RESTAURANT REVIEW: MIA BELLA, HKV

For the view, if at all

I don't have words.

This blog is irrelevant. I know this even better now than I ordinarily do because despite the hundreds of thousands of words I have scribbled, typed and posted, places like Mia Bella are still opening up.

Looks Like

Where do I even begin? I think the owners had some sort of vague idea, perhaps based on a bar or a restaurant they saw in a magazine or on holiday, which they’ve decided to half assedly implement in Hauz Khas Village, a village of many such half assed endeavours.

The walls are a bright mash of colors with some very amateur murals. The furniture is oddly high and placed uncoordinatedly over the space. The bar is an eyesore. Clearly nobody here is a details person, a charming wooden boat has been flung way above eye level over an exposed air conditioning unit. There’s a DJ console on the side from which wires are sticking out and bits of board are falling off.

The only thing really working for Mia Bella is the view but frankly there are lots of places in HKV looking out on to the lake and I’d rather go to Dzukou and pair an amazing view with great food and an ambience that didn’t feel like it was trying so hard.

 Tastes Like

God knows. I’d gone with every intention to eat at Mia Bella but I couldn’t bring myself to once I got there. The menu is a strange mangle of Indian kebab style food, not very authentic sounding Italian and a totally misplaced street food of the world section. Each of which by itself might have worked. All of it together just seems like a mess.

On Wednesdays, they offer free cocktails to women – the Caprioska was well made but the Cosmopolitan, sickly, sweet and overpowered with syrup. The lure of free alcohol on the pretty balcony may bring me back to Mia Bella but that’s just because I’m cheap and usually broke.

It’s not that the place is really bad. It’s just why would you bother with something so mediocre? Save your money – if you want to get a drink, there are so many places with more soul. If you’re looking for food, you’ll get so much better for so much less. Don’t waste your time.

 

I can't focus on the drink, the walls are distracting me.

Feels Like

One Wednesday night the place was full up with young, drunken girls. All my single male friends: you know where to go if you’re free on Wednesday. But only the very young or totally without discernment would be able to spend much time here.

 

My favourite thing about the place.

Should you go: Only for the view.

Vegetarian Options: Yes
Liquor License: Yes
Smoking Area: Yes
Address: On top of Yeti but to be more specific, 50 A, 3rd & 4th Floor, HKV
Phone: 011 30146022 ext:917

INDIA OFFROADS WITH A SLICE OF LEMON OLIVE OIL CAKE

  

Aman Rajgotra fits perfectly in this series on awesome people who got their act together and put their money where their mouth is. Aman is Trekker and Chief Trip Planner for India Offroads, an organization focused on introducing tourists to the complete India experience through their trips to various destinations in India, including the Rann of Kutch, the stunning Chitrakote falls in Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Gopeshwar.

 

Photo Credits: Priyanka Sardana
How can you not want to see this?!

 

I love their choice of unusual destinations and their commitment to providing alternate sources of livelihood to the villagers at the locations they cover. As we get older and busier, it seems to become harder and harder to coordinate travel plans with friends and family. India Offroads seems like a great chance to explore some of incredible India and make some new friends along the way.

 

Their trip to the Valley of Flowers is on my travel to do list for 2014. You can find out more about them on their website here or on their facebook page here.

 

Hope to be here at some point next year.

In honor of the wonderful team at India Offroads I'm going to cut myself a slice of this feather light, impossibly soft and zesty lemon olive oil cake. I'm not too pleased with the quality of pictures here and I may make the cake again and take better ones next time but don't let my lack of talent discourage you from trying this recipe. It's a very interesting process for baking a cake and uses very little flour and no butter. It's still the softest sponge you're ever going to taste.

 

 

Serves 8

Recipe adapted from Sweet Paul Magazine

 

What you’ll need:

1 cup flour

1 cup water

6 eggs (separated)

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup olive oil (use your best, it’s going to make a huge difference)

½ lemon’s juice

Zest of lemon

 

How to:

 

1. Preheat oven to 175°C and grease up a baking tin. I have a huge fondness for my bundt pan so I’ decided to whip it out again.

 

2. Beat the egg yolks and ½ cup of sugar till you have a thick pale mixture. This might take some time and I think would be best done with an electric whisk. Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil. Then carefully fold in the flour being careful not to overmix.

 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk 4 egg whites till foamy. Add some sugar and keep whisking till your mix is holding up soft peaks. Be patient this can take some time.

 

4. Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture 1/3 at a time. Not whisking aggressively! Just stir the eggs whites in gently.

 

5. Bake about 45 minutes and try the toothpick test. Once your toothpick is coming out clean, take the cake out of the oven and let it cool completely.

 

 

PRODUCT REVIEW: BAMBINO READYMADE IDLI MIX

 This idli experiment was unplanned - one Sunday afternoon my brother and I were foraging around the kitchen for a snack and discovered we were out of Maggi. This turned out to be a blessing because I wouldn't have tried using this mix otherwise.

 

I can't in good conscience not mention that I would have liked the idlis to be a little softer but they're hot, quick and easy to put together and require minimal prep and ingredients. With some yoghurt and lemon juice you'll be able to whip up a batch in under 30 minutes. The best part is the ingredient list contains no artificial coloring, preservatives or other nasties.

 

Recipe from the Bambino packet

What you’ll need:
 

 

1 portion Bambino Rava Idli mixture

1 ½ portions yoghurt

Juice of ½ lime

1 -2 green chillis (chopped)

Handful of chopped cilantro leaves

 

How to :

 

Basically follow the packet instructions, but after making 2 batches this is how I figured to do it:

 

1. Add the lime juice to the yoghurt and let the yoghurt sour for 10 – 15 minutes.

 

2. Add the idli mix and stir well. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. The mix will fluff up and start to bubble gently as follows:

 

 

Note: I was worried that the mix might become lumpy but it actually stirs up into a smooth paste quite easily.

 

3. Add cilantro leaves and chillies to the batter.

 

4. Pull out your idli stand and brush down the little idli cups with some vegetable oil. Spoon in the batter and put the stand into a pressure cooker with about 2 ½ cups of water in it.

 

Note: Make sure the last rung of your idli stand is well above the water because when you shut the pressure cooker, the water will boil and bubble up. You don’t want it to mix with the idli batter – you’ll end up with a lot of sludge.

5. Take the whistling thing off the top of your pressure cooker and shut it. Let cook for about 10 – 15 minutes or till you think the water has all escaped as steam.

 

6. Pop the idlis out of the cups and serve with chutney.

 

 

VIVAT AND A SWEET SUMMER BREEZE

 

 

The very pretty and very talented Devangee Ganatra and Shruti Chowdhary put their great taste to work for our benefit, retailing beautiful (and affordable) jewellery and clothes through their enterprise Vivat. Like superheroes but fighting for fashion good.

 

 

The superhero comparison is apt because these girls are passionate about working with local craftsmen and artisans and sharing their profits with them. And since good begets good, they've been retailing online very successfully and have had shows, exhibitions and private sales in everywhere from Bombay, Calcutta, Muscat to the UK and US. To find out more and check out the merchandise take a look at their facebook page here.

 

 

Here's a toast to these lovely ladies for having the courage to take a shot at their dream jobs and doing such an amazing job of it! This minty fresh, effervescent cocktail is a perfect accompaniment to Vivat's style.

 

On my wishlist =)

 

What you'll need:

30 ml vodka or white rum (optional)

3/4 cup Sprite

Watermelon (balled with a melon baller and the seeds removed)

Chunks of Cucumber

Mint leaves

Juice of 1 lemon

Ice

How to:

Assemble all ingredients, pour into a glass and adjust as per taste. Serve chilled.

 

RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE EMBASSY, CONNAUGHT PLACE

For a blast from the past.

 

It's not a door. It's a kind of teleportation device.

Walking into this place is like being transported back in time to the mid 80s. Or at least what I imagine the mid 80s to be like since I was only born in the late 80s myself. At 12:30 on Friday afternoon the place is packed and there’s nobody here under the age of 55. Maybe not mid 80s - mid 70s? Deep fried snacks and endless cups of tea are being served up by the kilogram and retired bureaucrats are stuffing their faces with abandon.
 

I have (as usual) missed breakfast so I’m in the mood for a heavy, Indian lunch.

 

And a heavy Indian meal is what I got.

Looks Like

 

The place clearly has not been renovated in the recent past since no designer has acknowledged this aesthetic in the last 25 years. Don’t get me wrong, it is crazy outdated but clean and perfectly well maintained. The design scheme is pretty much just plain walls and wooden furniture so I guess there was little havoc time could wreck. On the other hand the place makes me feel nostalgic which is more than good enough if the food is good. And the food is good.

 



Retired bureaucrats. Got to love them.



 Tastes Like

 

The menu (along with everything else about the place) is a relic of the past. Meat and butter explosions like the Bombe de Moscowa and Chicken a la Kiev are served along side equally indulgent Indian foods like the classic Butter Chicken and the rich, spicy Rara Meat. I imagine the chef is an old man who’s been handling this menu for years, it’s not up scale and he knows little subtlety but if you like this kind of food, you’re not going to be disappointed.
 

The Amritsari Macchi and Tangdi Kebabs make perfect appetizers and the quirky, retro pineapple raita works as a soothing side. I can imagine a lot of people wouldn’t be interested in a place so stolid but I find that sometimes I’m just not in the mood for HKV cuteness or ginormous mall cupidity. I don’t always want to look at little adornments, chalkboard menus and silly berry fizzers to drink ( I’m looking at you Edward’s and your ilk at HKV).

Sometimes I just want to nail a creamy Butter Chicken with hot Garlic Naan with a very cold bottle of Coke. And they have the old glass bottles! Something about the seemingly unimaginative Embassy makes me feel vaguely patriotic, sort of proud of what we were before we became a culture reconciling How I Met Your Mother with Arnab Goswami.

 

Hot Naan. And the perverse Pineapple Raita

Feels Like

The staff are pros – efficient, very capable and be prepared for your food to turn up quickly. There’s old fashioned cutlery made out the kind of metal that sits heavy in your hands, thick white plates, finger bowls and very reasonable prices.

 

Look at that perfect char, a little crispness on the outside, melt in the mouth on the inside. That's years of culinary experience on a plate.

 

 

Should you go:  Yes!

Vegetarian Options: Yes

Liquor License: Yes

Smoking Area: No

Address:  11D Connaught Place, New Delhi

Phone: 011 23416434, +91 9311085132

GUEST POST! MATHREE BY RADHIKA AGRAWAL!

 

Most of my extended family believes that Mathree and Pickle (alternatively, Tamarind Chutney) is one of the best combinations in the world – me, I’m rooting for the Masala Tea with Parle G biscuits.  Having said that, these homemade Mathrees are delicious – they’re lighter and crisper than store-bought versions which are usually made entirely of Maida and fried in Ghee. Plus, at home, you can goof around with different shapes using cookie cutters. J

Recipe  Joan Jyotsna Agrawal

Photos Radhika Agrawal

 

What You Need:

3 cups Maida

1 cup Suji/Semolina

3/4 cup Ghee (heated

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Ajwain

Knife/Bowl/ Cookie Cutters

 

How To:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients with the Ghee. Using some cold water, knead the dough.

2. Make dough-balls and use a rolling pin to flatten out each one (the thinner it is, the crisper they’ll turn out).

3. Cut out the shapes you want using a steel bowl or cookie cutters. You could also just cut strips using a knife.

4. This is important – Using a fork, prick each Mathree once (make sure you hear the fork hitting the kitchen counter, basically). If you don’t do this, they’ll swell up into, well, pooris while frying.
 

5. Fry about 10 at a time, in a deep-bottomed wok/Kadhai on medium flame until golden brown. Turn them over once in the middle. You could let them rest/cool on a newspaper for a while to soak up excess oil. These can be stored in an airtight container for weeks.