Month: August 2014

Poush – Kashmiri Pundit Cuisine @ Cubbon Pavillion

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You would be hard pressed to find Kashmiri Food in a restaurant in Bangalore. The last time I relished Kashmiri Food was at a special Wazwan arranged by Bangalore Foodies Group and that was well over a year ago. A wazwan is a great way to experience the cuisine of Kashmiri Muslims – it constitutes a royal banquet of over 30-40 dishes shared family style between groups of people.  Most Kashmiri Food Festivals dish out the Wazwan style meal and the Gushtaba (velvety meatballs in a yogurt gravy) is its crowning glory. But the Cubbon Pavilion decided to showcase the less populist but equally exquisite cuisine of the Kashmiri Pundits. While both the cuisines share a lot of similarities (same ingredients and style of cooking) – the Kashmiri Pundit cuisine is unique in the fact that they do not use onion and garlic in their dishes. The tomato is also an oddity here and they resort to yoghurt based dishes to provide the same tangy taste. The most interesting aspect for me was that even …

Candlelight and Surprises – Grasshopper

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I really wanted to hate this place. I wanted to turn up, eat there and then call peoples bluff on it. Give people fancy, mastercheffy, pretentious food and they all go gaga over it, just to avoid being called pedestrian. After eating out in *insert any five star restaurant* the squiggle of reduced Modena balsamic vinegar on that white plate or the lego-like placement of grilled meat over asparagus spears over celeriac mash, was frankly getting boring. And here I was, heading to a place that exalted in doing just that. Why? Because I am a seeker of truth. (Yes, the profoundness of it all boggles my mind as well!) It’s a backbreaking ride from my side of town. Bannerghatta was and will always be the ‘The Zoo’ to me. No matter that the animals now, are the ones behind the wheel of a car in peak hour traffic! A small board (unlit) announces ever so subtly that you need to take a right to your destination. Follow the mud path and you end up …