ASAL CHAPATHI - PRODUCT REVIEW

If there is anything more cumbersome than dose that I mentioned in some of my earlier blogs, its Chapathis! They have to be the perfect circle. They have to be thin. They have to be soft. They have to be roasted just right without getting burnt. And there’s the process of getting the dough right – mixing it in the right proportions, kneading and kneading and the rest! I make some really good curries and many a times I have wished that I could eat it with Chapathis but shied away from making any because of the effort involved. Now I have Chapathis every week. Semi cooked Chapathis – ASAL brand. These are six semi cooked Chapathis in neat packing, with a shelf life usually for about 4 days, thin and nearly as good if not just as good as homemade Chapathis. You just need to roast them in a pan with some oil and they are ready to eat with any curry. They puff up beautifully! Tastes awesome with any curry and I can easily finish six at one shot. Reasonable at Rs. 30 per packet, they are an amazing breakfast option and have saved me a lot of labor. They don’t take too long to roast so you may need to keep an eye on this and flip them over real soon and take them out. Yet the task of making 12 to 18 Chapathis (two to three packets) is not daunting at all whereas earlier making 18 or more Chapathis would have including the dough process would have tired me out. This is one of the better discoveries during this lockdown and I am so, so glad. I now make a huge variety of curries to go with them. I enjoy them most with ulli theeyal. In pic are Asal Chapathis with Gobi, peas and cauliflower curry and Chapathis with Ulli theeyal (onion curry). Delish! Available in supermarkets online and off. Overall rating 5/5 Ratings for reviews: 1 – No! No! No! 2- Just about average. 3 –Good. Can give it a try. 4- Great!! 5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

CHUTNEY RECIPE - A QUICK REVIEW

This is going to be a quick one since we still under a lockdown! There are days when you wish you could make a real quick chutney to go with Idlis and Dosas and what I am about to share is a life saver. The huge plus about this chutney recipe is the almost zero effort and very, very few ingredients most of which will be available at home. Fry onions and green chillies just a little, add it to the mixer along with a bit of tamarind, roasted gram and a few coriander leaves and salt to taste and that’s it! Season as you wish and We done!! And you’d think without the coconut and a whole lot of ingredients it wont be all that tasty but it is mind blowing with piping hot idlis !! It tastes exactly like hotel style chutney and so quick to make. This has become such a favorite at home that we are no longer making the coconut chutney anymore. Detailed recipe below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c7Bdnsjsbc Overall rating 5/5 Ratings for reviews: 1 – No! No! No! 2- Just about average. 3 –Good. Can give it a try. 4- Great!! 5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

ADUKALE INSTANT ADAI DOSE MIX - PRODUCT REVIEW

I Love Dose! And all its variants…. Neer dose, plain, masala, adais etc. but I always found the process of making it so cumbersome. What with soaking all the ingredients in the right proportions, the time gap, proper fermenting, grinding, pouring it out evenly so it comes out well and then all the washing up of the grinder (this is the worst part!), by the time I actually get to eating the dose, I am exhausted by the process. Most times, I used to resort to eating it outside whenever the craving hit me. I have tried many instant dosa mixes and ready made batters but nothing has been even remotely satisfying. Then I happened to try Adukale’s Instant Adai Dose mix. I must say this is really god sent during the lockdown. It already has all the lenthils and spices in powder form. All you need to do is add water, rest it a bit and pour out doses to your liking. The result? Perfect Adai in minutes! Just two or three of this keeps you full for a long time – half a day or through the night. I usually have this with tomato thokku which I make, which is a heavenly combination (see pic). The pluses 1. It doesn’t stick to the pan. 2. You can make it as thick or thin as you like. I like it real thin and crispy so I add more water. 3. Easiest process ever. 4. Packet lasts quite long as I do add a lot of water to make it thin and crispy each time. 5. Tasty, filling and nutritious. 6. Great for planned breakfast or dinner options or for emergencies too. The minuses : None! Both my mom and I love this product and needless to say, stocked up on it the most compared to other products. It is available at supermarkets but it’s easier during these times to buy it directly from their website. No complaints with delivery at all. I even got it within four hours after ordering online recently I like a lot of Adukale’s products – menthiya kharabath, lemon poha, rava pongal etc but this one tops it all!! Do give this a try. I’m sure you are going to stock up on this like me:) Overall rating 5/5 Ratings for reviews: 1 – No! No! No! 2- Just about average. 3 –Good. Can give it a try. 4- Great!! 5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it. Visit www.adukale.com

RICHIE RICH - NEAR SIVANANDA CIRCLE

I visited Richie Rich twice in the last two months - been on my go to list for a while. The first time was with friends who enjoyed the place and food. The second time was to cram an outing before there are any curbs and restrictions given the rona situation. The ice creams here are rich and creamy and chocolatey – Cake Mocha fudge and Ferrero Rocher mini but what really appealed to me was the Pav bhaji. The Bhaji was mild and did not have the usual strong cinnamon/nutmeg kind of smell that is so common. This was delish! A full meal in itself. Highly recommend. Sandwiches were super too, as was the fries and sev puri. Mini pizza which I had as takeaway was okayish. The place has a warm, cozy feel to it and when there aren’t many people, it is great for a heart to heart with a friend over snacks and ice creams. Prices are a bit on the higher side so be prepared to go with a full wallet. Service is prompt and friendly. My only regret is I wish I had explored this place earlier, given that I am around the area quite often, but better late than never. I can’t wait to try their milkshakes and the famous tawa pulao that everyone is raving about. Now for normalcy to be restored… hopefully soon. Fingers and toes crossed. Overall rating 4.5/5 Ratings for reviews: 1 – No! No! No! 2- Just about average. 3 –Good. Can give it a try. 4- Great!! 5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it. Details: Richie Rich, Race course road, Kumara park near Sivananda Circle, Bengaluru

Cafe Noir, UB City.

What can I say! Words cannot describe how good it is to go eat out and get ready for reviewing restaurants again, something I sorely missed the past year. My bestie and I met here, at Café Noir in UB city after nearly a year! It is a warm, outdoorsy, safe place with black stone tables (this was so hot to touch and the service person had to keep wiping the surface with a cool cloth), and sun umbrellas. For starters we had the basket fries which is a mix of potato wedges and French fries. This went down real fast as they were fresh and crispy and tasted great with the tomato salsa. This was followed by pasta Arrabiata which was penne pasta in spicy tomato and basil sauce, cheese, grilled vegetables and basil leaves. My friend chose to have the chicken Lasagna. This was quite a meal. Fresh and delicious though it was, we had to stop halfway and had to take away the rest. I actually felt strange eating a meal like this after ages! Ended the meal with watermelon juice for my friend and I ordered a frappe for myself simply because I hadn’t had one in, like, forever! Both were cool and refreshing. The pandemic sure makes one count their blessings. Prices are slightly on the higher side but it was a thoroughly enjoyable, satisfying meal. I would love to go back there when the weather is cooler and definitely want to try their other dishes, and especially to try their range of desserts.. Service was quick and efficient. Spoons and forks come wrapped in paper. All in all, hygienic and safe to visit during these times. Would I recommend a visit to others? Yes! Would I go there again? Most definitely. Overall rating 4.5/5 Ratings for reviews: 1 – No! No! No! 2- Just about average. 3 –Good. Can give it a try. 4- Great!! 5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it. Details: Café Noir, UB City, Vittal Mallya Road, Bengaluru.

ADUGGEMANE

This month, I thought I’d review something different – different because I have never got food catered home from a catering outlet. Aduggemane does just that. For a very reasonable price plus delivery charges, they cater breakfast, lunch and dinner at your doorstep. First things first. Much as I love to cook, I felt I truly needed a break from it all. Sometimes people have asked me if I need a holiday and I realized yep, not the kind where I travel to exotic locations, I need a holiday right at home! On an impulse, when this advert popped up in my food group, I decided to take it up. And so began a whole two weeks of Brahmin style food delivered right to my house in the mornings- all three meals. I got to taste a variety of breakfasts ranging from idlis, dosas, akku roti, rava vangibath, and shavige bath. Lunch usually consisted of rice, sambar, rasam and curry and dinner was chapathis and curry. You can customize it however you wish so I substituted rice with extra Chapathis because I preferred the rice we cook at home. Two people could easily share a meal. Two weeks of totally chilling knowing it’s all taken care of. The food is a bit bland and not everyone’s cup of tea. Most of the food is not fried or oily – mostly steamed, just simple and nutritious. I like it that way though. Highlights through the two weeks were the variety of breakfast – EXCEPT idlis and rava idli which seemed undercooked, Chapathis were really good, soft and fresh, rava vangibath and typical iyengar style puliyogare. There were a few minus points: Some items were okayish in taste and that I could tolerate. Sometimes they used to miss packing one or two items and I could tolerate that too. The biggest thumbs down was the timing. They are in one end of the city (near sita circle) and I am in the other so the food delivery used to be really late most mornings. I mean, I finish all cooking for the day way before 9 a.m. Despite the promise of delivering by 9.30 a.m., I have received the food by 10 and even 11 a.m.at times (like who has breakfast when it’s almost lunch time!!!) which is a huge no no because of having medicines and morning breakfast. Overall however, it suited me! It was just right, everything was freshly made that morning and sent and I had no bouts of throwing up or anything. I am mighty glad to have taken the much needed break and knowing that there is someone at hand ready to provide the kind of food we are accustomed to. I do plan to order on and off from them. In pic: Shavige uppitu, Bendekaayi palya, chapathi and tomato pickle (I made) Overall rating 3/5 Ratings for reviews: 1 – No! No! No! 2- Just about average. 3 –Good. Can give it a try. 4- Great!! 5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it. Contact:7892403742/9916435389

BRIK OVEN - PRESTIGE TRADE TOWERS

What a relief! What An immense relief that things are near normal. After what seems like ages, this is my first proper restaurant outing ever since the pandemic. A group of us, girls gang who were all colleagues at my previous workplace, decided to catch up for lunch after nearly two decades!! Brik Oven was the place of choice in Prestige Towers and it was great fun to catch up and recall all the fun times we had in the work world. The place mostly serves Pizzas, Salads, Starters and desserts. It is famous for its pizzas so I heard. Prestige towers – there are a whole lot of restaurants to greet you as soon as you walk through the door. Like a huge spacious hall with the most aesthetic clouds on ceiling décor and soft lights. Very pleasing to the eyes. Some of my friends had already arrived and I must say right off, we did more chatting than eating throughout the time spent but nevertheless, will try to write about the stuff we ate. This review is only for the vegetarian part of the lunch – We started off with garlic bread with cheese which was tasty but seemed very chewy, then a Caesar salad where the lettuce were fresh and crunchy (not much goes into a Caesar salad usually) , followed by Anna – the pizza with the toppings of onions, red pepper, jalapeño, garlic, feta and sun dried tomatoes. It was quite filling despite being shared amongst three of us. For dessert we had wood fired brownie and ice cream and Tiramisu. The menu is simple. Service is quick. Ambience was just right especially during these rules of social distancing etc. Food wasn’t extraordinary in my opinion. Honestly however, anything was welcome since it has been so long! – both the outing and the meeting of friends. It was just the right place to simply chat for hours without being disturbed. The place is very well maintained and the standard hygiene procedures were followed. Would I go again? Yes if I am in the area though I am also curious to explore the other food places there. Would I recommend to others? Yes give it a try. Overall rating: 3/5 – taking the mid path here because so far it’s neither too good or too bad. I may need to revisit though. Ratings for reviews: 1 – No! No! No! 2- Just about average. 3 –Good. Can give it a try. 4- Great!! 5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it. Details: Prestige Trade Tower, 46 Palace Road, Race Course Road, Bangalore, Next to Sophia School. Timings: 11 am to 11 pm Call: +918884700088