RollMaal

By Aisha Bhattacharya

What is in a Roll you ask? Here at RollMaal – That is the question!!! ‘Roll ke andar kya hai?’ Located below Mocha in Defence Colony Market, RollMaal is as easy to locate as a BMW parked among 10 Santros. Okay, Bad joke, But, seriously so easy to find.

The entrance is this fascinating display of ‘Belans’ or Rolling Pins to the uninitiated. Yes, Floor to Ceiling sheets of Glass with Belans stacked in between. Very unique and so original.

The place is small and can probably seat 20 – 25 people at a time comfortably. The waiters are all dressed in kurtas and caps (Anna Hazare movement type) in khaki colour. The outfit is inspired by Rajesh Khanna’s role in the film ‘Bawarchi’. I’m not sure how many of you reading this, have even seen the film. Nevertheless, it has music to match. Old Bollywood songs that would make our parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents… (You get the hint) feel nostalgic.

The menu is easy to go through and is extremely well divided into sections like First Class Rolls i.e. the signature items of RollMaal, Doosra Maal i.e. Gravy items , Side ka Maal i.e. accompaniments, Peenay ka Maal (yes! You guessed it!) – Beverages, Meetha Maal – desserts naturally and my Favourite part RollMaal Classics – Make your own Roll. How cool is that??! Choose your Roll – The roti or parantha you like and choose your Maal – The filling – Veg, chicken or Mutton. So easy and so much fun!

We started with the Chicken Chettinad Southy “Mind It” Roll (Rs. 150) – A spicy Chicken laced with curry leaves wrapped in a wonderfully flaky Malabari Parantha. The Jalandhar Boneless Chicken Makhani (Rs. 180) with Ulte Tawe ka Parantha (Rs. 35) was nice. A regular Butter Chicken by any standards.

I ate the highly recommended Rollu’s Mutton Keema Pav (Rs. 185) – Such a good decision! They serve a ‘Churmuri Papad’ as a side dish with everything – crushed papad with salt, pepper and a little fresh coriander. I topped the Keema Pav with this crunchy little titbit and it tasted out of this world. Keema Pav took me to a third dimension that day!

All this food was washed down with Rollu’s Desi Remix (Rs. 50) – A Lemon, Jaljeera, Soda mixture which actually tasted pretty good! Rollu’s Iced Tea (Rs. 50) is not your usual packet-wala Iced Tea so that might be disappointing for some. For me it was a great drink – fresh tea, ice, lemon and just the right amount of sugar.

Watch out for Rollu – he’s coming around the corner to Gurgaon soon! Try and get your hands on the adorable story about Bade Rollu Saabh from Rollisthan, his grandson Rollu, Rollu’s pet Saandh – Pinky and his quick-witted love interest Rumaali who coins the phrase “Roll ke Andar kya Hai?”

Speedy Chow

By Aisha Bhattacharya

For someone who can eat at Mamagoto almost every day – Speedy Chow is a relief for the pocket! The menu is more or less the same, which is great, but it’s the pricing that really makes once smile! Fast, fresh and tasty food. So Speedy and very Chow!

A group of us went over to this little restaurant tucked away in Kailash Colony market. The location is the same spot previously occupied by Ambarsari and Barista before that. Very special to me because I won a contest with Barista at that very outlet a few years back.

Being one of the two Non-vegetarians in our group I had the pleasure of trying out the meaty stuff. We started with the Chicken Tom Yum Soup (Rs. 140) – hot, spicy and LOADED with Chicken. It definitely hits all the right spots. Just a tad bit too much coriander for my liking but a tasty soup overall.

For starters we had the Crispy fried Chicken with a Hot & Sweet Sauce (Rs. 190) – desperately trying to look like KFC did not help this dish much. I would not recommend it if you’re planning a meal there.

The Non-Veg Momo Platter on the other hand was a whole different story (Rs. 160 for 6 pcs) – 2 pcs each of Minced Chicken with red pepper, basil & pepper; Schezwan Chilli Chicken with Bell Peppers and Tibetan Style Momos. Lip-smacking platter that I could have eaten by myself! Even though I was a little sceptical when I read the descriptions, they managed to surprise me.

For the main course we tried all 3 Thai favourites – Red Curry, Green Curry and Thai Basil Spicy Sauce. With chicken, of course (Rs. 250 each)! The Sticky Rice (Rs. 100) that they suggested went well with the Thai curries. They were all adequately spiced and had soft succulent pieces of chicken that you can’t stop eating.

As an experience – Speedy Chow is the fastest Chinese/Thai on this side of Delhi. The décor says as much. Clean spaces, colourful graphics of Rabbits on the walls. They are rather cute – Rabbits sporting Aviators, Chinese moustaches and bearing cutlery. The identity of the restaurant has been designed by Shruti Shyam and I have to say she’s done a fabulous job in keeping with the fun, quirky look that the other restaurant of this hospitality chain – Mamagoto has.

If you’re ever wandering about in Kailash Colony wondering where to eat, think no further. Just ‘Hop’ in to Speedy Chow for a meal that’s quick on the plate and light on the pocket! They also do Home Delivery so call them at 011-41015260 if you’re feeling lazy to walk over.

An Afternoon in Jamia Bazaar

                        – Shreya Chowdhury

Jamia Bazaar 3 was organised by CEQUIN at India Islamic Cultural Centre on 26th-27th October 2013 with the agenda of improving the socio-economic conditons of the marginalised women of Jamia Nagar.

Sara Pilot and Laura Prabhu founded CEQUIN, Centre for Equity and Inclusion in 2008, an NGO which works for the welfare of women and children. They train these women in various skills to become economically self sufficient. Jamia Bazaar gives them a platform to showcase their skills and talents which, in turn, gives them economic benefit.  Sara Pilot feels that, unlike Purani Dilli which has a culture of its own and people are familiar with it, Jamia does not. Hence, Jamia Bazaar is a way of familiarising people with the flavour and elements of Jamia. This event is created with sustainability in mind and is not just a one-time show.  2013 is the third year of the Jamia Bazaar. It has seen a growth curve in terms of the number of people attending it and the number of people participating in it. The Jamia Bazaar also gives these women a space to come out of the dingy lanes and interact with people from different walks of life which has instilled them with confidence.

The two-day mela displayed items of various artwork, diyas, salwar suits, accessories and a wide assortment of food. Jamia Bazaar was conceived with the idea to meet the wants of those who come with their families to spend a pleasant weekend ,shopping and sampling the array of delicacies. The food was, however, not the highlight of the event though there was a good range of choice from the valleys of Kashmir to the deserts of Rajasthan to Park Street’s Flurys.  Though the Biryani was light and flavoursome, the taste was average.

The Shammi Kabab was the highlight of the meal. It melted in the mouth and was a total hit. Their original shop, Shabnam Shammi Kabab, is located at Batla House. The paranthas accompanying these kababs were soft and delicious. The seekh kabab was aromatic and well-seasoned, though a little hard. The shawarama was also quite a delight with good flavours.  The Kashmiri stall was popular amongst the buyers, with their Gostaba, Rista and their famous drink, kahwa.  ‘Apno Rajasthan’ also gave us a variety of dishes ranging from kachori to dal pakoda to mawa kachori. The meal ended with a delightful fudge cake from Flurys. The only sentence to describe it would be, ‘heaven on a plate’.

Colourful kashmiri shawls, glittery accessories, good food and Qawali playing in the background created a nice ambience. The event had a very cosy and family-like environment, which can be attributed to the people who made it possible. Overall, it was an afternoon well spent.  We will be looking forward to Jamia Bazaar next year!

Photos by Foodie Photographer:Kali Walia

Bloggers Meet at Wokamama

By Sanskriti Nagar

What could have been better than sharing the best of Asian cuisine over an informative lunch session with bloggers from around the town? On the 11^th of October, Wokamama, undoubtedly Gurgaon’s best Pan-Asian restaurant held a Blogger’s meet in which they served us with their best dishes in the most beautiful way.

Not only the food, the ambience too is perfect, especially for a quiet Sunday brunch or a dinner with friends. In a crowded market street, Wokamama is a breath of fresh air. As soon as you enter, it teleports you directly from a busy DLF Phase III market street to the posh dining outs of Hauz Khas Village. I disagreed strongly from my other blogger friends who considered the interiors to be dimly lit. For me, Wokamama has achieved to maintain a perfect balance between its outdoors and indoors, with the outdoors being in bold oranges, nicely lit sections in night whereas indoors have gone a tone down, the walls done in tints of orange and the ambience a perfect play of oranges and browns. The staff was decent and welcoming, active at all times. We were fortunate to have owners of Wokamama, Mr Sameer Puri and Mr, M.P. Singh with us at the table who took every opportunity to provide us with the best services and explained us the ingredients, origin and process of the dishes being served which made my mouth water each time, even on the non-vegetarian dishes which I couldn’t delight being a vegetarian by choice.

I started with tasting a few Beverages. The Jasmine tea went well with the wet weather and my favorite Classic Mojito complimented me all throughout the lunch. The soups were good enough too; especially Tom Kha soup whose aroma instantly filled the room and the taste of coconut milk which was previously never accepted by my taste buds went well this time.

For Starters we were served with Chili Pepper Corn on Crispy Spinach, which exactly matched its name, it was chilli, was crispy, had corn but a little more pepper for my taste would have done magic. Next was Sushi, with wasabi, soya and ginger, was as good as any sushi I’ve ever tried but the next dish became my favourite, so much that I’ve told my mom to try it at home someday too. Vegetable Tempura (served with pineapple chilli sauce and tempura sauce) is a dish that goes through famous Japanese style air infused batter fried preparation and is according to me the best way to eat veggies, with crispy outside and softened veggies inside.The Main Course started with grilled Cottage Cheese in Banana Leaf (done in Indonesian Style) with delicate flavors and lots of spice.

 The second dish swept me off my feet; Eggplant had never tasted this delicious ever. Eggplant in Guilin Chilly had nice tangy flavors and nice crisp vegetables.

The third dish, Vegetable Green curry Noodles were something I was reluctant to try but on insistence when I tried them, they turned out to be a perfect combination of noodles with curry.

The dessert which was much awaited by me included two preparations, Coconut Rolls (served with pickled raisin and Cinnamon) and Mocca Rage. I call them preparations because they were prepared with thoughtful servings. Coconut Rolls were very delicious but they went up a bit higher on my scale with the pickled raisin and cinnamon whereas the stealer in Mocca Rage was the coffee ice-cream which complimented the Mocca cake very well.

Overall, the meal had freshly done vegetables steaming with flavours and delicious personalized changes added to each dish. The greens were pretty all throughout the meal.

What I liked most about the whole event was how well Mr. M.P. Singh explained us about each dish, its preparation and ingredients. Also, to see how well they involve themselves in each sector of the restaurant and the tons of knowledge they have about food.

Mr. M.P. Singh and Mr. Sameer Puri are owners of Ranch Cuisine Concepts, the pioneer firm in outdoor banqueting and the very first in this field. Along with Wokamama, they are proud owners of famous names such as Lotus Pond (NFC), Bamboo Shoots (Noida, Sec 18), Trance (Noida, Sec 63) and various other projects.

Price for two– Rs. 1600 (Quantity served is good enough)

Personal Recommendation– Eggplant in Guilin Chili and Tempura. Don’t hesitate to try the variety of sauces they serve, very creative in flavors.