[mobike008]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

OT:Ran into Puneet Mehta-the gregarious Punjabi who was a participant at Star Plus-Master Chef2,at the local vegetable place doing what?Buying vegetables.I was tempted to ask him what was he cooking!Apparently he stays in the vicinity.

As mentioned before. Puneet is a family friend and he stays bang opposite to my cousin's house in Yapral. He comes over to most of our parties and takes over the BBQ mantle ( this is before he came into Masterchef)

I met him during my other cousin's house warming ( again his house too is 20 yards away from Puneet's house) function in March and asked him what he plans to do. He told me " Now its only the food business that he will get into"

Btw, his house is painted a gaudy yellow

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by mobike008

" Now its only the food business that he will get into"

Btw, his house is painted a gaudy yellow

Good lord yellow!!

Maybe he would advertise his ware saying "World Famous Masterchef 2 Star" along the lines of how Junoon is advertised globally as owned and run by "Michelin 5 star"

Next time anybody on this forum is in the US,be sure to visit Junoon.Nopes I havent been anywhere near the US

Junoon

[NoRules]

Originally Posted by bblost

Appam: Rs 18 (9)
Chicken Stew: 180
Porotta: 20 (3)
Prawns Roast: 220
Veg Meal: 135 (1)

What does the number in the bracket indicate? No of portions you ordered or some kind of rating?

[CtrlAltDel]

Originally Posted by huntrz

There is no way you can enjoy the Bengali fish in mustard gravy until you master the art of debone-ing. And once you do, it will come to you as naturally as driving to a tbhpian

+1 to that.

The Bengali way of deboning is simple:

1- take fish (with bones) and rice into the mouth
2- chew thoroughly and seperate flesh from bone inside the mouth
3- swallow chewed rice n fish
4- take out leftover bones from mouth with your fingers and set aside.
5- repeat step 1 onwards
6- if any fine thorn is stuck in throat, execute step 4, swallow a ball of plain rice and then resume at step 1. No sweat.


I am proud to say that I have mastered this art in the last 12 yrs of being married to a Bong and can now relish my mustard ilish curry. :-)

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by traveloholic

Bajaj Saab, where are the customary pics? I was waiting for the pics to accompany the review.

There is a famous tagline to an advert which goes as : "Jab mil baithe 2 dost...". Too busy catching up with each other to even think of clicking photos.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Going by your review Bajaj Saab. That looked like a half baked attempt at saying CC was a good place to eat. I am sure you wont go back there again ( purely my assumption)

Time to give Bengali Samithi Thali a try which is at lower tank bund.

You invariably are correct in analysing me but not this one time. I want to go back.

I also want to eat at Lower Tank Bund.

Originally Posted by huntrz

It was unfortunate and surprising that the sweet served with the thali wasn't misti doi(dahi). It is served in a small earthen pot(kullahad) like matka kulfi and has a taste and flavor that can only be experienced and not expressed.

Missed mentioning in my review. We did order Mishti Doi a-la-carte. Was very nice and in a mud kulhad. The catch was that the top layer was very hard and gave me a feeling that it was stale. I removed the top layer and enjoyed the rest which was hardly any quantity.

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

The Bengali way of deboning is simple

Yes Andy, I am learning.

NOTE : Surprised how Mobike008 forgot to mention that I eat rice in a typical Andhra Mess with fork and spoon (no fingers and hands, you see).

Originally Posted by bblost

Thanks Bajaj Saheb, you were the trigger.

You are most welcome Imran. KK is on the radar between my friend and myself for the next time.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by NoRules

What does the number in the bracket indicate? No of portions you ordered or some kind of rating?

Sorry about not being very clear. Its number of portions.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

... The Bengali way of deboning is simple: ...

3- swallow chewed rice n fish
4- take out leftover bones from mouth with your fingers and set aside.
...
6- if any fine thorn is stuck in throat, execute step 4, swallow a ball of plain rice and then resume at step 1. No sweat.

... I have mastered this art ...

You need to swap steps 3 and 4, otherwise one will perpetually alternate [steps 1-4] and [step 6]!!!

You actually need to be conscious of the texture change around bones, and you feel with your tongue and gums. Roll your tongue around, you will detect even the finest. Step 4 is immediately on recognition of bone.

Even before taking a mouthful, pressing the piece of fish actually works better in detecting bones - whether eating with hands or with fork. I usually grab the bones and scrape the fish into my mouth with my teeth (like eating drumsticks).

Originally Posted by huntrz

... Bengali treatment of fish is different and complicated than the rest of India which is mostly a chicken and mutton eating majority. ...

Do visit the Western and South-western coastal region, you will definitely change your opinion. Most of Bengal eats only fresh water fish (stinking sea fish is only for the Bangladeshis, nah), with a very limited array of fish dishes. The west/SW coast has a much larger variety, and definitely a wider treatment of fresh AND saltwater fish and seafood.

[huntrz]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

stinking sea fish is only for the Bangladeshis, nah

Coming from the neighboring state my taste buds too are borrowed from bengal and inclined towards the fresh water ones.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Do visit the Western and South-western coastal region, you will definitely change your opinion. The west/SW coast has a much larger variety, and definitely a wider treatment of fresh AND saltwater fish and seafood.

Sure sir, will keep this in mind. Till now I have visited only Goa on the western coast and found that Mackerel, King Fish and Pomfret were the more popular ones there, I tried mostly the fried and roasted preparations. Remember having goan fish curry once during the same trip but can't recall its taste any more.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Do visit the Western and South-western coastal region, you will definitely change your opinion. Most of Bengal eats only fresh water fish (stinking sea fish is only for the Bangladeshis, nah), with a very limited array of fish dishes. The west/SW coast has a much larger variety, and definitely a wider treatment of fresh AND saltwater fish and seafood.

As a guy born and brought up in Chennai.
Fishes like Black Pomfret, Seer, Pink Perch, Mackeral, Lady Fish are what I love.

Not a big fan of the fresh water fishes. I still Eat them though.

Deboning in the plate and then eating fish is easier and also safer. Using fingers and not a fork+spoon.

You will still get a bone or two in your mouth. So one has to be a little careful while eating fish. But they are totally worth it.

[CtrlAltDel]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

You need to swap steps 3 and 4, otherwise one will perpetually alternate [steps 1-4] and [step 6]!!!

You actually need to be conscious of the texture change around bones, and you feel with your tongue and gums. Roll your tongue around, you will detect even the finest. Step 4 is immediately on recognition of bone.

oh yeah...on second thoughts I agree with you. Actually thats what I too do while eating fish. But I do not do the scraping with the teeth. It does not remove the fine thorns which actually may get stuck in the throat.

I usually remove the big visible bone - the spine - with my fingers and pop in the piece with the fine thorns.

When I was a n00bie fish eater I used to spend a few minutes hunting for and removing all thorns before each mouthful. That was painful and takes away the pleasure of eating fish curry.

[mobike008]

Has anyone tried the "Musk Melon" from Naturals? It was yummy @Rs.45

Sadly, as you work your way downwards into the hot waffle cone, the fruit diminishes rather alarmingly. They could have filled it up with more fruit even if they charge a bit more.

[CtrlAltDel]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Has anyone tried the "Musk Melon" from Naturals? It was yummy @Rs.45

any flavour is yummy at Naturals. My evergreen fave is coconut.

In fact after eating at Naturals I can no longer eat or appreciate any other brand of ice cream except may be the Amour-something available at Eat Street or Prasads.

Btw are there any other outlets of Naturals apart from the one in Begumpet?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

Btw are there any other outlets of Naturals apart from the one in Begumpet?

First outlet is at Srinagar Colony, Next to Ratnadeep which is as soon as you enter from Rd. No 2 B.Hills

[bblost]

Yusuf Tekri Complex is like a bouquet of flowers for lovers of Good Food. But Siddique Kebeb Center is the thorn at the side.

Picked up Chicken Butter Masala and 4 Roomalies.
I don't know why they called it butter chicken masala.

[NoRules]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Has anyone tried the "Musk Melon" from Naturals? It was yummy @Rs.45

Sadly, as you work your way downwards into the hot waffle cone, the fruit diminishes rather alarmingly. They could have filled it up with more fruit even if they charge a bit more.

We get Naturals delivered at home and so far we never ordered the cones. We usually order the half kg tubs. Me and my wife love the musk melon flavor. Kids go for the chocolate flavor.

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

any flavour is yummy at Naturals. My evergreen fave is coconut.

In fact after eating at Naturals I can no longer eat or appreciate any other brand of ice cream except may be the Amour-something available at Eat Street or Prasads.

Btw are there any other outlets of Naturals apart from the one in Begumpet?

Agree with you. Except for the chocolate flavor, I love all the other natural flavors - coconut being one of the favorites. Even watermelon / seetaphal flavors are pretty good.

Apart from the Sec'bad and Srinagar colony outlets I heard there is another one towards Madhapur. Not sure where.