Black and White Wednesday: Chocolate Magic

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"There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate." ~ Linda Grayson

Black and White Photography has a special place in my heart. Just the fact that we are looking at something which has no-color-whatsoever makes it so beautiful and intriguing. Isn't it. Susan of "The Well Seasoned Cook" has asked us all to do the same, but with food-related pictures. Here is my humble attempt with something I photographed at an event in The Leela Palace, Bangalore.

Posted for Black & White Wednesdays.

Siri

Siri's Eat Outs | Restaurant Visits: Jalpaan, Bangalore

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Note: This is not a paid-promotion. All the views and opinions expressed in this post are my own and does not represent the restaurant in any manner..

It has been on our minds to do Bangalore restaurant reviews since I have moved back here. Finally, we took the plunge and chose Jalpaan to be our first outing.

Located in busy Jayanagar 7th block, Jalpaan is a cosy little place which serves Indian, Italian and some Oriental fare. We went for a Sunday afternoon lunch and the place was almost packed with hungry diners. With some beautiful beaded drapes and carved headboards separate seating nooks, the place looked nice and well ventilated. Here is a glimpse of the table where we were seated -

Now, lets jump into the food part. Shall we? The one thing Jalpaan is very famous for is - its bubbling pot of goodness "Cheese Fondue". Mads tasted this before and gave a big thumbs-up. Since then, I was so eager to have it myself and Oh boy! it was an amazing experience.

...what's not to love about - cheese, herbs and that too set low on a burner so that you can slowly melt into its gooey-goodness. It is available in two flavors - The Original and Fondue Margherita

We ordered Fondue Margherita and here is a short description what it is -

Classic cheese fondue mixed with Italian herbs, ground sun-dried tomatoes & pesto served with grilled foccacia croutons, skin-on potato wedges, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms & peas tossed with Italian herb sauce.

Now, isn't the description by itself is mouth watering. Trust me, the entire, elaborative set up which costs INR 399 was truly a treat to our senses. It easily serves two people and I am sure you will fight for that last spoonful of herb cheese lurking at the very bottom. A high probability for a Fondue-Fork-War might happen. :-).

Grilled Focaccia Croutons and Potato Wedges, ready to be dipped into the cheese fondue

Broccoli, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes coated with one of the best pesto sauces I ever had!

Though we were already full by the cheese fondue, we were determined to taste more. Just one dish is not enough to rate a restaurant. Isn't it.

California Quesadilla

We moved on and ordered a California Quesadilla. Stuffed with red, green and yellow peppers, onions and zucchini, it tasted yum. :D Served with a relish and sour cream on the side, which tasted more like hung-curd to me.

Peppers, Onions and Cheese - California Quesadilla

Dish # 3 was a Fried Chilli Baby Corn lightly coated with sesame seeds. The latter provided a nice crunch to the appetizer and amdist of all our chatter, it was gone in minutes.

Fried Chilli Babycorn coated with sesame seeds

Their menu was quite long with many choices covering across 3 cuisines. As we were not able to decide what to try next, we asked the manager to send in their best signature dishes, the ones it is hard to get anywhere else.

Hence came "Potli Biryani"...

Potli Biryani

Doesn't the dish look super cute and fancy. It is like a laddle-full of biryani stuffed in a poori. ;-). It was quite impressive how the waiter chopped off the top of this potli and served us the biryani inside. But, it tasted too tomato-ey for us. All we could taste is just the tomato flavor mixed in with rice & some spices.

As the wise say - "All things potlis that look good, doesn't necessarily have to taste good".

Sizzler Dum Aloo Makai Biryani with Raita

But the saying doesn't go well with all the dishes, I must say. Lets talk about this Sizzler Dum Aloo Makai Biryani for a second. It truly looks colorful and tastes even better than that. Served with some mixed raita, it was moderately spicy. Having tasted many hyderabadi biryanis before, this definitely gets a big nod from my side.


If the folks of Jalpaan are reading this - We have a little feedback for you. Wrap this sizzler biryani into that potli above. I am pretty much sure, it will be a winner and that's when a true justice to potli is done ;-)!

Lal Mirch Ka Paratha

When tasted as-is, this Lal Mirch Ka Paratha, is just like as the name suggests - chilli powder rolled into a paratha. If you are ordering this, I would strongly recommend to go with a milder side-dish like daal tadka to compensate for the spiciness in the paratha.

Jantar Mantar

Jantar-Mantar was the next that we tasted and sadly it was too oily for me. Not a great pairing with the lal mirch paratha either. All I can say is - it tastes like many other mixed vegetable dry curries that we get out there but I like the pomegranate seeds topping.

Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first. ~ Ernestine Ulmer

...but we saved the best for the last. Litchi Ki Teheri, with its payasam-like-consistency and topped with chopped nuts was out-of-this-world. Definitely, there couldn't be a better ending than this. A must try :D

Litchi Ki Teheri

After tasting so much food, we would definitely need some of these - ;-)

My Recommendations: Fondue Margherita, Sizzler Dum Aloo Makai Biryani, Litchi Ki Teheri

Jalpaan Details:

Address:  # 539-49, 9th Cross, 7th Block, KanakaPura Road, Jayanagar, Bangalore - 82
Phone No: +91-80-26761992
Cuisine: Italian, Oriental, India
Service: Good
Cards Accepted: Yes
Vegetarian Menu; Home Delivery & Dine In Facility Available.


I hope you enjoyed touring and tasting Jalpaan as we much I did. I would highly recommend to give Jalpaan a try and if you do, I would love to know how your experience was...

until next time,
Siri

Olive Oil Tasting and {Recipe} Spaghetti Aglio Olio

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It is my dream to go to Greece and then Italy one day. To enjoy their pristine blue beaches and also to spend a day or two on their olive oil plantations. I love olive oil and for me, garlic bread with olive oil could be a meal in itself. It is always intriguing to me how each of the olive oils taste and vary by the region in which they are cultivated and the extraction process as well. Some are spicy & pungent, Some fruity with bitter peppery tones and some very delicately fruity.

So, when I got an opportunity to know all about olive oil & taste them, I literally jumped with joy and landed there.

Beautiful Red Roses at the conference..

Olive Oil ready for tasting..

It was an initiative by Oliveitup, a three-year campaign in collaboration with Italy and for promoting European olive oil in India. It organises a series of training activities and information services to disseminate correct knowledge of this amazing product.

See the below pic. it is Mr.Michele Labarile, the tasting expert who shared a wealth of his knowledge about tasting different kinds of olive oil that were put forth in front of us. The procedure is as subtle and similar to wine-tasting. Here is a brief overview for you all -

1) Pour the oil in a small glass and gently swirl in order to release all the aromas.  2) ..smell the oil, first briefly then more deeply. 3) ..now sip a small quantity of oil and try to keep it in front of your mouth between your lower lip and your tightly shut teeth... 4) .. now breathe in through the clenched teeth, first delicately, then more vigorously, so as to vaporise the oil inside the mouth and the sides of the tongues, where the taste buds are... 5) ..then while trying to identify the aromas & flavours, exhale from the nose so that the vaporised oil particles can reach the nasal membrane giving even more precise sensation.. 6) ...once you can a clear taste profile (ranging from being fruity to bittery to peppery), expel the oil!

Phew!, see it is not that easy to taste olive oil and needs a lot of precision & practice. :-)

Mr. Michle Labarile, the tasting expert in action.

Did you know: a diet rich in olive oil (esp extra virgin variety) can strengthen your immune system, reduce cholestrol, prevent many cardiovascular diseases, lower blood pressure and can have a positive impact on the emergence of diabetes.

I, like many others out there was always under the impression that olive oil is good for no-cook recipes as I was under the impression that it should not be heated to a high temperature. I was so Wrong!!!!. Olive oil has a higher smoking point and for all our Indian cooking needs, it can be comfortably used. Nutritional Expert - Ishi Khosla confirmed that fact during this meet. From then on, I have started to use more of Olive oil and less of processed oils such as vegetable oil & canola oil.

The next big highlight of the whole event was to see the most exuberant celebrity chef on Indian TV - Vicky Ratnani live, in action Yes, the Gourmet Guru himself.

Here are some shots from his cooking demo -

Chef VR mostly uses Olive Oil for his cooking..

Different colors of peppers, finely chopped & ready for use..

Chef VR's very famous "Hathoda", a.k.a Pepper Grinder

Guess what Chef VR made for us? The most unusual combination of flavors which came out so beautifully.

He made Root Vegetable Cutlets with Peach & Bell pepper chutney. Yumm-de-dum :D. Both of them were like match-made-in-heaven and super fantastic.

Root Vegetable Cutlets, ready to be shallow fried.

Of course there was media too in the event and here is Chef VR giving a brief interview - why he loves olive oil over others..

The final dish: this is how it looked. You can see the amazing plating skills of Chef VR in the below shot.

Image Credits: A special thanks to Mads for letting me share the pics above from the olive oil tasting event.

Now, coming to the recipe - Spaghetti Aglio Olio. It is totally Italian-o, as Chef VR says and it is his recipe of course from the show "Gourmet Central"!!!. :-). One bite and you are transported back to Italy. It is simple yet very tasty and if you are a pasta-lover like me, this could be a perfect snack at any time of the day. We were given couple of bottles of Italian olive oil at the conference, So I used them for making this dish.

Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Recipe Source: VR's show "Gourmet Central". You got to watch this episode on perfect midnight snacking and to see two Vicky Ratnanis cooking for you ;-) 

Serves 1 (which was me of course as Mr.Husband is not a pasta-person like myself)


Ingredients needed:

1 fistful of spaghetti
3-4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4-5 garlic pods, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes (you can add more if desired)
fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preparation:

1. Boil water and add salt to it. Add spagetti and let it cook. Note: Watch Vicky video for a nifty tip about how to check if pasta is cooked)

2. Heat pan and add olive oil on a low-medium flame. When it is luke warm, add garlic. Let it simmer in oil for 1-2 mins. Now, add red chilli flakes. Mix and turn off the heat.

3. Drain the pasta and add it to the oil mixture. Mix well and serve immediately.

Simplicity at its best!

I highly recommend everybody to use Olive oil or at least a blend of oils (such an 1:1 proportion of Olive oil & Rice Bran oil, a tip I got from Mads). Oil is a form of fat that goes into our bodies and it is imperative to make sure it is something which increases good cholesterol and decreases the bad.

..and Olive oil does exactly that!!

[UPDATED] - Sending this as an entry to Jayasri's Only Pasta, Pizza and Noodles event, originally started by Pari..

until next time,
Siri