Jewels of Swagath Grand

If you are in the vicinity of Habsiguda and need a change of pace or simply come back to familiar flavors, hop on to the nearest auto and ask the guy to take you straight to Swagath Grand. It is kind of a landmark around those parts so you will not miss it. Liveried guards welcome you in and you find the table next to the glass walls which gives you a view of the traffic below and the under construction metro signs. It is easy to ignore them. The ambiance is slightly dark and the neon white lights right above the table is slightly distracting but the food and the service more than makes up for it.

Now, me and my friends have been there often enough to know how to pick and choose from the menu. It has been laborious process of order and elimination. Some day there was gobi manchurian[spicy-really spicy], other time it was Biryani[all right] and some other time it was Gongura mutton[good]. But, the piece de resistance of the place - the one which you will come back for - is the Seven Jewel Fried Rice and Cauliflower in Red and Green Pepper Gravy. Quite a few of the restaurants that serve Chinese around the country have the reputation of being more Indo-Chinese rather than Chinese. I mean, authenticity takes the back door for some of them[curry leaves, chili powder, sometimes even using gram flour]. This place definitely hits the standard somewhere really close to the authentic scale - well-flavored and memorable. You will go back to the place just to have that rice and that cauliflower dish.

The Seven Jewel fried rice is delicately flavored but it is not a blank canvas. It can hold its own against any course that you use as its compliment. Slightly peppery, slightly spicy - the rice is cooked perfectly and then tossed with the nine jewels or the vegetables [I think I can identify mushrooms, baby corn, carrots, cabbage, spring onions, bell peppers, beans, peas etc]. The vegetables are cooked al dente - not too well but not edging towards raw either. And having this dish on more than one occasion I can say that they do get it right every time they serve it. The Cauliflower in red and green pepper sauce was suggested by my friend. And I was not disappointed. It formed the perfect accompaniment to the fried rice. Fried cauliflowers tossed with assorted bell peppers and then coated with spicy hot sauce - you really cannot go wrong with that.
All in all, the experience is a pleasant one and one you keep going back to. While the Indian items verge on being run of the mill, the Chinese items are done with a little more finesse. And, because of that, the place forms a quick getaway for either lunch and dinner. So go forth and enjoy its culinary delights.

Location: Habsiguda, Near Blue Orchid
What to try: The Seven Jewel Fried Rice, Cauliflower in red and green pepper, Chicken Spring rolls
Rating: 4/5

Aloo ki sabzi

Potatoes fried in oil and spices - you really cannot go wrong with that. This recipe - be it as a side-dish to be had with puris or the regular dal and rice, a filling for samosas or paranthas, or just like that with papdi chat - is very versatile and flexible. As stated above - there are a lot of options for this recipe. And its quick and easy. So really it is a win-win all round.
The only preparation required is boiling the potatoes. After that, a quick stir-fry and you are done. The post you see is as short as the recipe I am about to write. Trust me it is that simple. So, try it out for dinner tonight or for breakfast tomorrow. You will not regret it.

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, boiled and diced
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp jeera
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp kitchen king powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil. Add cumin and splutter for a few seconds.
Add the potatoes and fold in the oil and the jeera. Sprinkle all the spice powders and adjust the salt.
Mix everything together and cook for a few more minutes. It should not take more than 5 to 7 minutes for the spices to cook.
Serve hot.

Mint rice

There is nothing better than a pulao well-made. You need to make sure that the rice is perfectly soft and fluffy. The spice added to it should compliment and not detract the flavor of the rice. And when you finally eat, it should be the perfect canvas for every curry or sabzi that you make. Most of the time when you make this dish, it involves a lot of work. But, it does not have to - not every time. For me, when it is Friday night and you need to something quick and delicious - you make this rice. This is an adaptation of the rice recipe that my aunt makes so as to wire it for convenience.
All you need is rice, mint, onion and chillies. And, lots of pepper. You can make all of this in a rice cooker. That will cut down on the cooking and the utensil time. A one-pot wonder for any occasion.

Ingredients:
A bunch of mint
1 medium onion sliced
1 green chilly chopped
1and 1/2 cup of rice soaked
salt to taste
3 cups of water
2 tbsp of pepper
Oil for frying

Method:
Heat oil. Saute onion and chillies. Cook till onions are light brown.
Add the mint and pepper. Steam it for two minutes. Add the rice and salt. Fold in all the ingredients. Pour in the water and set it to cook till the rice it soft. Add a little water if you think the rice is a little chewy. Fluff the rice with a work.
I served this rice with egg curry and dahi baingan. But, this dish is so versatile that you can serve it with any curry from vegetarian to non-vegetarian. Happy cooking!

Khansaab

This is a very specific review to a very specific dish. It rarely happens that I go to a place and fixate on one particular dish. Don't get me wrong - the food there is really good. Khansaab is the epitome of Awadhi and Lucknowi cuisine and hospitality. Tikkas, shorba, biryanis, gulab jamun - they have the whole spread ready for you to partake in. But their Peshawari paneer tikka is spectacular. As my friend and partner-in-crime stated, "It is like biting into a cloud". And she was right. This tikka was melt-in-the-mouth in the true sense. Probably the best one I have tried yet.

The dish comprises of blocks of paneer marinated with spicy and creamy filling. There is a slight hint of smoke that tickles the back of the throat. It is the perfect compliment to the creaminess of the paneer. This is served with cool raita, pudina chutney and imli chutney. You mix the imli and raita and dip your tikka into. The spicyness is abetted to the right amount. The mint chutney adds to the fragrant spice of the tikka. But, it is rich. So, split it with your fellow vegetarians so that you can make room for their biryani and gulab jamun.
And forgive me for the cliches. It is slightly unavoidable when confronted with such delicious Awadhi cuisine. The last thing I would say is that if you are in the vicinity please do go and order this dish. You will not regret it. Perhaps this post is short - but when it is that delicious sometimes simple words does the trick.

Location: Gvk One Mall, Road no.1, Banjara Hills
What to try: Peshawari Paneer Tikka, Subz panchmel biryani, 
Rating: 4.2/5

Paneer Pakoda

There are some recipes that stay with you. Even though you might have outgrown them, you still go back to them - for the memories and the taste. These little melting moments were created by my mother to add the crunchy element to the meals that she would make for my sister and me. I still remember watching my mother at the stove whisking stuff for the batter while cutting cubes of paneer and then mixing everything together. The oil would be smoky and sizzle very satisfactorily when she added the chunks of battered paneer into it. Over the years I have sort memorized the basic elements that she used and then added my own ingredients in order to make the batter that is right for almost every vegetables, meat or fish that you can think of. It is quick, easy and once you master it - you won't need to measure. You will just throw your ingredients together and then-boom-out come crispy battered pakodas.

 Ingredients:
Paneer cut into chunks
1cup besan or gram flour
2tsp red chilli powder
2tsp garam masala
1 dried red chilli chopped finely
a pinch of salt
a pinch of baking soda
water as needed

Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add a tablespoon of water and whisk. Add another and whisk again. You should need around 4-5 tablespoon of water. The batter should not be thick like a cake batter not should be watery. It should just coat the paneer.
Heat oil till its slightly smoky. To check, drop a little bit of batter into the oil. If it sizzles, then your oil is ready. Add the cubes of paneer. Fry till golden brown.
Before serving sprinkle a little chat masala. You can serve this as an appetizer, a crispy side-dish or little bite-sized nibbles for parties. Enjoy!