On the Spice Trail… in Gujarat
In late 2006, early 2007 I wrote 2 articles for a magazine called Incredible India. It’s been a while since they were published. So, here’s the second one, read on (and remember, it was written years ago!)…
Gujarati Cuisine has been aptly termed as ‘the Haute Cuisine of Vegetarianism’ by the famous Indian British cookbook writer Madhur Jaffrey. The Gujaratis are proud of their Khandavis, melt in the mouth gram flour rolls; Theplas, flat bread; chaas, buttermilk; Amrakhand, sweetened yoghurt with mango pulp(!); the famous Khakra, crispy triangular snack and Moothias, vegetarian kababs… the list is endless!
It was on a beautiful October morning that I set out towards the Metro station. I was out to explore the city for some serious Gujarati fare! Google had been shockingly unyielding of any results for restaurants specialising in Gujarati cuisine in Delhi! I was in shock and couldn’t believe that the capital could have a lack of options for food lovers! I clutched on to my contingency – a passing mention of a quaint little restaurant in Karol Bagh, Suruchi*.
All I remembered of Gujarati cuisine was from dinners at a family friend’s house in Mumbai. The food was delightful despite being strictly vegetarian! The finely chopped vegetables were cooked in a variety of aromatic spices, and the desserts were to die for! Gujaratis love to cook and labour over each preparation – the result is a gourmet’s dream come true!
So, with soaring expectations I entered one of the very few Rajasthani & Gujarati restaurants in the capital – Suruchi. The staff is as sweet as the Gujarati daal and as entertaining and engaging as the spicy chilli-garlic chutney with papad! It is evident that Gujaratis love fine-dining, and strongly believe in the age old adage – ‘Variety is the Spice of Life’. Despite bread and main course dishes in their diet, they necessarily need some side dish in their everyday meal – different types of kachumber (better known as salad), pickles, chutneys, buttermilk and not to forget, their meal is incomplete without a sweet dish.
The meal is predominantly vegetarian – barring the coastal region – and has more options than you can imagine! They use the simplest of ingredients and transform an ordinary everyday meal into a thali full of mouth watering delicacies. It is interesting to note the use of jaggery in Gujarati cuisine, many people wrongly assume that the Gujaratis have a sweet tooth and use jaggery in the main course without distinguishing between the desserts and snacks. It is true that each dish complements the other and accounts for an entire meal to be consumed together and not in stages; but adding jaggery to dishes was done to balance the extremely salty taste of the water and with time it became a habit!
The sumptuous meal at Suruchi consisted of the usual daal and kadhi and also a surprisingly delightful preparation of bitter gourd; very finely sliced cabbage tempered with asafoetida and mustard seeds, and a tangy channa curry and potatoes in a tomato and tamarind base. I was amazed at the exquisite flavours and textures; the unusual blending of sweet with savoury into a harmonious whole. The grand spread of Gujarati cuisine can be glimpsed and savoured in the very popular “Gujarati Thali” - a large silver platter consisting of innumerable bowls full of shaak (vegetable curries), daals (lentil based gravies), a variety of breads, savories – crispy, spicy fried farsaans, sweetmeats and an amazing range of sweet and sour chutneys and pickles. The entire meal achieves a delicate balance of sweet and sour, salty and spicy, crispy and soft, low fat and deep-fried! Gujarat is also known as the land of milk and butter, hence an extensive use of yoghurt and buttermilk is seen in Gujarati dishes.
Apart from the thali, there is a wide array of Gujarati cuisine which is prepared uniquely and consumed with a lot of relish – the staple dish of Gujarati cuisine is the khichdi (a simple lentil and rice mixture) – usually chawal and mung daal – eaten with kadhi (a sweet and sour curry made with yogurt using bay leaves, ginger, chilies and finely chopped vegetables). Main dishes are based on steamed vegetables and daals that are added to a vaghaar, which is a mixture of spices cooked in hot oil and adjusted to the digestive qualities of the main ingredient. Salt, sugar, lemon, lime, and tomato are used frequently to prevent dehydration in an area where temperatures reach 50 degree Celsius under the shade! The cuisine changes with the seasonal availability of vegetables and in some families, the spices also change depending on the season. Garam Masala and its constituent spices are used less in summer. Some of the well-known Gujarati delicacies are Paunk (a savoury snack which is a combination of various roasted cereals); Undhiyoon (a speciality of potatoes, sweet potatoes, brinjals and broad beans baked in an earthenware pot in a mud oven), khamam dhokla (a steamed sweet and salty cake made from chickpea flour), shrikhand (a dessert made from yoghurt spiced with saffron, nuts, cardamom and dry fruit) and doodh pak (a dessert of thick sweetened milk with dry fruit and nuts).
Even though the state of Gujarat has absorbed many outside influences down the ages, the cuisine has remained much the same. Every region’s cuisine evolves on the basis of available local ingredients and the climatic conditions. A very healthy and heavy meal popular in the villages near Saurashtra during the cold winters consists of thick Rotis called Bhakhri – Bajra flour, garlic chutney, onion and lots of buttermilk. It is a good source of heat which suits the villagers working on their fields in the harsh winters. Similary, sweets were prepared with ingredients like local sugar cane, jaggery, milk, almonds, and pistachios. These were originally served at weddings and family occasions as an instant energy booster for relations travelling long distances to attend the functions.
I could go on and on about Gujarati cuisine, but the sad truth is that this cuisine travelled in odd, half-hearted ways outside the state. The dhoklas, khandvi, assorted farsaans are well known and liked; the chutneys and pickles are sought after and the shrikhand has been marketed well by Amul! But the country has not sampled the main course dishes, the deliciously thin rotis and the apparently endless varieties of khichdi. The kachumbers (salads) are simple but extraordinary; Gujarati cooking has a taste for sesame seeds and peanuts (used to add crunch and protein), which is quite similar to Thai food. While the Thais argue that Gujarati traders travelling to Thailand and Malaysia borrowed the idea from them; historians have a different interpretation. Either way, I’m not complaining. They have converted a Punjabi-Daal Makhani & Butter Chicken lover into a shaak-enthusiast! For a taste of some authentic Gujarati cuisine, I suggest a visit to Suruchi*, at Karol Bagh.
***
*Suruchi
15 A / 56, W.E.A., Karol Bagh,
Opp. Roopak Stores, Ajmal Khan Road,
New Delhi: – 110005
Phone#: +91-11- 42503514 / 16 / 17 / 18
Look Mama, where I’m at!
Remember this? Pay attention to the second review.
Now, look at what I found? Notice the third review! Heh, I’m quite thrilled! Especially so, beh-cause they picked it up themselves! :)
Lunch in Gurgaon. Part 2
It is a truth universally acknowledged that two women in possession of an appetite can sniff out deals from the end of the world (if required!).
Such was the case when Giggly and Sirop met for lunch, say after a decade, with a plan to EAT, for that’s what sales and marketing and all that jazz do to you. Make you think, think hard, about WHY you do this EVERYDAY of your life! And all you can think of is good food and JD n coke and Lavazza Coffee.
Giggly picked me up and we were on our way for Chinjabi* at Bercos** when we spotted the Ibis Hotel. We commented on the Rs 4400/- per night sign, we laughed, oh I laughed Giggly, well, she giggled. We saw the buffet signage as well and turned in. The idea was to check the price per head for the buffet. I feel I should precede this statement with a quote or some such, for what we felt when we were told the buffet price/rate was pure joy. We would have given the server a hug if he had been a tad errr… stationery(?!). Ladies and Gentlemen… Drumrollll!!!!!!!!! Please! For an ENTIRE buffet spread at the IBIISSSS HOTEL! YOU. HAVE. TO. PAY. Rs. 395 +tax! (That is $8.50 +tax).
We sit there, we are happy. We notice the lack of sea food in the buffet spread, so we order a prawns appetizer (Rs 199 +tax only). It was quite yummeh! We got some nice Lemon Coriander soup. So what if we had to visit another part of the world to get ourselves bread and butter? The breads were nice and the butter… let’s see, isn’t it always lovely? Apart from the layout of the buffet, the concerns were in the vicinity of zilch.
We then moved on to some ham and some cheese and some salad… not too much variety in the cold cuts section, but then, you ARE in India. We like our “curries” more eh? Yes, we do. We piled up our plates with Chicken Butter Masala and Dal and asked for some naans. While we ate, I realised, I did have a craving for Chinese after all! I stopped at one Naan; sauntered off in the direction of the wok, and asked the chef for some chow and lamb (with baby corn, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli! et al) in hot garlic. The chef obliged and soon I was staring at a big bowl of stir fry veggies and pan fried noodles. Yummn! For that is made to your specifications. You also have an option to get some pasta prepared. There are also a LOT of vegetarian dishes, which I didn’t deign worthy of my attention. The paneers and mixed vegetables and even a spinach caneloni (no theme, just variety!).
I noticed that the spread was very typical of any wedding or bash where caterers are told to just provide everything. Not that I’m complaining, but choices that make sense are welcome, no? Hmmm… even a theme or some sort of planning is ideal before putting out a buffet. Don’t you think? Yes, yes, but it’s just Rs 395 +tax! So, no complaining, just a LOT of eating!
The desserts ranged from Kalakand to brownies to Ice cream Sundaes (of course, the DIY variety or should I just stick to Make Your Own Sundaes?). So, we ate and ate and were about to burst when Giggly got super excited about red mugs for coffee (Yes, I hummed the Nescafe jingle!). I was so happy to see that they used the Lavazza brew… So happy!
Giggly and Sirop drink coffee!
I suggest this place be visited with friends; in a good mood; to eat a lot of food. :) Don’t expect much from the cuisine… it all ranges from decent to good. The value for money makes it worthwhile! Have fun!
*Chinese with a very North Indian Punjabi flavour to it
**A restaurant we will soon discuss
Lunch in Gurgaon! Part 1
Everyday, every single day, work takes me to this amazing example of architecture gone crazy, town management gone to the dogs and infrastructure lacking any structure.
Yes, how did you guess? Oh! I’ve said it a thousand times already? The much hated, much visited Gurgaon. No, don’t worry, I’m not going to discuss the many wonderful traits of Gurgaon. I am going to talk about the places where we eat, which obviously depends on the said lunch/dinner’s proximity to the salary day. So, let’s eat!
The buffet at Mainland China seals the deal. They take some 395+ tax on weekdays and some 495+ tax on Fridays for a pretty size-able and tasty spread.
You get your soup and starters: 2 non-veg, 3 veg, including dim-sums right on the table. Then you do the picking and choosing from a variety of prawns, crabs, lamb, fish and chicken dishes. Yes, there are lots of options for vegetarians as well. There’s the bean curd deal happening, some tofu, lots of veggies and mushrooms and potatoes are plenty. The rice and noodle options are pretty interesting. I found the kimchi rice very very nice and so was the sea food chow! It’s all about second helpings here!
You can order some wine (not included in the package, of course) or whatever drink you fancy to go along with your food. You can also behave yourself and drink copious amounts of Chinese tea, hoping that all that food you had will not add to your waistline or whatever it is that health conscious people worry about! It’s good food, and at a good price of say Rs 600-700 per head including tax and no extras. The tables are nice, could have been more comfortable. The place does business, so you may want to check on Fridays before showing up… weekdays are alright… the office lunch crowd is all around you… so feel right at home!
My only complaint is the dessert section. It truly makes my heart bleed. The mousse I make would be better. The brownies I bake in under an hour are immensely superior. The ice cream I buy feels tastier! It’s just a sad looking dessert corner, with sad dessert and the darsan, which is something a lot of us look forward to is of poor quality and soggy. My suggestion is to fill up on the food and go out and get an ice cream or a bar of chocolate.
All in all, if you can give dessert a miss (oh just have some ice cream and chocolate sauce and don’t experiment), then go for it! Sea food lovers will enjoy this place and so will anyone who is a Indo-Chinese food enthusiast!
I give it a rating of 3.8
Ambience – 3 (Office crowd)
Food – 4
Drinks – 4
Service – 4
Spend – 700 per head (only for the Lunch buffet!)
A Sichuan Speciality Restaurant
I had heard a lot about this restaurant. It ranged from it being over-priced to “fine dining”, to “bahut hi authentic hai yaar…”.
Well, I finally went there for my birthday lunch, my foster boss and foster colleague and a friend took me out for my birthday. Me being me, I spotted the Table D’Hot menu and spoke to the server about it. For 600 per person, if more than 2 people are at the table, you get -
Cream of Crab Soup :)
1 Non Veg and 1 Veg Starter (Fish and mushrooms)
2 Main courses (Chicken and Lamb)
1 Fried Rice (Shrimp fried rice)
Dessert (Home-made chocolate ice cream)
So, we decided to go in for this option… except for our vegetarian friend who ordered some Bean curd with mixed fried rice – which was quite yummy…
The deal with the food here is that it is NOT your usual Chinese grub. There is no Chilly Chicken or Manchurian. There are no Crispy Chilly Potatoes! But… there is stir fried chicken with bell peppers and ginger and shitake mushrooms… with hints of balsamic vinegar. There is lamb in the red chilli and garlic paste. There is fried rice that is so delicately fried with beautiful baby shrimp that you stop and breathe in the aromas and even catch notes of fish sauce in there. There is pickled ginger… there is lemon grass to accompany it… fresh baby shallots… button mushrooms going well with shitake… peppers and shredded meats… it’s all quite lovely.
But somehow, the chilli is too much. It burns your lips once the meal is over, and makes your eyes water. Luckily, the ice cream is creamy and smooth and oh so lovely. I think my glass of Gentleman’s Jack, made me love the food more. Or the fact that it was my burrr-day! The meal was good, it was definitely different from Indian Chinese restaurants. Of course it was Indian-ised a little (more frying, more caramelising of onions etc, more spices) but then… who would eat it otherwise? So, an experience worth having… but be ready to pay for it :)
I give it a rating of 3.6
Ambience – 3.5 (Nice, quiet)
Food – 4
Drinks – 4
Service – 3 (A little slow)
Spend – 2000 + taxes per head (A drink per person, Table D’Hot + Extra appetizers or main course dishes… so you do the math)
That’s all for now… we will review some more interesting lunching options next!
