Author: manuscrypts

Sultans of Spice

Somewhere out there is a hotelier influenced into Dire Straits. 🙂 SoS (no, don’t go by that acronym, I’m just using it because its easier 🙂 ) is a restaurant in Koramangala, part of the BluPetal business hotel. The hotel also has Zheng (Chinese) and Latte-Tude (Euro Indian cafe). Its located on the Jyoti Nivas College Road, here’s the map. SoS is on the fourth floor.

The restaurant has a mix of 3 cuisines – Dilli, Punjabi and Afghani. The ambiance is very pleasant, the lighting accentuates the paintings and the flagons, the seating is comfortable, and Jagjit Singh in the background adds to a relaxed feel.

On to the menu. Each section has a selection from each of the 3 cuisines. Karthik had recommended that I skip Punjabi and concentrate on the other two. After a look at the menu, i’d agree, only a couple of items are tempting enough to hold their own against the Afghan/Dilli onslaught. The menu starts with the Thandai, and you can choose from ‘Annanas ka panna’, ‘Pudina Shikanji’, ‘Boondi Jaljeera’, ‘Dilliwali Masala Chaas’, ‘Kale Gajar ki Kanji’, and so on (Rs.60-80). We chose a safe Amritsari malai lassi, only because I’d already troubled my stomach quite a bit in the afternoon with all sorts of stuff i hadn’t had in a while – liver, brain kind. (Chandu’s Military Hotel with a couple of tweeps, but that’s another story. 🙂 ) The lassi was described as ‘A thick sweet yoghurt drink, with a flavor of rose water, generously dunked with fresh cream and dry fruits’. It proved to be quite good, and they were generous with the cream, but you could try out some of the other stuff, mostly because you don’t come across them regularly.

You could also choose from the Shorba-e-Bahaar (soups) – Tamatar Dhaniya, Khumb Malai, Kalimirch Paya, Gosht Nehari, lasooni Murgh and so on. The starters section also allows you to choose from the three different cuisines. For vegetarians – Bulani Kuchaloo, Tikka Rasmonak etc from Kabul, Keshav Bharwan Aloo..from Punjab, Dwarka Nath Papdi Chaat, Alu Mukki etc from Dilli. There are about 10 options in the Rs.110-180 range. My kind get to choose from Kebab-e-Mauhi, Jheenga Pashtooni etc from Kabul, Tandoori Kukkad, Boti Shoti, Kaleji Keema Lasooni, Rum waali Masaledar Chaampen (Old Monk flavored :D) from Punjab, and Sultani Seekh Kabab, Dil Dilli Machli Tikka, Tunde ke Galawat (a hat tip right there, nice), Matiya Road Bharwan Tange etc from Dilli. In all, over 20 options ranging from Rs.240-450.

For the main course, vegetarian – Guncho Keema, Dal Sultani etc from Kabul, the Sarson da Saag gang from Punjab, or the Paneer Gulle ka Qorma etc from Dilli, about 15 options in the Rs.180-225 range. The non vegetarians will be quite overwhelmed by the choices.. and their descriptions. Afghani Gosht ka Stew, Burrah Kaliyan etc from Kabul, Butter Chicken Makhan Singh da, Palak naal Macchi curry etc from Punjab, Karim’s Keema Matar fry (another hat tip), Macchli Musallam etc from Dilli. Just over a dozen choices in the Rs.280-450 range. To go along with that, you could either choose from about 4 rice items (including a Karim’s Zaffrani Mutton Biriyani, a couple of veg options too) or the regular rotis (the Kabuli Naan is a relative exception perhaps) at Rs.160-230 and Rs.45-80 respectively.

So, from all of that, we chose a Murgh Taftaan to start with. Its described as ‘the best seller in all of Damiyan market, boneless chunks of spring chicken in a green chilli, lemon and corriander masala’. It was quite the ‘melting in the mouth’ kind, though the lemon and corriander masala were subdued. The chutney provided could’ve been better too. For the main course, we had a Murgh Qorma Kabuli, “whole chicken cooked in tandoor simmered with a robust brown onion and curd qorma”, and to go along with it, a couple of kulchas. The chicken dish I’d recommend highly, thick gravy and well cooked chicken (not boneless, by the way), goes well with the kulchas. For dessert, you could choose from a few unusual options – Sitaphal ki Kulfi, Sultanat e Jamun, Amritsari Chikoo Phirni, Khar Yeku etc. (Rs.110)

The meal cost us just below Rs.800, including a 5% service charge. The service is prompt and helpful, and they have a good feedback form that gets into specifics. I’d recommend you drop in at least once – for a range of items you don’t usually get to see on a menu, good service and a pleasant ambiance that really helps you relax. I’d also recommend that you go in a herd – that will help you take full advantage of the options available.

Sultans of Spice, #60, Jyoti Nivas College Road, 5th Block Koramangala. Ph: 43431800/18

Menu and Photos at Zomato

May 9, 2010
The soundtrack of life….

Mo wrote a splendid post about criticism yesterday, in the context of art…. applicable to all kinds actually – how the opinion of an elite few takes precedence over what works for an individual. Music is something I’ve received a lot of judgment over, so I thought its a good time to go on a little journey in time.

Music has always has had this way of evoking nostalgia – I listen to an old track and the associations just start pouring in – when i heard it, where i was, who i was with..and so on. Actually not even the song per se, but the talk about music also sends me on a trip. Over a period of time, it becomes lesser about the way it had made me feel, and behaves more as another addition to a period in time. A function of archiving, I guess. I remember this discussion we had on Twitter a while back. It started out with Kimi Katkar and ended with snake talk, but we did dwell upon Kishan Kumar, and the unforgettable “Acha sila diya” from Bewafa Sanam. That was 1995, perhaps the golden age of Bollywood music in my life.

But the stage was set much before that. Those were the days of Rs.25-40 priced cassettes, depending on the label – T-Series- the friend of the masses, Venus, TIPS etc, and new purchases would be planned as soon as a preview of the next release was heard on the tape between large helpings of Jhankaar beats. Of course that also meant that one bought stuff that no one else would buy – Takkar, Amaanat, Aatish, Guddu..sigh. There were about 4 of us at school who shared an interest in Bollywood music, and therefore its medium of distribution too. Interest would be an understatement since we even used to save up lunch money to buy cassettes. We distributed work according to our preferences of music directors – Anu Malik, Jatin-Lalit, Nadeem-Shravan, Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen etc. So the ardent fans mostly bought their favourites, and the rest got to listen before purchase/recording. I still remember our first argument over who got to take the ‘Baazigar’ tape home first.

On another front, the success of Roja meant that all the ones that followed from Rahman- Pudhiya Mugham, Kizhakku Cheemayile, Gentleman, Thiruda Thiruda, Uzhavan, Duet, Kadhalan etc, all entered my collection.

Good fun, until we split up for graduation courses, and my interest was split between Indi Pop (kick started by a Channel V dance collection, and kept alive by Alisha Chinai, Euphoria, Silk Route, ) and Bollywood, the latter being sustained mostly thanks to their new find – A R Rahman and the “we’re just about getting along” Jatin-Lalit. In Tamil, Rahman continued to rock with Iruvar, Minsara Kanavu, but his focus was clearly Bollywood. The main problem now was that purchases couldn’t be shared, and cassette prices were shooting up. The tiny interest in “Western music” didn’t help, since those cassettes cost much more. But Bryan Adams, Richard Marx, MLTR, Boyzone, Celine Dion etc couldn’t stop me from being the first to buy DTPH from a store in Bangalore. (while on a batch tour) I waited at the store while the cassettes were brought by the distributor. I still remember the shopkeeper’s quizzical look. Fun it was.

It took Goa to initiate me into the world of Floyd, and the heavy metal brigade, though all the earlier favourites played on. I found a kindred Bolly music soul in my room mate, though the bugger never bought any new cassettes, unless it involved substantial usage of Rani Mukherjee in the cover. It was a good bargain, since he had the hardware and I replenished the software regularly.

The work stint back in Cochin almost put me back on track as far as Bollywood music purchase went, though Knopfler matched it in terms of money spent. Hours were spent in Music World. Its thanks to this phase that I have CDs like Paanch. (the ill fated Anurag Kashyap movie), but by that time, I think there were just too many movies coming out to keep track. Also, the plethora of channels ensured that the fun of tracking a cassette release day and buying it on day one was gone.

When I moved to Bangalore, I couldn’t bring my entire collection, but I still brought a few, if only to remind me that once upon a time, life was a series of songs.

These days, while Bollywood still holds sway as far as movie watching goes, in terms of music, I wait for tracks to reach me. Maybe the fun was also in finding new tunes and sharing them. I never could experience that sharing mechanism for non-Hindi tracks, and therefore there’s always a passivity in my music taste. The Eklektic Rock station on Live 365 is changing that slowly, though, making me move beyond the confines of Coldplay, The Killers, The Fray, Springsteen, Daughtry, Green Day, REM and so on…. Sometime back, a friend sent me a few tracks that she thought i’d like. It was fun, the feeling that one has when one discovers an old path. 🙂

until next time, we change, the song remains the same…

May 5, 2010
Arsalan

That sounds straight out of LoTR or Narnia, but its actually a restaurant chain based in Kolkata, but with a branch closer home – Koramangala. Its right next to Ammi’s Biriyani, and almost opposite ‘Jukebox’. (map) The Bosch parking is nearby, so you could try your luck there.

They have a rolls counter downstairs, and the restaurant is on the mezzanine and upper floors. We chose the first floor, it gave us a good view of the road.. and some half a dozen new restaurants that seem to have sprung up!! The menu is heavily skewed towards the meat eaters, though it does have more than 20 veg dishes listed. There really is a case for Murgh Sagar!! (or fish/beef/mutton)

Between chicken, mutton and seafood, there are more than 30 kabab options. The average prices are Rs.115, Rs.140, Rs.150 respectively, but we got to know that the fish items weren’t available that day. They even have the number of pieces listed alongside, and the tables are skewer friendly, though they didn’t seem to be using the option. We started with a Chicken Arsalan Kabab, which was very unique, and cheesy. Ok, sorry, it just had lots of cheese, which sometimes overshadowed the kabab’s taste. But still, highly recommended, it works.

For the main course, again there are some 40+ options between chicken and mutton gravies. Here too, the number of pieces are mentioned. To go along with that, you could choose from biriyani/pulao/rice or roti/naan/paratha. We ordered a Chicken Rezala and a Chicken Arsalan Masala, both ‘1 piece’ items. To go along with that, a masala kulcha and continuing with the theme, an Arsalan Special Naan. The Rezala has a white gravy and is a dish that the US might consider invading for the amount of oil. (though Nikhil might claim other restaurants in koramangala deserve that first) In spite of that, it was a bit bland. The Arsalan masala is a brown gravy, with carrot, pineapple and cashew nuts, that lends it a sweetness. It might sound weird, but is actually quite good. The Masala Kulcha was made well, and the Arsalan Special Naan was unique too, with groundnuts, and bordering on sweet. We figured that we needed reinforcements, but were too stuffed to go for the yummy sounding chicken biriyanis listed. We ordered a veg biriyani instead, and judging from that, the biriyani offering is pretty good – not too oily, and a hint of the saffron flavor. The portion was XL sized, and we found it difficult to complete.

The service is fast, and we recognised the guy who took our order, from Tunday Kababi. The ambiance, while not really fine dining, is pleasant and comfortable. The meal cost us just less than Rs.500, and works well on the value-for-money front. Worth paying a visit, when you’re in the neighbourhood.

Arsalan, 158, 1st Main Road, 7th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 25703366

Menu at Zomato

May 2, 2010
Mani, where the mouth is….

The joy of eating, when someone else does a review 😉

April 30, 2010
Say when….

Those of you who’ve been reading the blog the last seven days would know that we’ve finally completed the Sikkim series. (pics) (for those who haven’t, here’s a guilt-edged invite, hmmph)

Its time to move on. Away from the stalk-aided twitter environment, and the web in general, I had enough time and inclination to let my mind wander. I am not a regular viewer of ‘Prison Break’, but a while back, i’d tweeted a Theodore ‘T-Bag’ Bagwell (played by Robert Knepper, who you might know as the awesome Samuel Sullivan in Heroes) line, which I came across quite randomly. It goes “We are captives of our own identities, living in prisons of our own creation.”

The vacation, and its ups and downs, expectations and comparisons in general, perceptions formed and set, until its one big clouded piece of baggage, they all occupied the mind. Every time the mind wanted to break free, there was a resistance. I wondered about the blog, myself and ‘prisons of our own creation’. The limits I have unwittingly set for the blog- which in a way, mirrors life too, the possibilities that might have been disrupted by diligence. You too, perhaps? Of what kind of things you like to see here? Maybe the transience of this entire exercise is something I’ve yet to come to terms with.

But it’s funny when you think about it. Us. You and me. There are probably less than 10 readers of this blog, who I can claim to have met, or even spoken to, outside of the web’s confines. The only thing that connects us is perhaps the words here, the thoughts shared, and the images we have created of each other.

Come close and then even closer
We bring it in but we go no further
We’re separate, two ghosts in one mirror, no nearer

But I guess that’s okay too. I look at blogrolls, posts, comments, and I have more than enough reasons to be happy with the time I spent on this blog. There’s a reason that I’m looking back at all of this.

Those of you who’ve been reading the blog for a little longer , about seven years, would know that today, we complete that too. 🙂

Thanks for reading.

Some of this was here before us
All of this will go after us
It Never stops until we give in, give in, say when….

(Say when, The Fray)

until next time, seventh heaven 🙂

PS. New design and the FB like button implemented. So next time you like, and you’re ok with the ‘Like’ showing in your FB activity stream, click on. It will prompt you for logging in to FB

April 29, 2010