What do you get when you cross a bon vivant with a solitary translator of Ghalib’s poetry? You get maverick restaurateur Riyaaz Amlani. He has two sides to him. He is blessed with friends across the planet on one hand, yet on the other, he loves nothing better than to hole up in his study…
Delhi’s newest restaurant – Smoke House Grill – is from the stable of Riyaaz Amlani, the maverick genius who gave us Mocha. Expectedly, it is not just another fine-dining eatery with a lounge section, but contains a novel concept that is set to change the way we look at cuisine. The restaurant actually has a…
Unless you live in south India, where coffee is grown, it’s a nightmare getting a decent cup. It shouldn’t be, because India grows plenty of coffee, of which, three are specialty coffees: Monsoon Malabar, Mysore Nugget Extra Bold (MNEB) and Robusta Kapi Royal. OK, so you’ve heard the age old argument that arabicas are inherently…
“Cumin and asafoetida is an appropriate combination, as is onion with garlic. Just don’t go mixing up the two combinations.” I was learning how to make the Rajasthani signature Lal Maas (which translates less than felicitously as red meat) from Arvind Singh of Mewar, Maharana of Udaipur. Shreeji as he is called affectionately, reportedly keeps…
When you’re walking by a pastry shop, chances are that science and art are the last things on your mind. However, it’s the permutations and combinations of these two elements that go to make dream desserts, decadent cakes or eye-popping pastries, to say nothing of creamy confectionery. And ask the army of pastry chefs in…
The best chocolate certainly comes from Western Europe. But, the question that needs to be asked is: does chocolate have to be made in Europe alone to be considered good? Not really, but making chocolate – as opposed to growing the cacao bean – does require a temperature of about 18 degrees Celsius. Warmer than that…
Hotels routinely have food promotions centering around ingredients that have usually been brought from the other end of the world and that have great intrinsic worth. Oysters, wild salmon, truffles – the list of precious ingredients is endless. But what would you say about a salt festival? As a nonplussed hotel guest from Germany asked…
For the second time in as many years has Crowne Plaza Today in Okhla held a festival showcasing the delights of Old Delhi. It so happens that the postal address of Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid is Delhi 6, so the festival has been named Dilli 6. It has struck such a chord with Delhiites…
VLCC is not a company that you associate with food and beverage. However, Alive is not about either health food or diet food, or even organic food. Alive is about healthy eating. Thus, all the sauces that are based on roux (butter and flour: in other words, the basic white sauce) are made with wholewheat…
The trouble with reviewing Italian restaurants in the city is that after you’ve made your way to Diva, none of the others even begin to match up. It is, quite simply, the finest around. It’s a fine dining restaurant, so if you’re in the mood for just a pizza, you’ll be better off elsewhere: though…