Tag: india travel
India- Long Awaited Experience…
Just a couple days left until we fly back home. It has been a good trip, filled with great food, family visits and some shopping as well. I love going away on vacations to new and old places alike.. but more than that I love going home. I like relaxing and taking it easy where ever I am but I really look forward to going home and getting back into my routine- I feel a bit lost without it.
Anyway, I was saving the best for last. As I mentioned before, a trip to Delhi for me means a trip to Bukhara, which is a high-end Indian restaurants serving my favorite kind of cuisine- kebabs, etc. I saved this visit for almost the end of my trip- there really wasn’t any other time to go.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I also went to a place called Colonel Kababz, which is similar to Bukhara but very down to earth with prices to match. The food there was spectacular and I had something to compare to.
We walked into the very fancy Mauryas Hotel, covered in beautiful and expensive marble. A very pleasant, flowery aroma followed us to the restaurant in the back of the building. The space was exactly the same as I remember more than five years ago. We sat down and were brought the menu right away.
We ordered seekh kebabs (minced goat meat with spices cooked on a skewer), barrah kebabs (chunks of leg of goat with the bones, expertly marinated), bukhara dal (dal makhani) and two pudina paranthas (bread topped with dried mint- my favorite).
We sipped our bottled water and waited for the food. The kebabs, dal and bread came promptly. The barrah kebabs were delicious- perfectly marinated and super flavorful, especially with the bones intact. The seekh kebabs were okay- nothing special, especially since I was able to do a direct comparison with the other place. Colonel Kababz seekh kebabs were far more superior – they were tender and almost melted in my mouth.
The famous Bukhara dal was adequate- not as good as the one I had the other day. I was quite disappointed. I have no problem spending big bucks for fabulous cuisine- but it has to out of this world. This experience was good but nothing outstanding.
I am not sure if I will return to Bukhara- it doesn’t seem worth my time or money, especially when I can get better food for a quarter of the money.
India- Time for the real favorites…
More than a week has already passed. When we planned the trip, two weeks seemed a lot of time to do all sorts of things. The rest of the time will be spent eating my all time favorite part of Indian cuisine- tikkas. Tikkas are tender morsels of any meat, marinated in different spices to perfection and then cooked in a clay oven or tandoor. The result is melt-in-your-mouth taste that is out of this world. We do have decent restaurants in New Jersey serving these preparation, but nothing can compare to all the places here in Delhi.
We made our way to Colonel Kababz near by. I was super excited to try all sorts of things including dal makhani and pudina parantha. We ordered the malai kebab (tender chicken pieces in a creamy marination), kalmi kebab (chicken legs cooked to perfection), seekh kebab (minced goat meat with spices), dal makhani and lots of bread. The meal was delicious- the meats were prepared with just the right amount of spices and the dal was out of this world. We noticed the thick layer of butter on top of the lentils and for a second I thought of removing it- but then I proceeded to eat it exactly how they served it. The butter makes it more delicious. My daughter loved the chicken tikkas- found them a bit spicy but managed to eat it.
My next stop- Bukhara– my all time favorite place to go for this cuisine. It is a must for me every time I come back. This time it is after five years and I am really looking forward to it. Will take lots of pictures and report back….
Cochin – Day Two
Day two started with a buffet breakfast filled with Western and South Indian dishes. The best part for me was the coffee- yes I know I keep going on and on about it but I do love it. We walked by the ocean for a while and took a three wheeler to another part where we were looking for a place called Grand Hotel. Before reaching the hotel we stopped at a spice market filled with peppercorns, cardamoms, coffee, vanilla beans and ginger candy. I bought a bunch of stuff and headed to the hotel. It was a modest space with a large restaurant. The food was supposed to be outstanding with extremely reasonable prices. We found the place and walked in. We had also read about a specific fish curry called karimeen. It is a back water fish and was highly recommended. We ordered the fish masala, a prawn curry and bread. I had glass of fresh lime soda- which is essentially lemonade made with club soda instead of water. As we waited for the meal, I noticed everyone enjoying their food around us. Finally the food came.. the fish curry was the best we have ever had. It was a perfect combination of onions, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds and curry leaves. It was a whole fish and we got busy trying to get every bit and avoiding the small, sharp bones. It was an amazing dish. The prawn curry was good but the fish took the cake- so to speak.
Dinner was at Malabar Junction, a restaurant in Hotel Malabar House. I opted for the tasting menu- a seven course, long meal. The first two courses were okay, a bit bland. I asked our server to make my food spicy- I reminded him I was Indian and could handle whatever came my way. The next few courses were nicely spiced and delicious. The sixth course stood out – it was fish biryani and spiced yogurt. It was delicious, flavored rice with delicate morsels of fish. The dessert was stewed fruit in a Napoleon shape with a sorbet. It was a good ending to the meal but the fish curry from the afternoon stood out as the clear winner.
India- Day One in Cochin
It my first time here in the south western part of India in Kerala. We are in Cochin right by the Arabian sea. I have been looking forward to this trip as I have never been south of Mumbai. The culture, language and food are completely different down here. In fact the common language is English. We reached here yesterday afternoon after a 4 hour flight and an hour long drive to our small, boutique hotel nestled by the ocean. I can see the boats and ferries passing by from our room- it is quite beautiful. We arrived exhausted from our journey and as we walked to our room, I noticed they had a massage center. Perfect.. I booked a massage and went down for a snack of fried fish pieces sauteed in curry leaves and a big pot of South Indian coffee. The coffee here is delicious- very different from the coffee I have back home. It is nuttier and not as complex as some of the other coffees. I love it- it is served with the milk cooked right into the hot beverage. I was happy and looking forward to my massage.
In the evening we headed into the town and walked around looking at all the stores filled with spices and lots of silk handicrafts. I can’t wait to go back and buy some peppercorns and cardamom. We found a local seafood restaurant called Oceanos restaurant. Most local restaurants don’t serve beer or wine- so we had a delicious ginger lime soda. They brought a glass with a bit of lime and ginger concentrate with a bottle of club soda and a little container of simple syrup.
From the menu we ordered a green mango shrimp curry, a Kerala chicken curry, lemon rice and an appam (local bread). The mango shrimp curry was amazing- great combination of savory and sour. We asked for the curries to be medium spicy as my husband doesn’t do spicy. I asked for a pickle on the side to make it spicier for me- the pickle was amazing. The food was really good and so was the dessert- it was panna cotta with honey figs- absolutely delicious. Somehow I was not expecting to eat a panna cotta in South India. The South Indian coffee was amazing- as usual. As we finished, the chef came out and asked how everything was. We complemented him and asked about the mango pickle. He promptly went into the kitchen and filled a jar of it and refused to take any money for it.
The people are amazingly friendly and super nice. There is a large Portuguese influence down here. Lots of seafood and beef as well- which is different than the rest of the country. Stay tuned for tomorrows adventure…
India- It is so hard to choose a favorite…
I realize I have been going on about my favorite things to eat… there are so many to choose from – I am feeling quite overwhelmed. I find myself thinking about what I will be eating even more than I normally do- I am not sure how that is possible but somehow I am doing it.
One very fond memory of mine is to go for a meal to a fancy hotel’s coffee shop. In India a lot of the very good restaurants reside inside very fancy hotels. I have vivid memories of these fancy, large lobbies leading to some very good eateries. One of the things I remember eating a lot were chicken sandwiches. Delicate, poached chicken was served with soft white bread- yum! I used to wash it down with a tall glass of cold coffee with ice cream. As I got older, I started eating club sandwiches. Club sandwiches taste quite different in India than they do in the US. These have soft chicken pieces, delicious European style bacon and a fried egg- served with fresh, hot french fries.
I went to La Baguette in the Imperial Hotel. We sat down and I saw the club sandwich on the menu and didn’t look at anything else. I was quite taken aback with the price, almost $20 for the sandwich!!
Well, the taste was worth it- well, almost. I realize it was quite a lot for that meal but to me it was worth re-living the memory. The taste was exactly how I remember. The chicken was tender, the bacon was delicious and the fries were hot, crispy and fresh. Everything was done to perfection… it made me happy.