Luncheon in the Queen of Hills

Dehradun is home for me and being here for a month means a lot of ghar ka mummy ke haath ka khaana (which I do not get in Mumbai), lots of cooking and of course trips to Mussoorie, the Queen of Hills. Getting home was not less than a herculean task this time thanks to Jet Airways- flight delayed, connecting flight missed, no flight same day, luggage lost; basically a lot of tamasha. After all this, I managed to reach home on February 2^nd, on my Dadu’s birthday and just in time for my Dad’s birthday which falls on the 3^rd of February.

And in this weather, we decided to drive up to Mussoorie for lunch to celebrate Dad’s birthday. What a fantastic idea :)

It’s a half an hour drive from my place too Mussoorie and the roads are winding (please note people who are prone to nausea on such journeys). However, once that is taken care of, the view is spectacular-add to that the chilly weather and some Maggi points where you can stop a while and devour the delicious Maggi noodles prepared by the small dhabas enroute.

Mall Road, Mussoorie

However, as we were specifically going for lunch and usually do the Maggi scene when we are just going for a drive in the evening, we gave this a miss and headed straight to the Mall Road to go to Tavern Restaurant. To our dismay, on entering the restaurant we realized that the central heating was not working and the place seemed quite stuffy. During the season this place is always buzzing with people and in fact it is difficult to manage a table here, but off season and we didn’t want to take a chance. Stepped out in the freezing cold and were wondering where to cure our growling tummies when we spotted My Shop.

My Shop, Mussoorie

My Shop is a very old (read: about 15-20 years old) restaurant situated at the Mall Road.  My Dad tells me that earlier this was a shop where woolens were sold. Very recently My Shop has acquired space from the video games parlour that was adjacent to it to increase the seating capacity. I have been here on numerous occasions earlier but it had been a while since we had tucked in some food from My Shop on any of our trips to Mussoorie as we head to Char Dukaan, Rokeby or Tavern on most of our trips. While this restaurant is open, with no central heating, from the outside the live tandoor counter looked extremely inviting. We dashed in and just about saved ourselves from the drizzle that had started.

The whiff of the tandoor was driving us crazy and we ordered for half a Tandoori Chicken right away. The menu is a decent spread of Mughlai food and while we waited for our first dish to arrive it started hailing. What a pretty sight! Too bad I couldn’t take a picture because as soon as I got up to click our Tandoori Chicken was on the table and food is more of a love than the weather; which is just an accompaniment. The Tandoori Chicken was hot, good looking and well seasoned. The chicken was cooked through and through and the flavor of the tandoor was infused well within. Don’t forget to squeeze a wedge of lemon on top and you would be licking your fingers.

Tandoori Chicken

My Shop passed the starter-test and on scanning through the variety available on the menu we decided to call for the Kali Mirch Chicken, the My Shop special Dal Makhani and tandoori rotis. 

It took about 10-15 minutes for our food to arrive and this is where I would like to add a note for the service. While the Kali Mirch Chicken and the Dal Makhani was served, along with the accompaniments- onion rings, lemon wedges and green chilies- it took them another 5 minutes to bring the rotis to us.  Because of our starving selves, it was torturous to just wait for rotis while we were staring at the beauty that was the dal and chicken. Thankfully by the time the fresh and soft Tadoori Rotis arrived, the dishes had not gotten cold else the experience would have been a disaster.

Kali Mirch Chicken

The Kali Mirch Chicken was a spicy and thick gravied affair with a very distinct flavor of black pepper. While I would give full marks to the gravy I feel that all the flavours had not entered the chicken. Nevertheless, the dish was enjoyed in the freezing cold weather. 

Dal Makhani

The Dal Makhani was topped with oodles of white butter and this made the dish rich, creamy and extremely satisfying. While at home we usually try to cook a healthy version of Dal Makhani by cutting down on the amount of butter that goes in, we also end up compromising on the taste factor. Here, however, the flavor was plentiful and going by the way this Dal Makhani tasted, I give it a rating higher than the Kali Mirch Chicken. 

For our second round of rotis we ordered a Pudina Parantha along with the rotis. This was delicious to the core, warm, soft, and yummy. Apologies for not letting you feast with your eyes on this one as really it got over within seconds. The bill for all this was a total of Rs. 710! 

The regular scene after a meal in Mussoorie is to stop at the corner Mussoorie Sweet Shop to feast on some jalebis or gulab jamuns and some badaam elaichi doodh- and that is exactly what we did. 

Gulab Jamuns

Badaam Elaichi vaala Doodh

I gave the jalebis a miss this time even though they looked quite tempting- hot and crisp- and went ahead with the badaam elaichi doodh and gulab jamun. 

Badaam Elaichi vaala Doodh in Kulhad

The hot milk infused with almonds and cardamom and a special treat of chopped almonds at the bottom served in clay kulhads is a delightful drink and was indeed a treat in this weather. I gulped down two of these. The Gulab Jamuns that they serve here are just as I like- no dry fruits, right amount of sugar, soft and hot. Your visit to Mussoorie is incomplete without paying a visit to this Mussoorie Sweet Shop and devouring on the yumminess that is served here.

Gulab Jamun

The other tried and tested eateries that I’d suggest to people who are visiting Mussoorie are- The Green (serves delicious vegetarian food), Tavern (Mughlai, Chinese and Sizzlers), Kalsung (known for its Chinese and Tibetan fair), Rokeby Manor (go there for taking a tour of the beautiful property and the breakfast), Char Dukaan-Landour (for a great open aired ambiance and food like bun omelette, pancakes, waffles, various maggi preparations, ginger lemon tea and coffee served to you on tiny tables right outside the shops), Doma’s Inn (for their veg momos which are better than any non vegetarian momos that you would have ever had), Chic Chocolate (for the various desserts they offer and their hot chocolate) and Deodar Woods (for the pizzas).

My Comfort Food

Hello hello hello! So I have been missing, hibernating and undercover(s) (literally) for a while now, at least as far as the blog is concerned. Not to say that I haven’t been gorging on scrumptious food now and then but the lazy bum in me has just not been penning it down. And could that be because nothing was as inspiring to be written about? Let me think. No. it’s just me- I am lazy. However, I have finally come out of my shell and I am ready to bombard the blog, for the benefit of all my lovely readers, with some delicious stories.

Winters are here, whatever little we get in Bombay (Nothing compared to the winters in the North. Nothing!), and the mood is all set. Spicy food is always a plus in winters because of the heat it generates. And here, keeping in line with the lovely weather, I give to you the tale of me cooking this amazing, simple, colourful, fiery and delectable Super Junglee Chicken Curry. This one is specifically for all the mirchi lovers but of course, the spice can be adjusted for those with delicate palates.  Another fuss free dish that I love, and which turns out extremely tasty is our very own, close to heart, and comfort food for many- Paneer Bhurji.

Both the dishes are extremely easy to prepare and are well suited for someone to inaugurate their inner chef with!

Super Junglee Chicken Curry

This dish is extremely close to my heart because it was the first chicken dish prepared by me without any help/ supervision from my mom or any other person. It was just one of those times when I really wanted to eat the ghar ka chicken curry with rice and well when you’re staying over 1500 kilometers away from your home then no, calling up mommy and requesting chicken curry is not an option. So I just decided to give this recipe that I had found online a shot. I mean how difficult could it be right? Right! It is extremely simple. You can actually read a book or watch your favourite movie side by side or even chit chat on your phone while this dish is being prepared. Trust me.

Let’s get started!

This dish serves 2-3 persons.

Ingredients:

Skinless Chicken (on the bone)- ½ kg (washed and cleaned)

Oil- 3 tbsp

Fennel Seeds / Saunf - 2 tsp

Red Onions  - 2 large thinly sliced

Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 2 tsp

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Tomato-4 chopped

Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pressure cooker on medium flame and once heated, add the fennel seeds/ saunf.
• Once the fennel seeds have crackled add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes.
• When the onions have been sautéed well, add in the ginger garlic paste and mix well.
•  Next add in the salt and all the spice powders. Mix well.
• Throw in the chopped tomatoes. The tomatoes can be roughly or finely chopped  depending on the type of texture you prefer. Throw in the curry leaves as well and cook till the tomatoes turn mushy.
  
• Once the tomatoes have become soft add in the chicken pieces. Toss well in the masala.
• Now cover the pressure cooker and let it cook for 3 whistles. (This is the time you can read a book or do something else on the side).
• After the 3 whistles, lower the flame and cook for 15 minutes on a low flame.
• Switch off the flame and let the pressure go all by itself. 
• After opening the pressure cooker add the coriander leaves and mix well.
• Serve with rice or roti.

Paneer Bhurji

Simple vegetarian comfort food- that’s what Paneer Bhurji means to me. It is a popular north Indian dish. Bhurji means scrambled and in this dish the main ingredient is scrambled cottage cheese. I remember there used to be days at home when I would insist on Paneer Bhurji being made if something that I wasn’t too fond of had been prepared for a meal. The fact that it’s simple, quick and easy is an added bonus.

This dish serves 2-3 persons.

Ingredients:

Paneer (Cottage Cheese) - 200 gms, crumbled

Red Onion- 1 medium sized, finely chopped

Tomato- 1 large or 2 medium sized finely chopped

Green Chillies- 1 or 2, finely chopped

Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder or haldi- ¼ tsp

Red Chilli Powder- ½ tsp

Garam Masala Powder- ¼ tsp

Cumin Seeds or Jeera- ½ tsp

Oil/ Ghee/ Butter - 1.5 tbsp

Salt as required

Coriander/dhania leaves for garnishing (optional)

Method:

• First and foremost, crumble the paneer/cottage cheese and keep aside. If you are using frozen paneer (Amul or any other brand), take it out of the packet and soak it in luke warm water for a few minutes. This will defrost the paneer and make it soft thus making it easy to crumble.  (Note- The paneer can be crumbled by chopping, grating or mashing with hands. Out of all these methods, mashing the paneer with hands would be the best so as to retain the soft texture of the paneer. I would insist you do that. Get your hands messy. It’s worth it!)
• Heat the oil/ ghee or butter in a pan and once heated, add the cumin seeds.
• Once the cumin seeds have browned add the onions and sauté for a few minutes.
• Do not let the onions cook for a long time. As soon as they turn translucent, add the ginger garlic paste and the chopped green chillies. Saute the ingredients till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away.
• Then add the tomatoes and cook till they become soft. Adding a pinch of salt at this stage will help the tomatoes cook faster.
• Once the tomatoes have become soft, add all the dry spice powders - turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala powder. Mix well.
• At this stage add the crumbled paneer and let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not cook the paneer for a long time as it would lose its soft texture.
• Lastly add chopped coriander leaves to paneer bhurji and mix.
• Serve the delicious and colorful paneer bhurji with toast/ roti/ paranthas or pav. I served mine with fresh and warm pav :) !

Needless to say, both these dishes make me think of home and home food! Try them out and surprise someone :)