlets coming up in the near future however, since the brand’s USP is take-away products, the outlets can be in the form of a cart in the big malls or just a small outlet whence customers can order their favourite flavour and enjoy the stroll in the mall. Keventers’ glass bottles too are iconic and a collector’s item.

About Keventers

Keventers is a vintage brand known for their milkshakes that dates back to 1925. Edward Keventers, a Swedish dairy technologist, brought his product to India and established his dairy plant in Chanakyapuri in the 1970’s. The dairy plant was later acquired by the Dalmia Group. Today, Aman Arora, Agastya Dalmia and Sohrab Sitaram (the brains behind Tabularasa, Chi, Hungry Monkey and Zingo Star) are revamping and reintroducing Keventers with a new look and feel.

Currently the brand is expanding and has 5 franchisees and is looking at adding 10-15 franchisees every month. The aim is to open about 1500 franchisee units. The model that has been set up is very economical with low capital investment and high margins. Keventers’ outlets are at Select City Walk, Dlf Cyber Hub, Epicuria, and Pacific Mall and will be opening shortly at Ambience Mall and Connaught Place.

 

The divine love called, FOOD, now celebrated with a Tops Selfie Contest

Tags

Contest, Tops

Baked, fried, toasted, roasted, boiled, steamed, raw and fresh or prepared and preserved with the harmonious mix of love and culinary talents (just like your ever-favourite Tops Pickles); if this is how you prefer your taste buds to be treated, then you fall under the hearty category of “foodies”. For this bunch of food-lovers, dishes and cuisines are not merely a regular, cumbersome affair; rather a flavoursome ritual, where each morsel is cherished and every bite touches the sensitive cords of the heart. Not for nothing has such a love for food been celebrated daily by thousands of people around the world, but also quite aptly its joy and pleasures have been referred to as “food porn” by the netizens. Welcome onboard the journey to the centre of the heart – food!

One of the highest points of this foodsome journey is the fact that it is all-inclusive, it takes into account the eccentricities of its various patrons; the health conscious ones, the mid-night bingers, those with a nose for the junk and even the plain old homely food lovers; there’s something for everyone. As varied and wholesome the community of foodies around the world is, there’s a dedicated platform, a social network connecting people for the love of food. Foodiye.com is a unique online space that allows food-lovers to connect, share and express their mutual affection for scrumptious, delectable and tempting savours.

Above all, the divine reason, why foodies around the world should connect and contribute to this amazing food archive is an exciting contest that assures the winners fun and happening prizes and hampers. The #TopsSelfieContest became the ultimate contest for food lovers that needed the participants to click a selfie with their favourite Tops Pickles and upload it on Foodiye.com. With several enthusiastic participants posing with their choice of Tops pickle (there’s a wide range of flavours to choose from), the contest soon gathered pace with a hoard of pickle selfies flooding the food-social-network. Better still, the winners of this fun and simple contest were treated with exciting gift hampers and prizes.

This story expedition of spreading smiles, and creating a space in the hearts and kitchens of foodies across the world have been a long-borne journey for the now-revered brand, Tops. Over a period of three decades, the well-known FMCG brand has spread its wings not only across the length and breadth of India, but also in as many as 25 countries around the world and all this, under the skilled and visionary guidance of its founder, Brij M. Seth. The dream of acquiring the position of popular provider of high-quality processed food was fulfilled marvellously over this tenure of evolution and progress by Tops.

Apart from supplementing most of Indian homes and eateries with its savoury pickles (the varieties include 21 delightful flavours), Tops has been smart in its product choices. Today, this food-giant supplies several other processed foods like Jams, Jelly, Tomato Ketchup, Instant Mixes, Custard Powder, Vermicelli, and Culinary Sauces among others. In the truest terms, Tops has sufficed every need of a modern household to become the most-preferred brand providing convenience food.

As Shaw proclaimed that there is no sincerer love than the love for food; remember to have fun and make merry on your next eating experience. Who knows, another exciting contest could be waiting for you foodies? Having said so, on your next trip to that favourite restaurant of yours, do not forget to click beautiful pictures of those savoury dishes you try.

Till then, happy eating!

This is a sponsored post!

Valentine’s Day is round the corner

Tags

chocolateirs, Home bakers, homechefs

Hi Friends,

Any home chef, home bakers and chocolatiers doing anything special this valentines day please do connect at delhiculinarydelites@gmail.com

Please send us the pictures of the cakes or valentines day chocolates along with a recipe and your photograph for us to feature you on our blog!

Thanks in advance

Culinary Delites

Lagom — blending harmoniously

Smart exteriors!

There are pubs and beer shops, and breweries and then there are restro-bars. But there is only one Kitchen and brewery and that is Lago Kitchen and Brewery on Sohna Road, Gurgaon. Cited as the launch of the month, Lagom Kitchen and Breweries with its classy ambience, mouth-watering delicacies, and world class service touched the hearts of its customers.

It so happens, at the launch parties, the waiting staff at times gets lost whom to serve and when to serve, as there are so many guests to be served. The end result is that there is nothing much to write on the food front at the launch parties. However, it was not the case with the launch of Lagom Kitchen and Brewery. It was like one dream party where scrumptious delicacies like smoked chilli chicken, chicken chilli garlic, curry leaf fish in non-vegetarian items and hare mirch paneer tikka, khumbawe ki seekh, archini balls with dip were passed around at a regular basis. The waiting staffs was also passing around chicken tikka pizza and Mexican Vegetable Pizza. As for the drinks – there were beers – samplers and pitchers and there were cocktails – my favourite Vodka based cocktails.

The three flavours of beer!

However, the long and short of it was that this place will definitely see me coming back for more. And here is what you should look out for here

1. Ambience

A doesn’t want to get clicked!

Yes, it is a brewery along with a restaurant and it is here the similarity ends. The owners have created this property as a place where families can come and relax have their food and enjoy their drinks while kids can gorge onto their favourite food. From the moment you enter you get a feeling of spaciousness that is cosy at the same time. There are high bar chairs and tables and there are comfortable chairs and sofas for a relaxed meal at the restaurant. The owners have emphasised on mood lighting thus creating a dramatic effect in the restaurant.

From the album of Lagom Kitchen + Brewery

2. Food and Drinks

Food is authentically global, and when they say authentic they mean authentic – no tampering with the taste to suit the Indian palate is what the restaurant owner Mr Debjeet Banerjee told Culinary Delites. So if you have ordered Thai curry you will get the authentic Thai curry and if you have ordered pizza you will get the original thin crust pizza. Since it was a launch party the starters were being passed around and we tried almost everything once at least and repeated smoked chilli chicken, chicken chilli garlic and curry leaf fish. Personally I loved the chicken chilli garlic, as it had my three favourite ingredients.

N gets clicked by the Lagom photographer!

That apart, there was proper lunch for us to relish with the drinks! I love my vodka based cocktails and of course the brew – in variations of simply wheat, fantastic lager and dark knight. Each of them had a distinctive taste. And talking about the different varieties Ishan Grover, said, “Simply Wheat is a unique combination of fresh orange and German wheat gives this beer a unique citrus flavour. This is a truly refreshing beer with high notes of coriander for a smooth finish and is served with an orange garnish.”

Another beer is fantastic lager, and talking about this one, he informed Culinary Delites that fantastic lager is a light bodied lager with high notes of malt brewed, which has been brewed according to the German purity law. The beer with its unique malt flavour will leave your taste buds tickled for a long time. Talking about Dark Knight, Ishan said that as the name suggests, this beer is dark in colour and is mixed with special German chocolate malt. It is a heavy bodied beer and leaves a taste of roasted malt on your tongue.

3. Concept and Aim

Talking about concept and aim of the restaurant, Debjeet Banerjee, said, “We (my partner and I) wanted to design a place where even families could come and enjoy their drinks and food without getting worried about the ambience and all the other things. We want our customers to feel completely at ease from the moment they step in and enjoy their meal till the time they leave our premises. We have valet parking for our customers, thus relieving them of the parking hassles. We give them the ambience in which they can enjoy with th

The Men — Ishan and Debjeet

eir families.” He further said that they were not interested to open up in the places where there are parking hassles or where there is not much space to relax and enjoy the meals with drinks.

Lagom Kitchen and Brewery has succeeded in creating the ambience that will not only invite corporate from the nearby offices but will also invite families, as that is how they plan to advertise their restaurant. “We want more and more families to grace us, especially on weekends,” said Debjeet in a parting shot.

So if you happen to be in Gurgaon, or even if you are not and are looking for a place to dine with your family and still enjoy your drinks then you must head to Lagom Kitchen and Brewery.

Basic Information

Restaurant Address: P 04-05, Ground Floor, JMD Megapolis Mall, Sohna Road, Gurgaon, Haryana

Meal for two without drinks: Rs 1200-Rs 1400/-