Why is Indian food so tasty?

It is said that Indian food is renowned across the world for the flavours with which it is cooked. There had been several researches which prove that the combination of the spices that are there in the Indian curries makes it stand apart from the rest of the world. The other day, I visited one of the popular North Indian restaurants in Gurgaon and I was bowled over by the taste of the foods they served it made me realize that no matter what, i would always consider Indian food as my first love!

Indian cuisine holds a special position in the hearts of all Indians. No matter how much we all swear by Continental or Tex-Mex cuisine, we all return to our home made Rajma chawal at the end of the day. After doing a bit of research, I found out that Indian food is so delectable due to lesser amount overlapping flavours in it, unlike western cuisines wherein the ingredients used are similar in flavour.
Indian food stands apart in this sector as it has at least 7 types of flavours in an average simple preparation. The cooking procedure too has a lot to do with the taste which is generally an extensive process including several steps. The spices contribute in its own way to the final taste pf the meal.

My friend, who happens to be a chef in one of the renowned restaurants in Saket Dhaba by Claridges, said that Indian have a distinct way of pairing up staples with main course which adds to the quantity and the taste of the meal. The way some dishes are best paired up with roti, paratha and rice is something which Indian have been adept at since time immemorial. In fact, the breads that Indians have their individual taste like, Missi roti, tandoori naan etc. So I believe Indian food can be the best culinary experience for us Indians, and for people outside India.

My favourite North Indian restaurant

Being a food aficionado, I am always open to trying out different cuisines and restaurants. There is nothing that makes me happier than starting and ending my day with good food. Food does not merely give me energy to live; it makes my life worth living. But just like all other human beings, I too have small flaws. I happily visit the known, the unknown, the new, and the old restaurants for all cuisines but North Indian. There is only one restaurant that satisfies my taste buds when it comes to North Indian food and it is none other than Dhaba by Claridges in Saket.

And it is not just the amazing food that attracts me to that place. The typical dhaba-like ambiance, quick service, full-of-life staff who would surely raise the spirits of every person with their dance on a Bollywood number etc. are things that I simply can’t find anywhere else. Though I have tried some pretty great North Indian restaurants in Gurgaon and Delhi, I keep going back to my favourite restaurant in Saket. But when it comes to other cuisines, I am always up for a new adventure.

There is another annoying habit of mine because of which my friends have often had to suffer. There are so many reliable food websites nowadays which help people decide upon restaurants. I unfortunately do not like to form an opinion about a place without visiting it myself as I wish to give every restaurant a fair chance. While some restaurants turn out to be great, we have also had instances wherein we ran to save our lives. Just kidding! But yes, when my friends are not impressed with the food, they do make it a point to torture me later on. While you think about my weird nature, I need to get going as we have a dinner reservation at a renowned Italian joint. Arrivederci! 

The perfect re-union!

I was born in Canada and was there for a considerable period of my life. My family moved back to India when I was 18 years old. Needless to say, my heart sank when I had to bid farewell to my best friend, Clara. It seemed like forever after moving to India that I did not meet her. Skype calls and e-mails were frequent but nothing beats a face to face chat. Years rolled by and we both made other friends, but it never happened that Clara and I were not in touch. She kept telling me that she would visit India, but I never thought that she really would, one day!

It was on my engagement day she surprised me with her sudden appearance. I was probably happier seeing her than my engagement ring! She had it all coordinated with my parents and kept her visiting plans under wraps. A few days later, I showed her around Delhi, all that she heard of, she saw it herself. It was an unreal feeling for both of us! I thought of giving her everything she wanted! She wanted something very simple though, authentic North Indian food! I took her to Dhaba By Claridges in Saket which is close to my house, and man she liked it! Although she didn’t quite get the concept of a Dhaba, she loved the food, the quirky décor and the drinks so much so that she wanted another round of North Indian food.

My fiancé and I took her to one of the best North Indian restaurants in Gurgaon the very next day and she savored every bit of it! She struggled a bit with the spices, but it was commendable the way she managed to eat it. She said never in her life did she think spicy food could be so tasty! Another thing she asked from me was a simple promise; that I would visit her, when she got engaged. I couldn’t say no and promised right away. My heart sank again while saying the final goodbye, but I hoped she got engaged soon, so that I could see her again!

My best friend’s farewell food!

The fact that my best friend- that one person I can share anything and everything with- would soon move to Mumbai to pursue her higher studies was already too hard to sink in; but planning her surprise farewell party where everybody would shower her with good wishes for a brighter future was even harder. I was happy for her of course, but not happy enough to let her go pursue her passion in a different city.

But I did what was needed to be done. I wanted to throw her the most memorable farewell party, and I did. While she was at work, we decorated her room with her favourite flowers, ordered the most magnificent cake we knew she would devour in just an hour, but most importantly we arranged for a lot of North Indian food (her favourite cuisine) from one of the famous home delivery restaurants in Saket. I still remember the surprised look on her face when she entered her room. She loved the party and we all just ate, sang, and danced the entire evening. This might sound clichéd, but in the end, we all hugged and cried together. We all have been friends since childhood and the fact that one of us would be moving away just made us emotional. And then when everyone went back home, I stayed over and while munching on the leftovers, we just talked and talked.

She left yesterday but not before lunching with me in one of her favourite North Indian restaurants in Gurgaon. She loves to eat and doing anything else before leaving for airport would have not been quite right. She, her parents, her twin sister, and I spent some happy moments together at that lovely restaurant. She would be back for Diwali holidays but being a big foodie, she can’t wait to have her favourite North Indian food from her favourite restaurant. Well, at least there is something that can lure her back to Delhi!

MY LOVE FOR SAKET

Delhi is full of life. Although every corner of Delhi is full of liveliness and enthusiasm, Saket is my favorite when it comes to deciding upon a one stop shop for the day. And not just shopping, my love for Saket is based on the all the amazing things it offers- from awesome places to roam to some of the best places to eat. While planning a day out with my friends, my vote generally goes to this beautiful location of South Delhi which is a perfect mix of culture, tradition and modernity. Delhi has some of the Best restaurants in saket offering a number of Indian as well as international cuisine. 

I remember the time when we had gone for celebrating our friend’s birthday and this restaurant simply added to our excitement by arranging for balloons and the birthday song. In addition to it, they gave us special birthday meals for without any extra charge. Shopping malls of saket are another reason for why I end up walking down to Saket. To beat the summer heat, I go to these malls with my friends and always get amazed by their decoration. These malls house multiplexes which make them a suitable choice for a day of movie and hangout. Both Indian as well as international stores of garments, shoes, cosmetics and bags etc. are available in these shopping malls. And as you climb up to the top floors of these malls, you will be spoilt by choices they offer on food items.  These malls are paradise for food lovers. It has cafes, bistros, multi cuisine restaurants, bars and food joints. Pizzas, burgers and donuts- just name the variant and you can find it right there!

In short, you don’t need to go to the best north indian restaurants in Gurgaon or the exquisite bars of CP, because Saket has it all.

A bad day that ended well

Have you ever experienced those days when nothing seems to go right? I am sure you have. I too was having a terrible day very recently. Each thing I attempted to do on that particular day fell apart one by one. It was a Saturday and yet I had woken up early in the morning to take care of a few tasks. By around 7 in the evening, I felt completely exhausted- mentally, physically, and emotionally. Having read a lot of inspirational books in my life, I decided to change my attitude towards the situation and deliberately made a dinner plan with my sister and her friend. We decided to visit one of the well-known North Indian restaurants in Gurgaon. 

I tried to cheer myself up by wearing nice clothes. The moment we sat in the car, my eyes started burning. I was really sleep deprived and hence we made a slight change to the plan. Instead of visiting the Gurgaon chain of Dhaba By Claridges, we landed at its Saket branch. We ordered the famous Balti Meat and Butter Chicken along with Butter Naan and Garlic Naan. The Balti meat was served in a cute, little bucket and the meat was extremely tender and tasty. The butter chicken dish too was very well prepared. Trust me, after a long and tiring day, the food really cheered me up. While we were eating, we suddenly heard loud cheers from the crowd downstairs. After performing in the lower region of the restaurant, the staff members came upstairs and danced together on a popular Bollywood song. Their smiles and their energy really set the mood of the place and managed to raise my spirits further. 

I came back home much happier. Even though my day had started on a bad note, it ended well!

Dhaba by Claridges: The best restaurant in Delhi

“If you're a person who says yes most of the time, you'll find yourself in the hotel business and the restaurant business.”

Said Mr. Francis Ford Coppola, and Oh! How right was he!  At Dhaba by Claridges, the staff just never learnt to say no. Putting forward your request with a mesmerizing smile and infectious  enthusiasm, they make your meal, not just food but such a wonderful experience.

Serving exceptionally delicious dishes, it finds its place as the best restaurant in Delhi. The sumptuous Butter Chicken and Balti meat, presented in an even authentic look traditional dish, the small “kadai”are the place’s supreme specialty and never fails to tingle your taste buds every time you have a bite of it. This awesomely designed restaurant with a warm rural Dhaba like décor, is sure to WOW anyone who enters here. It’s got that “ desi” rustic appeal and solitude which is such a blessing in a busy cosmopolitan like ours.

Also, being one of the best north Indian Restaurants in Gurgaon, Dhaba by Claridges has found its place among the “must visit” restaurants for many top notch entrepreneurs and businessman, but it’s just not limited to a certain strata of society alone. This place serves something special for everyone, From customers choosing it as their first date venue, to couples celebrating their 50th marriage anniversary, Dhaba by Claridges, becomes a part of every customer’s special moments in life, to the extend that it is one of the reason behind those memorable moments.

If you thought food was nothing but  just an everyday routine, Visit Dhaba by Claridges and they will show you just how wrong you were! They emit this sheer happiness that serving their customers gives them, Hospitality here touches this new height, a height so unparalled by other eateries out there.

Truly, as one of the signboards at this Dhaba says: “HAMARE YAHAN KHAYEGA, DOBARA AAYEGA!” I  just couldn’t agree more, you should definitely visit this place. Come on, just put on that “bucket list” of yours, this is an experience you just can’t miss!

Adopting healthy cooking habits for Indian fare

Between doing laundry and mopping floors, what runs through our minds are the details of countless recipes, which are fondly associated with memories. Most homemakers and anyone who fancy cooking traditional Indian fare would know the feeling. The flaky crusts of a perfectly done cookie, the rich creamy consistency of a sauce or the thickness of the curry deserve all the contemplation and meditation and I give them that in between my daily chores. Ingredient by ingredient, every step of the recipe needs reflection and innovation. And the end result can always use up an extra pinch of sugar or a second dollop of ghee to add to the delight. 

However, the health conscious would definitely frown at my food filled with love, and fat! Well as I struggled to appease our family doctor and dietician with what was served on the table every day, I struggled with the taste—something I have never had a problem with. Even a bad food day in my kitchen could match up to the best north Indian restaurants in Gurgaon but adopting healthy cooking habits was detrimental for my kitchen, until I came across a friend, a food blogger, who passed on these tips. 

When you take out the clarified butter and heavy spices from the food, the focus is suddenly shifted to the underlying rich and subtler flavours that are available in abundance to play around with. Indian fare is a medley of veggies, dairy products, legumes and other grains and each lend a distinct flavour to the food, beside the onion garlic paste and spices. So the tip number one would be to start focusing on the taste of each and every ingredient individually, says a chef at a home delivery restaurants in Saket. 

Moreover, she is also a big advocator of a full course meal everyday rather than just the main course. It gives me space to sneak in a few nutritious bites in the face of homemade soups, baked veggies, sprout salads and grilled kebabs. It is also very satiating so the main meal that is laden with carbs only constitutes of a very little portion.

Satiate hunger pangs the right way

It’s no secret that that each one of us are so very hooked up in hectic schedule that an individual one hardly gets time for anything. Half the time we are concerned to finish the allotted tasks, which hovers on our head like anything. Well, we cannot certainly blame ourselves, weekends come and fly away and the only thing that we are left with is to again wait for the weekends. This is not the story of one or two individuals, indeed is common among all. In conjunction to combatting stress and tension, one hardly takes intuitive to pop-into the kitchen and cook what they have had been craving for. Consequentially, there’s no option left but to rely on jiffy meals. 

There’s undeniably a spiralling hike in manufacturing of ready to eat meals in the recent days, in comparison to a few years back, for which the increasing demand has to be accredited. Be it school going school child or an office going chap, prioritizes of pouncing upon ready to make food is same aid everyone. But alas this does not come with the surety that people do not wish to have butter infused naan, paratha, shahi paneer, kadhai paneer or butter chicken. Well, putting a full stop to mere-craving, north indian restaurants in Gurgaon comes as a happy call. No matter you’re vegetarian or a non-vegetarian enthusiast, restaurants like Dhaba by Claridges becomes a one stop destination for all. Flooded with range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian lip smacking cuisines, Dhaba by Claridges, restaurants in saket has it all to please the taste buds of every diner. Last but certainly not the least; the tharra menu comes as a happy call for all the cocktail lovers. So from next time onwards, whenever you happen to feel hunger pangs, instead of relying on those ready to eat food, it is presumed that you know what has to be done!!!

North Indian food-What makes this really flavoursome?

When in Delhi, won’t be wrong to say that it would be nothing less than a sin to miss out on delicious North Indian dishes which makes all the difference and creates a distinguishing Delhi’s flavour quotient. Restaurants in Saket stand on the clutches of the North Indians’ proclivity for the ultra-pure dairy products and cuisines that are cooked out here. Well, having least said, consider ghee dripping phulkas, without which our breakfast seems to be lifeless and so as our brunch. It’s true and might sound a little overblown to some of you, but the fact remains unchanged that majority of us just can’t resist without a heavy dose of ghee, milk, butter and honey.

Continuing about the North Indian families and their tryst with royal flavours, I would certainly add-in that I am one of those who no matter how unwell I am, just can’t resist without good food. Above all, north indian restaurants in Gurgaon give me ample reasons to pounce on tangy flavours as never before. Be it an avid vegetarian lover or a diehard non-vegetarian enthusiast, there’s something or the other special in every restaurant. Be it school, college office going or even homemakers, there are plenty of lip-smacking options to choose from. The hub-house of flavours, saket restaurants have many flavoursome dishes to choose from. 

On one hand wherein health is a priority for all, conversely lip smacking breads like pooris and kulchas for fuchaas and adults give them a reason to savour, without having to worry about anything and everything. So as a whole, those who have recently migrated to Delhi and are keen on delighting taste buds with some good-time food in Delhi, here you are, check out south Delhi and different restaurants here that are set to check out tangy flavours to choose from. 

So as a whole, what all you are thinking or worrying over much? There’s a lot more in which Delhi’s picturesque spots and lip smacking cuisines can delight you with, so just throw away the baggage full of strains behind and dive in deep the flavoursome world!!!

How Planning Comes in Handy While you are Cooking

I remember waking up to my mother instructing me to have things in control at home while she was leaving for a holy trip for a few days. For days I was baffled to wake up and sleep back with a concern about what to cook buzzing all around and about the day. What to prepare is the only thing I was perturbed with. It wasn’t the case that I haven’t cooked before but planning a meal is going to haunt me for ages now. It is not solely about the taste which may decide a meal but there are a lot many considerations and thoughts which get into while preparing a meal. 

When I was preparing a meal I made it a point to make it with a right balance of taste and health. Though it was a lot of trouble I confess, to prepare an appetizing palate considering the health part of it but few tips which I learnt from a chef from the best restaurants in Delhi came to the rescue. Sticking on to the nutritious value I prepared a plan to make the supper delectable. After chalking out a strategy I decided to prepare the breakfast nutritious, lunch savouring and heavy and dinner mostly light with a dessert with some home-made snacks in between.

Here are a few tips I adhered to while I planned and prepared the meals-

-Avoid including processed and readymade food, since we don’t have any control over its make-up. When having salads do not include pickles and dips into it. Apart from adding unnecessary calories they are unhealthy.

- I learnt this from a chef of a North Indian restaurants in Gurgaon that you must revisit the list of your groceries before you actually go shopping. Generally we don’t have a fixed idea what we will be buying and therefore the unrequired fuss about what to prepare. This kind of planning becomes much important in a big set up like a restaurant where managing an inventory itself is a task complex enough. 

-Pick a leaner piece of meat for palates which cannot be cooked with a lot of oil. Choose for extra virgin olive oil to make it healthier. Pick the organic, non-polished variants of rice and  pulses. While stocking on essential herbs and exotic vegetable for extra flavours do remember to opt for whole grain bread and pasta. 

Conclusively a bit of planning and sticking to something healthy and tasty at the same time helps you sail through even through the toughest time you are having while cooking.

What goes behind a successful restaurant?

Good food is so much more than just having something well-cooked to satiate your taste buds; rather it is a complete experience. Pleasing all the senses together, it is an inseparable aspect of luxuries of life. This is why, the food industry is undergoing an exponential growth. 

Picking up the cue on this, several north Indian restaurants in Gurgaon have revamped their services to offer nothing but the best. Taste obviously comes foremost, so, the best chefs are hired. Experienced and the best in the industry, they tactfully play with each and every ingredient to bring out the best flavours. Ideally, the rich and zesty tastes are preserved with perfection yet tweaked around to give it a distinctive tinge. And since every mother in Indian household knows how to cook excellent north Indian food, the expectation levels are high. The patrons want their favourite dishes served uniquely and then it is even more difficult to give it a signature hint and maintaining the consistency forever. The flexibility to play around is limited and yet you are expected to give outstanding results, says a chef at one of the best restaurants in Delhi. 

Then, as we know, mastering the taste buds isn’t the only challenge. The dish will be dressed well to give the patrons value for money. ‘Balti Meat’ would have lost half of its charm if it were not for the dressing of the curry in antique utensils with the cream and nut. Everything is touched-up to perfection before it is put on a table. 

Ambience is the next necessary factor. The look and feel of the place should be of comfort. Depending on the kind of theme you want to adopt, it can either be kept simple on the cue of country kitchen format or for the five-star luxury, it can be furnished like a fine-dine. A soothing interior with a laid back interior works the best, though you are pen to experiment your own fancy ideas.