Indian Food

8pm.That time of the evening when the work is over and the unwinding begins. What is the best relaxation therapy? Music. DoubleTree Gurgaon-New Delhi NCR has hit the winning 4 by announcing 4 great musical evenings at Spiritual the Gastro bar and lounge. Sing away the mid-week blues with the ‘Spiritually Karaoke’ Nights on Wednesday nights.  Alleviate your stress on this night as you karaoke and sing your heart out. Experience the trance to the T on ‘Spiritually Psychedelic’ Tuesday and Thursday nights. Set the pulses racing with the best of psychedelic music. Start your Weekend with a trip down to memory lane.  ‘Spiritually Friday’ evokes nostalgia of the good old days to the times when Beatles didn’t fly and doors weren’t meant to be walked into. No party is complete without some desi grooving. Saturday night fever is going to get even hotter with Bollywood Nights. Enjoy music desi ishtyle! So whatever your favorite day of the week, just walk in to Spiritual, gastro bar at DoubleTree by Hilton, Gurgaon for some great music. Great Music with unlimited imported beverages at Rs 995.  This summer make it a ritual, Be at spiritual!! For reservations, call the hotel directly at (124) 491 1234 / 8130 391 560.

Seasons most awaited ‘Mango Mojo Festival’ at Mad Over Donuts begins! May 2013: With summers finally set in, it’s time to go crazy over the seasons most loved fruit – Mangoes! Its that time of the year when the king of fruits officially take over! Singaporean gourmet donut brand – Mad Over Donuts presents the ‘Mango Mojo Festival’ with unique Mango flavored donuts that are bound to tickle your tastebuds this sweltering season. The Season special Mango Mojo will be on the menu at all Mad Over Donuts store near you for a limited period only. Flavors include, Yellow Jello, Lil’ Drops of Mango, Supermango and Centre of Perfection. So head to the nearest Mad Over Donuts Store and bite into these delicious donuts! Price: ` 55/ donut, ` 275/ Box of 6 donuts and ` 495/ Box of 12 donuts Website: www.madoverdonuts.com Get Social: www.facebook.com/madoverdonuts www.twitter.com/madoverdonuts www.foursquare.com/madoverdonuts http://pinterest.com/madoverdonuts/ Store locator: Delhi/NCR: Lajpat Nagar 2, New Delhi Select Citywalk Mall, Saket, New Delhi Near M Block Market, GK1, New Delhi Green Park, Main Market, New Delhi Kamla Nagar, Main Market, New Delhi Pacific Mall, Nr Tagore Garden, New Delhi The Great India Place Mall, Noida, UP Sector 18, Noida, UP Mahagun Metro Mall, Gaziabad, UP DLF Promenade, New Delhi V3S Mall, New Delhi About Mad Over Donuts Mad Over Donuts, a Singaporean gourmet donut brand has created a niche for itself in the F&B segment being the first concept of its kind to enter India. It’s vibrant & youthful customer friendly experience has found a strong connect with its target audience and the brand has evolved into a lifestyle choice for many, especially with the eggless gourmet donut offering. Mad Over Donuts caters to guests with an array of scrumptious Donuts and freshly brewed Coffees. The company already has more than 46 stores all over India in a span of 5 years, with expansion plans of more than double store count by the end of 2013. The company has a unique donut theatre concept, the first of its kind in India. The stores, present dominantly in malls, airports and high streets, are specially designed to showcase the donut-making process and provide a multi-sensory experience for customers. Mad Over Donuts eggless donut recipe has been developed by a team of world renowned F&B specialists. The stores have glass viewing areas that allow customers to watch the entire preparation process, from dough to donuts, an exciting proposition for both young and old. The brand has gained a huge fan base by offering a superior product, friendly service in a quick service format with a fun and vibrant environment. With over 500k + fans over Facebook and millions of donut lovers in the country, Mad Over Donuts currently has a strong foothold in cities like New Delhi & NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru. Seasons most awaited ‘Mango Mojo Festival’ at Mad Over Donuts begins! May 2013: With summers finally set in, it’s time to go crazy over the seasons most loved fruit – Mangoes! Its that time of the year when the king of fruits officially take over! Singaporean gourmet donut brand – Mad Over Donuts presents the ‘Mango Mojo Festival’ with unique Mango flavored donuts that are bound to tickle your tastebuds this sweltering season. The Season special Mango Mojo will be on the menu at all Mad Over Donuts store near you for a limited period only. Flavors include, Yellow Jello, Lil’ Drops of Mango, Supermango and Centre of Perfection. So head to the nearest Mad Over Donuts Store and bite into these delicious donuts! Price: ` 55/ donut, ` 275/ Box of 6 donuts and ` 495/ Box of 12 donuts Website: www.madoverdonuts.com Get Social: www.facebook.com/madoverdonuts www.twitter.com/madoverdonuts www.foursquare.com/madoverdonuts http://pinterest.com/madoverdonuts/ Store locator: Delhi/NCR: Lajpat Nagar 2, New Delhi Select Citywalk Mall, Saket, New Delhi Near M Block Market, GK1, New Delhi Green Park, Main Market, New Delhi

Ente Keralam hosts the Moplah Food Festival   Bangalore, 24th May 2013: Ente Keralam, the fine-dine Kerala cuisine restaurant is hosting the exclusive ‘Moplah Food Festival’ between 27th May 2013 to 16th June 2013. The festival is being anchored by Ms. Ummi Abdulla, a pioneer in Moplah cuisine, and will feature some of the most typical dishes like Arikadukka (Mussels stuffed with seasoned rice), Pathiri, Oratti, Meen Mulakittathu (Seer cubes simmered in red chilli tamarind gravy) and Unnakkai (Cotton pod shaped delicacy dessert served with Nendran bananas).   Moplah refers to the Malayalam speaking Muslim community in Kerala and the word is derived from ‘Mappilai’ meaning ‘bridegroom’ or ‘Maha Pillai’, a person held in high esteem. Moplah cuisine is an integral part of Ramzan and auspicious occasions like weddings in the Moplah community. Though the cuisine is similar to the local Kerala food, the special Moplah flavours distinguish the cuisine. The ‘Moplah Food Festival’ displays some of the best creations of Ms. Ummi Abdulla who has to her credit 6 books, including Malabar Muslim Cookery also known as ‘The Bible of Moplah Cuisine’. The Festival menu includes a variety of traditional refreshments like Muthari Sherbet a summer special made with palm sugar, ragi and fresh coconut milk, Nannari Sherbeta traditional Mopila thirst quencher which contains fresh lime juice scented with sarsaparilla and a few varieties of Kanji, porridge. The appetizers menu includes Arikadukka, a Mopila classic which contains mussels stuffed with seasoned rice mixture, cooked in the shell, Chemmeen Unda, seasoned shrimps encased in rice flour dumplings. The festival offers a variety of Briyani options along with delicious fish and prawn curries. The festival also contains various breads like the Nei Pathiri, which is deep fried rice bread flavoured with aniseed and shallots, Malabar Pathiri a flaky flour bread which is acclaimed for its fine layers, Ari Orotti, rice pan cake grilled on tawa. To go along with the breads the menu offers mouth-watering curries and kuruma with a choice of meat gravy like Kozhi Varattiyathu, chicken pan-roasted with onions, tomatoes and traditional spices, Muringakka Manga Charu, which is spiced raw mango and drumstick curry. No meal is complete without a dessert! Treat yourself to Unaakkai, a cotton pod shaped delicacy made of Nendran Bananas, Pazham Nirachathu, stuffed banana with coconut sweet mixture, and the famous Falooda! The festival is a creation of highly skilled work displayed by Ummi Abdulla. To make reservations at Ente Keralam call 32421002. The restaurant is located at 12/1, Ulsoor Road, Bangalore.   About Oriental Cuisines: Oriental Cuisines Private Limited (OCPL) was originally founded by foodie, professor, restaurateur & entrepreneur M. Mahadevan in May 1994 under the name of Chaitanya Gourmet Splendour Private Limited. It was later renamed Oriental Cuisines Private Limited in March 1997. While the name might indicate a leaning towards all things Asian, their global cuisine brings the finest flavours of the world to connoisseurs. Oriental Cuisines’ brands include The French Loaf, Le Chocolatier, Zara Tapas Bar, Benjarong, Teppan, Ente Keralam, Wangs Kitchen, China Town and Planet Yumm. Pricing: Rs. 150 upwards Average meal for 2: Rs. 900 Available for Lunch and dinner: Yes Restaurant timing: 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm ; 7:00 pm – 10:45 pm

Mushroom peas masala

Cauliflower curry in onion sauce

Golden fried baby corns

Ingredients: 250 gm Sardines Seasoned Flour 2 tbsp Vinegar (cider or wine vinegar) 1 tbsp Paprika 2 tbsp Cumin Powder Salt to taste 2 Green Chili peppers, finely chopped 4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped Fresh Coriander, finely chopped 4 tbsp Olive Oil Oil for frying Bell peppers (optional) Method: The Sardines De-head, scale and clean sardines; wash under cold, running water; dry well with kitchen paper. Place sardines in a plastic bag with seasoned flour. Shake well, so sardines are coated with flour mixture. Take sardines out, shake off excess flour. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, drain well and place on plate lined with kitchen towels to absorb any excess oil. The Sauce Bring a little olive oil to low heat Add garlic and stir (do not let it brown as garlic becomes bitter) Add chillies, cook until they’re soft Add paprika, cumin powder and salt; cook for 1 minute. Add vinegar, cook again for 1 minute. The sauce is ready! Pour sauce and finely chopped coriander over the sardines ensuring both sides are coated. The sauce improves in flavour once cold. Garnish with julienned bell peppers if you like. Note: This dish will keep for several days in a fridge due to the vinegar. Feel free to experiment with the spices per your own personal tastes. Bon Appétit, Myra

Foodies would love this, or for a very simple reason, might hate this post as well as it can shock you with the reality! A true foodie, not bothering about how much calorie he/she is consuming, eats away anything and everything gloriously! But when it comes to the consequences of the increasing waist lines and that paunch, then there is a worry! After all not everyone is blessed with an absolute amazing metabolism, which would keep them in shape without much of a fuss, no matter how much goes in!Taking into consideration these facts, this post very attractively through illustrations will show you how much you are taking in and in what form, and how much you should cut down to lose that extra inch. As such, calculating calories is in fashion these days. People are too conscious about their health and the kind of food they eat. So, it becomes absolutely necessary for us to understand the portion size of the food we eat and how much calorie it contains.Every individual requires certain calories according to the body weight, height and kind of physical activity they do. Hence, a good knowledge about the calories you are consuming will help you manage your weight and avoid over eating. We often think that lower the weight of a food, lower is the calorie content. But this is not always true in most of the cases. Believe it or not! By the end of this article, I am sure you will be able to understand that it is both the calorie count and the weight of a particular food on which the overall health factor depends. To generalize, the article gives you an information on how 200 calories actually look like in different food items which include individual ingredients as well as the most popular and common recipes that are a part of an average Indian’s day-to-day life.Go on, watch and read carefully! Can be an absolute shocker! Too blunt to be true, isn’t it? Are you ready to watch that calorie count of yours? All the best!Till I write again.Sanjeev Kapoor

Our decision to dine at Saffron Spice in Powai was taken at the spur of the moment and was a bit of an afterthought. Since we had pizza on our mind, we had initially decided to try out the Crown pizza from Pizza Hut. But the long wait at the joint was a turn off and forced us to look for other alternatives. Spying Saffron Spice on the first floor of the same building where Pizza Hut is located, we decided to give it a shot. When the carved heavy door opens to the quaintest and tiniest lift probably designed, you expect the restaurant to have an old-world charm. Well, that wasn’t the case. What you see when you enter is akin to a large communal dining room. There are tables on the periphery of the half circular room with 4-5 tables randomly placed in the center in a way that every time you raise your eye from your table, your gaze is arrested by someone glancing at you. Call it a fishbowl dining environment if you will; this seating arrangement, where the seats protrude from one side even though the table stops a few feet short of it – is not for the demure. To add to that, the tables are so small that your plate is at kissing distance from that of your co-diner. After being seated, we perused the menu and found it was categorized into three sections – Indian, Chinese and Continental. Since this was our first time at Saffron Spice and we did not have any feedback about what we could and should try in the place, we decided to stick to the fare that appeared the least risky. We asked for the Chicken Manchow Soup (145) to be served without MSG, owing to some allergy issues a couple of people in the group had, repeating this request thrice. But strangely when we were served, one amongst the group suspected it had MSG. When we asked the waiter if he was absolutely sure it was without MSG, initially he was adamant, later confused and then reluctantly changed the soup saying that there was a chance that it contained MSG. So much for adhering to specific dietary preferences! The Pudina Murg Shorba (185) had too much mint in it, so much that the flavor of chicken was non-existent. The Paneer Soti Boti (270) was paneer cubes skewered with pieces of peppers with a sweet coating. It would have tasted nice had it been warm, but strangely all the food served during our meal at Saffron Spice was lukewarm at best – including the pint of beer! What was annoying was that our food was lying at the serving counter close by for almost 15 minutes before one of the waiters brought it to our table to serve. After the disappointing beginning to the meal, we decided to just assuage our hunger with whatever the waiter recommended and scoot from Saffron Spice as soon as possible. The Lahori Murg (355), chicken sheek kabab in tomato-based gravy was truly delightful as was the Tava Paneer Khurchan (300). If only it had been served hot or even warm, then we would have enjoyed polishing it off our plates. But at least we knew that Saffron Spice had something redeeming in it’s list of sorry offerings. Post our meal, we had to wait a good 20 minutes for the bill to be presented and another 15 odd minutes for our credit card to be returned. Yes, we grant that the restaurant was almost packed, but that is hardly any excuse for tardiness. The restaurant’s tag line reads – We celebrate food. Maybe it is time Saffron Spice takes a break from the celebrations to focus on what restaurants are primarily supposed to do – serve good food at acceptable temperatures within acceptable periods of time.

Time limit: 0 Quiz-summary 0 of 5 questions completed Questions: 1 2 3 4 5 Certain foods are known to be aphrodisiacs, stimulating related bodily responses. Are you really clued up on what those foods are? You’ll know for sure after taking this short quiz. Remember –  you only have one minute! You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again. You have to finish following quiz, to start this quiz: Results 0 of 5 questions answered correctly Your time: Time has elapsed You have reached 0 of 0 points, (0) Categories Not categorized 0% That’s a great score! You know your stuff don’t you? This quiz was powered by the information on this page: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/04/28/surprising-aphrodisiac-foods-to-get-in-mood/ Do check it out as it contains much more information than mentioned in the quiz answers. Well done. A little more reading and you’ll be scoring like there’s no tomorrow. This quiz was powered by the information on this page: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/04/28/surprising-aphrodisiac-foods-to-get-in-mood/ Do check it out as it contains much more information than mentioned in the quiz answers. Practice required! You need to be a little more clued up before taking this quiz again. This quiz was powered by the information on this page: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/04/28/surprising-aphrodisiac-foods-to-get-in-mood/ Do check it out as it contains much more information than mentioned in the quiz answers. BLAAAAT! You don’t have a clue do you? This quiz was powered by the information on this page: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/04/28/surprising-aphrodisiac-foods-to-get-in-mood/ Do check it out as it contains much more information than mentioned in the quiz answers. 1 2 3 4 5 Answered Review Question 1 of 5 1. Question 20 points A green fruit. Kiwi Avocado Green Banana Sweet Lime Water Melon Correct Avocados are a great food for your Vitamin E and aid in the production of hormones such as testosterone, oestrogen and progesterone. It is these hormones that circulate in the body and stimulate sexual responses. Incorrect Avocados are a great food for your Vitamin E and aid in the production of hormones such as testosterone, oestrogen and progesterone. It is these hormones that circulate in the body and stimulate sexual responses.