vivin

Anil, My father comes from the Moti Mahal line of restaurants (close relative of one of the original owners). He now is a partner in a bunch of restaurants in Delhi. The oldest and biggest being Mughal Mahal in Rajendra Place near Hotel Siddhartha on Pusa Road. The one I was talking about in my post is called Mughal's and is in New Friends Colony. what else do you want to know?

The one that I remember comes from my dad's restaurant in New Delhi - the smaller one. I would stand outside at night (works better in the winter) and order Chicken Cheese Tikka (a signature dish of the Tandoori chef there). Even the other places my dad owns do not carry it on their menu. Chicken marinated in the usual mix of yoghurt and spices (the one additional one was white pepper). The bigger chickens were used to get good sized cubes (only works on boneless chicken). He would grill it in the Tandoor, pull it out at the last minute and soak it in melted Amul prcessed cheese for a minute. Back into the tandoor for a minute or so. A delicate balance between burning the cheese and mind-melding it with the chicken. With quality ingredients and my unearned standing as the owner's son - I would get perfect chicken cheese tikka everytime. This was a heavenly fusion of chicken and cheese (you could not tell where one ended and the other began). Lightly spiced and perfectly cooked - the most tender chicken I have ever had out of a tandoor. Think of the cheese as a finishing sauce rather than a glob of cheese on the chicken and you will get the idea. I would eat two whole chickens worth just standing there by myself. I once told Hemant (of Diwan Grill) about it. His tandoor skills are pretty good too. BUT the tandoori chef at my dad's place is a magician. Nothing else has ever been quite that good.

I am not a big fan of rabri. However, if it is fresh, it is delicious. I had some at Bukhara Grill (where else) a few weeks ago. I don't think it is on their regular menu. But it was YUMMY.

Steve, Glad to hear you had a good birthday. I had a marvelous experience trying the tasting menus at Lespinasse last fall. My wife's was the better of the two (vegetarian tasting). I would put Lespinasse as the best French dining I have had (over Jean Georges that is a step below in my three experiences).

On our recent (mid-Feb) trip to Paris, we went to both Le Grand Vefour and Arpege. Pretty much every one was wearing a suit/formal dress. I did get away with sport jacket and tie though. have fun...those two were both exceptional.

Thanks for the tip Suvir. Will try that out. Ever since Kwality sweets in Jackson Heights closed down, there is no good chaat house that I have been to. There is a Dimple in Jackson Heights, is there not? Are they the same people. That was unremarkable the last time I went there. What I am looking for is real chaat (not chana bhatura OR Pau Bhaji type stuff).

After a horrible experience at Sugiyama on Fri night, we made 1) Rice with nuts and carrots 2) Mixed daal (lentils) 3) Balti potatoes (more steamed than fried) Good hearty Indian meal over the weekend at home means that the high end meal of the weekend did not go down well.

There is a Pak/Indian grocery store in Stamford CT that has imported mangoes from Mexico. About 6 wks in the summer (out of the 12 they are available) they are just like the ones I remember from India (in Delhi). These are the normal mid sized variety (not too fibrous) and are perfect. My dad visited last summer and was surprised by the quality. You can walk into the store and the smell hits you. That is when you know they are right. Buy them in boxes of 12 for 7 bucks. I will ask him where he gets them and report back. I saw some the other day. Not there yet.

I am not up on all the names of mushrooms available in India but I have seen and tasted quite a few. Apart from the white button ones that are used in "mixed vegetable" type to dishes to lend flavor and texture, there are several varieties - used fresh or dried. I remember going hunting for wild mushrooms with my relatives on visits to Kashmir. Walk around in early morning fog on the slopes of mountains gathering mushrooms - you could do those things in the valley (amazing when I think about it). Suvir, I am slated to get a batch of the expensive black fungus when my Dad visits next. Aren't they called just black mushrooms or something like that. Intense flavor. I think the association with meat is due to texture. I hear you Suvir when you describe whole tandoori mushrooms (a regular on the grill here at the Oberoi/Rao household). When I had my sister taste them for the first time (she turned vegetarian on me a few years ago), she was amazed. Overall, I think they are used quite often when available in my family/friend circle in Delhi.

Grilled meats. Grilled veggies. Grilled fruits. Lots of fruit drinks (smoothies, milk shakes) especially when good mangoes are around (so far this season, I have not seen any good ones). Maybe I should start another thread - where do you buy your mangoes? Vivin.

Thanks, Steven. Great report. Keep 'em coming. certainly good to hear of good food in unheard of places. vivin

My family's day to day life has always revolved around food. So talking about food, cooking etc has been a favorite pass time for us. Never will tire of good food. Same goes for music. Need my dose every day. Going to Babbo again this Saturday. can't wait.

My wife and I love Paris and together with a close friend regularly visit high end food establishments in NYC. This trip was the result of a random idea that was made possible by the fact that we were able to bag reservations so close together (having planned 5 months in advance). The first day we had both lunch and dinner booked on the same day. We realized that was a foolish thing to do. We cancelled two lunch reservations after that. Besides that, it was great to be able to have a LOT of great food in a week and be able to compare it to one another. Lots of different approaches to similar dishes. Everyday, we thought our palettes were tired. We would groan and moan about too much food, drag ourselves to the next meal, and then get hungry as soon as we got the menus in our hands. It is a testament to the quality of the food that we did not tire of eating. It is however unlikely that I will be going to French places in NYC anytime soon ;-)

Every weekend we would eat rice with Punjabi Chhole (blackened and spiced with Mango Pickle masala) and Rajmah (punjabi style kidney beans). Parathas for breakfast. Dinner at my dad's restaurant (I was able to go over the weekend) would consist mainly of tandoori items - start with some seekh kabab at around 8pm (while standing next to the tandoor). Followed by chicken malai kabab at 10pm. Dinner with Dad at 12 at night would be tandoori roti (did not like naan that much) with Butter Chicken (that was famous all over New Delhi) followed by some Kulfi (the oringial from this place near Karol Bagh). I would work at my dad's restaurant during summer vacation and repeat this routine every night. what a life. Suvir, no thanx for reminding me of this. To think I could still be doing it...

cabrales, are you going to post about your meals in Paris? Just curious...

Besides bad publicity and being the target of political groups with their own agendas, KFC is up against the local variation of fried chicken (chicken pakora) that has been around for a long time. It is tastier (usually made of marinated chicken) in my opinion. McDonald's, on the other hand, does not have to face any local fare as direct competition. From my limited experience New Delhi outlets of both, McDonald's has done a much better job of customising its menu to local tastes as well. Just my impression.

Just as Passard has a style all his own, I think Ducasse's food has to be rated (and appreciated) in and of itself. I am not sure by doing the truffle menu we got a comprehensive sense of what his other dishes might be like. I would rate, purely food wise, Passard and Guy Martin as being the most innovative but Ducasse is right up there for pure yumminess (sans the shock). It kind of grew on you as you ate more and more. His philosophy of giving you the best of what is available - be it wine, truffles, tea, desserts, cheese and certainly not excluding the food - is formidable. I am usually the first person turned off by the hype of the showbiz - different pens etc. I saw none of that at ADPA. Snipping off mint leaves in front of you was the only thing I considered over the top. Otherwise, all the little touches had class written all over them.

The dessert cart indeed came around but we were too full to try anything. Mao had a toffee, I think. Maybe he can describe it. The other thing is that we did not encounter the reported "we will charge you for everything you lay your hands on" approach. There were no extra charges on our bill - dessert cart or other carts. The whole experience at ADPA was superlative. The food never dipped below excellent. Fat Guy, thanx for recommending it - yours was the only real recommendation among a sea of negative comments.

I agree with Fat Guy's opinion. To reiterate - "the proof is in the pudding." It is much less subjective in the sciences. However, when a graduate student (like John Nash) comes up with an idea, he is awarded the Ph.D. Students come up with proofs to theorems while they are first year students (or even undergrads in some cases). In Nash's case, he happened to come up with a Nobel Prize winning idea in a field that was not his chosen one either (economics). So is he like an ignorant chef who chanced upon a great idea and be denied recognition for the sake of some ideological standard? I do not believe so. Same goes for musicians. Even in academics, people argue that creativity is stifled by experience. I am not endorsing either point of view. I am just saying that a good idea is good irrespective of the intent behind its origin.

Suvir, Absolutely makes sense. You are right about bringing up your background in this. It matters a lot. I married a Brahmin from Karnataka. Does that matter? Yes it does. The music she listens to, the food she cooks, everything. We immigrants walk this line everyday. I also agree with you about what you call fusion with legs. I will give you an analogy from the audiophile world. There are a lot of audiophiles who forget that our passion is music first, equipment and its reproduction later. They will argue about what circuit topology is best or what tube produces the best harmonal structure etc etc. Your ears will tell you right from wrong. What are we talking about? The proof is in the pudding, my friends. Go taste Passard's cooking or Guy Martin's. I am not talking about Sushi Samba here. There was also an amuse bouche of desserts that I forgot to mention. Darjeeling tea sorbet. Are you kidding me? I might be relatively new to the world of Michelin three stars but I was raised to distinguish between an amazing tasting concoction and a merely good one. This was amazing. This is what it is all about.

Simon, I agree your basic premise. I also agree with Steve that fusion is mostly failed experimentation. But fusion defined as "deep culinary prejudice" just amuses me. I have tasted a lot of so called fusion food (and heard a lot of so called "fusion music"). What I tasted out of Passard's and Guy Martin's kitchen was above the purely theoretical criticism leveled here. You might have issue with how my ignorant self presented the subject. However, when flavors and textures are in such harmony that you wonder if you have ever tasted the real thing ever before, that my friends, just might be evolution. And that is what my tongue told me. And I am going to vote with my wallet and go back to both places on my next trip (whenever that is).

Which brings us to another question that could be a thread in its own - Who here thinks "Curry Powder" is an Indian spice? would someone take a stab at the origins of this beast?

Last week, I went to six Michelin three-star restaurants in Paris. Three star chefs have incorporated various degrees of influences from other cuisines into their kitchens. Japanese cuisine’s influence on French haute cuisine has been noted and documented over the years. Visual as well as textural elements of Japanese cuisine were extensively at display at Guy Savoy. What was surprising (to me), however, was the extent to which Indian spices have proliferated the kitchens at these temples of French haute cuisine. I can not claim authoritatively that the spices are Indian in origin. The maitre d’ at L’Arpege declared that “the chef is in love with vegetables.” My wife and I decided to do the vegetarian tasting menu. How much that had to do with the extensive (meaning in 4 or 5 dishes) use of Indian spices. Cumin was the most used spice in this menu. Of note, light sea urchin ravioli with chives, saffron and cumin served in a seafood consume. Each taste hit the tongue one after another-- the slurp of clear broth into a bite of soft ravioli, the onioniness of chives arriving into your mouth at the same time as the texture of sea urchin followed by whiffs of saffron and a final bite of cumin. Then there were carrot sticks simply cooked in some sort of butter with roasted ground cumin. Not a lot. Texture, scent, the flavors of the butter and cumin perfectly mingling with the superb carrots. It was almost like a light sabzi of carrots (although I do not remember cumin being in carrot sabzis). As a side note, the famous Tomato Confit dessert with 12 flavors including dried nuts, herbs, cinnamon etc. This was an Indian style dessert almost. a) the texture was overly dominated by the dried fruits and nuts b) the 12 flavors kind of stepped on themselves a bit too much :-). Topped with vanilla ice cream with warm sauce. It was fruity and nutty and ice creamy and syrupy all at the same time. At Le Grand Vefour (as everywhere else) black truffles were everywhere. However, one of the main courses that I ordered was fillet of turbot with a yellow sauce. This sauce was chock full of very typical south Indian flavors (ok, ok I am ignorant about what goes into South Indian “tadkas”) and turmeric (accounting for the color). Fantastic. I was reminded of the spices my wife uses in Yoghurt Rice as such dishes. At Guy Savoy, a grilled fillet of sea bass with skin on came with a vanilla sauce with coriander powder and topped with shitake mushrooms for texture. The coriander was on the side and added that little punch of flavor and aroma to the fish. It is interesting to me what determines the timing and the direction of such movements. I also have a dozen CDs of house music from several Paris clubs that have incorporated (heavily) elements of Indian folk music and are quite popular (Nirvana Lounge, Buddha Bar to name a couple). Some of them redone/remixed versions of traditional songs that I heard as a kid. Any ideas why this infusion is happening in France? What, if any will be the effect of this fusion (or Tabla’s) on Indian restaurants/chefs ? comments??

Since Mao has described the meals very well already, I will add the following from my own notes without boring you with redundant descriptions. For the first time the wine complemented the food in a real, sensual manner. This is not your ordinary “acidity of the wine cut perfectly the fat in my dish” that I have been writing for years. This redefined my view of what good wine is and what it can do for food. Further, the cheese plate was good but L’Conti (3 yr old) was superb. What a slice of cheese. I realized that I have never gotten it with cheese. I have never had pieces of cheese stolen by my companions at a reputable establishment before. Amuse Bouche number two for me was – and aptly named – the black truffle. Paper thin slices of blace truffles almost all perfect round and arranged in overlapping fashion to mimic a two inch dome that looked like a whole black truffle to me until I touched with my fork. The slices gave way to the inside, filled with watercress for texture and dressing. Fooled the eyes; entertained the olfactory and then the palate. After having chewed on quarter inch think slices of black truffles the night before in bewilderment, I was floored by the silky texture and flavor of the same beast as it opened up in a volcano of aroma on my tongue. Note to myself – refusal to share with wife will result in retribution. My second half portion was sea bass completely cooked with slices of dikon radish (??) and long thin slices of some vegetable with creamy sauce on top with a very mild salsa like sauce surrounding it. Thin, wiry French fries on the side. Pile some on top with the sauce. Place on the tongue. The top inside of the mouth causes the structure to collapse and spread in your mouth that was a controlled release of myriad textures and flavors, all at the same time. What a sensation. I got it right the second time on. This guy is a magician. It was like an elaborate cake but not a production for the sake of it. Dessert – Melting fresh goat cheese with fresh ground pepper that heightened its sweetness. Vanilla ice cream with impossibly thin drizzle of caramel and a third concoction that I do not remember. “Please eat together” was the advice. Wow! My wife’s clementine sorbet with fresh clementines with julienne of clementines on top was less subtle but equally effective. Combined with the hint of rose (in the Muscat accompaniment), the desserts took my palate into the delirious zone. My mind was playing my favorite arias by now, I kid you not. My wife’s mint tea order necessitated a whole cart to be rolled out. Herbs needed to be snipped off potted plants (second shelf), washed, water for the tea heated on a sparkling clean stove to the perfect temp and tea prepared right in front of you. A little over the top but also conveyed the sense that everything has to be done right way. The service was perfect but not sterile or stuffy. We were completely comfortable in asking any questions we wanted to. Our wishes were honored, without a fuss. We seemed to be in complete control except that they were at the rudder in creating an evening that was a class apart. There was a fingerbowl with fragrant flowers in it with a separate smaller napkin. They handed us a souvenir menu outside the dining room. With a still warm loaf of bread to take home. A simple yet profound gesture. The consistency of the meal was astounding. The perfection of the dishes and the service formidable. I pray that ADNY is almost as good.

Bux, Fat guy is right. The term marmalade was used here to describe a thick, gooey paste of potatoes - I remember it to be white (no strings of oranges involved or truffles for that matter). It bound the dish together well.