Banana Leaf: Not just an Udipi

I've posted my review of Banana Leaf (near Four Bungalows Market, Versova, Andheri (W), Mumbai) on burrp.com. This recently opened restaurant comes from the stable of Mahesh Lunch Home, Salt 'N' Pepper and Malgudi Days and lives up to its lineage. Notes from my first visit below:

“According to Ayurveda, banana has medicinal value which is why most South Indians serve meals on banana leaves” – is what is inscribed on one of the walls of this up-scale suburban restaurant. May be true, but it’s not what will make me go back to Banana Leaf. I intend to frequent it to enjoy its authentic yet reasonable South Indian fare.

Unlike Shiv Sagar, Banana Leaf does not offer Southie fast-food. Nor does it branch into other cuisines such as Mexican and Italian. It does have a large variety of idlis, dosas and uttapams though. Mini meals such as paneer gassi with appams are also included. The menu tries its best to stick to the authentic (Iyer dosa, Chettinad Spicy dosa) but experiments with cosmopolitan palates too. Try the Chilly Potato dosa to know what I mean. Cheese Mysore Masala dosa is recommended on days when one is famished and doesn’t mind a few extra calories. Though we didn’t try the idlis some seemed quite interesting – Khatta meetha tomato idli and the Sri Lankan style idli with potato stew, in particular. For those who would rather stick to basics, Udipi style masala dosa and plain rice idli are worth a try.

What makes the experience complete is its true to the theme ambience. Mogra flowers on every table, caricatures (like the RK Narayan / Malgudi Days book-covers) on the walls, mural of the Madurai temple at a one end and plantain leaves all over, transports you down South. If it doesn’t, then the South Indian classical on the ears surely will.

Few more brownie points go to its service. A waiter actually told the six of us to not order six dosas as it would be too much for us! And he was right. Each dosa comprises of about eight stuffed pieces – almost like having a 12-inch pizza by oneself. As mentioned earlier, the food is reasonably priced. Throw in a dessert with a big dosa and it would be about Rs. 80-100 per head.

And now for some downsides. The place is quite noisy, especially on a weekend. Almost thirty minutes wait to get a table on a Saturday afternoon inspite of calling before hand and trying to reserve a table. Apparently they don’t reserve tables on the phone but when we reached the restaurant we found that some tables were pre-booked. The restaurant is pure vegetarian, which could be a boon for some and bane for others.

All in all, it is worth stepping into this not-very-Udipi.

Happy Birthday P&C!

It's been a year since I started blogging. Early hours of March 9, 2007 is when I wrote my first post as a lark. I wasn't sure then how long I would last, but I've grown to love this medium. It's been an eventful year - lots of food trivia, recipes (more from friends than me), reviews on food-writing and restaurants, serious foodie opinions and funny kitchen anecdotes. As P&C moved into the second semester of its existence, I put down a goal of 52 posts by the end of the year. Unfortunately, I just touched 40! But a new year brings with it a fresh set of promises...

The cake below has been baked by me in celebration. For those interested, there is really no recipe behind it. Just Betty Crocker's chocolate fudge cake mix, Hershey's chocolate sauce and a compote of fresh strawberries.

Here's to P&C!

Weekend Cook-in: Parathas & Hot Chocolate

I made cabbage-paneer parathas for breakfast last weekend. In keeping with the Oscars' spirit, I would like to thank Seema's cook Rukhiya for making the yummy parathas in the first place; Seema for bringing them to me ; Rajesh for passing down the recipe to Seema; and Tarla Dalal for thinking up yet another way of keeping so many people occupied for hours making something that disappears in minutes.

Here's a free-style account of how I went about it:
1) Cabbage-paneer parathas: Grate about 200-250 g of cabbage. Shallow fry it in about 2 tsps of oil until it loses its rawness. Add a dash of salt while frying. Once done, add fresh cut corriander leaves, 2 green chillies, 1 clove crushed garlic, pepper, red chilly powder, jeera powder (all 1/2 tsp) and salt (1 tsp). Crush 100-150 g paneer and add it to the cabbage mixture. Keep aside the stuffing. Make the dough for parathas. Add 1/2 tsp of salt while making the dough. Over time I have learnt that the dough needs to be stiffer than the chapatti dough, though not as stiff as the puris dough.
Now the laborious part starts. Divide the dough into equal portions and flatten each portion into a roti. Put the stuffing in the center and fold the sides of the roti. Again flatten it out, but this time carefully because you don't want the stuffing to spill out. Fry the paratha on both sides with 1/2 tsp of oil or butter. The size of the paratha depends on the amount of dough per piece which again depends on your eating capacity. For me, just one paratha of the size shown is enough for breakfast. Green chilly chutney or tomato sauce can accompany the paratha on the side.

2) Hot chocolate: I took the easy way out. Put 1/2 tsp Nutella (all time fave) + 1 tbsp water + 1/2 tsp sugar in each cup. Mixed it till it became a smooth liquidy mixture. Poured hot milk on top of it. For the froth effect, please pour from a good vertical distance (just like filter coffee).

More weekend trysts in the kitchen coming up. Let me know what you think of it.