Fried Ice-Cream

                (Fried ice-cream served in a Thai restaurant)

Yes, fried ice-cream. You must be thinking that I have gone crazy, ice-cream is fine but how can one talk about  fried ice-ream which sounds kind of  weird. Fried ice cream is a dessert commonly found as Mexican and Asian variants.  It is usually prepared by taking a scoop of ice cream frozen well below the temperature at which ice cream is generally stored, possibly coating it in raw egg white, rolling it in cornflakes or cookie crumbs, and briefly deep frying it. The extremely low temperature of the ice cream prevents it from melting while being fried. It may be sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and a touch of peppermint, and whipped cream or honey can also be used as well. The Asian recipe usually uses tempura batter. Mexican versions use corn flakes, nuts or cookie crumbs for coating. The Mexican recipe starts with a large ice cream ball, resulting in a colder core than the Asian variants. Common flavours found in Asian restaurants are green tea, vanilla, red bean and sometimes coconut may also be used.

Happy Khaana & Peena (:                                                                                                              
(Source: Wikipedia)

'FIFA Flavours' @ Cafe Coffee Day

The showdown to the 2010 fifa world cup is coming closer and as always this world cup was also full of twists and surprises. I got a similar surprise on a recent visit of mine to Café Coffee Day in Rourkela, as they presented a limited period menu which had six new champion drinks for the 2010 fifa world cup. Withdrawing from the apprehensions of trying the new flavours, I decided to go for the ‘Argentinean Flair’, and then it marked the start of my repeated visits to Café Coffee Day for the other flavours as well. Refreshing new taste and the quality of Café Coffee Day is what the six champion drinks are all about. The six new amazing champion drinks are:

1. Spanish Square a.k.a Nutty Cold Coffee

2. Argentinean Flair a.k.a Cherry Grove

3. German Wunder a.k.a Musk Melon Springs

4. Italian Verve a.k.a Cherry Iced Tea

5. Brazilian Samba a.k.a Green Apple Ripples

6. French Flair a.k.a Berry Blast

My personal favourites are ‘German Wunder’, a musk melon smoothie with a very subtle taste, ‘Spanish Square’, a strong flavoured creamy cold coffee with crunchy almonds and ‘Brazilian Samba’, a green apple smoothie loaded with fruit chunks. Priced at Rs 69/Rs 65 these champion drinks are good value for their taste and quality. So, bring the sporty spirit alive in you and celebrate the beautiful game this World Cup with these latest offering from Café Coffee Day.

 Actual photagraph: From L to R, Argentenian Flair, Brazilian Samba & German Wunder

Finally. it would be great to hear from the readers, their reviews about this post and the drinks as well.

Happy Eating & Drinking (:

Nefis 'BAKLAVA"

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry found in many cuisines of the Middle East, the Balkans and South Asia and developed as an Ottoman cuisine. It is made of chopped nuts, usually walnuts or pistachios, layered with phyllo pastry, sweetened with sugar or honey syrup. The history of baklava, like that of many other foods, is not well documented. Though it has been claimed by many ethnic groups, the best evidence is that it is of Central Asian Turkic origin, but its current form was developed in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapi Palace. I hope the rest can be figured out from the pictures below:

Baklava is prepared in large trays and cut into a variety of shapes.

A typical Baklava,  sweetened with syrup.

In Turkey, baklava is typically served with whipped cream and pistachios.

Baklava in the form of a 'roll'.

Assorted baklava, commonly found in sweet shops.

PS: The word 'nefis' is a turkish word and becomes 'delicious' when translated into the english language.
      The source of this article is wikipedia.

THE 'CHA-BAR' STORY

The Cha Bar is a contemporary styled literary café located in a cozy corner of the Oxford Bookstore in Bhubaneswar.  A perfect place which helps you to elude the busy world outside and makes you feel in a way closer to the nature with white light filtering through large glass windows and  interiors which are made up of simple and basic materials with their natural texture and beauty retained. Serving around 100 varieties of tea, the cha-bar surely takes the traditional ‘cha’ over to an another level among the urban crowd.  In their own words - “The Cha-Bar is not only about Tea but goes beyond that and offers an experience that is built around a central theme - TEA. It moves tea drinking from a dry page in history to a contemporary urban living experience and brings alive the romance of tea and positions it as the chosen beverage of the urban populace. Cha-Bar proposes to educate and revive the consumer to the lost ritual of tea drinking with all its possibilities – not merely as a beverage but a concept. It is about re-introducing tea as a trendy social beverage and to take it out to an urban contemporary space, out of the home and dhabas.”

Now let’s talk some business, the Cha-Bar menu book welcomes you with its 20 pages of mind baffling varieties of tea which are served both hot and cold. Exotic varieties of tea such as ‘Arabic Spice’, ‘South American Mate’, ‘Malaysian Teh Tarik’, and ‘Japanese Macha’ are served here. The menu just seems endless with flavours of tea being served from countries as far as England and also from neighboring countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal as well. They also serve an amazing variety of Indian tea, starting from teas consumed in different parts of India to innovative varieties such as ‘Bollywood Masala Mix’.  If you want to beat the summer heat, then you can choose from the 15 types of iced teas and Margaritas. They also serve amazing varieties of flavoured teas such as vanilla, chocolate, rum etc some of which are also served cold. Hold on, now if you are not much of a tea lover, then it’s not a problem because the Cha-Bar  also serves a sufficient no. of evergreen varieties of coffee such as ‘Cafe Latte’, ‘Cafe Macchiato’, ‘Cappuccino’ , etc.  Finally, to satisfy your hungry stomach, sandwiches, salads, wraps, bakery items etc. can also be found in the menu.

My recommendation for somebody visiting for the first time would be ‘mint tea ice crush’ or the vanilla flavoured tea served cold. ‘Mint tea ice crush’ is a refreshing green tea infusion, tingling with crème-de-menthe, lemon juice, mint, crushed ice and will make a nice combination with your favourite book or to any conversation. Now, with the summer coming to an end, welcome the rains with a hot cup of tea at the Cha-Bar and enjoy a warm experience while sipping hot tea and watching the rains through its large glass windows. The Cha-Bar gives you a distinctive experience of relaxed tea drinking at price levels that offer great value for money. The service is pretty good with the beverages being served in trendy cutlery. However, due to very less space you may sometimes find the Cha-Bar with full tables. The Cha-Bar is definitely one great place for a book lover because it provides a refreshing break while discovering the amazing collection of books that Oxford has in store for you.

Food....Food......and only Food !!!

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” -
George Bernard Shaw

Are you on a diet? Do you feel guilty when you consume a food that's not within the confines of your diet, such as foods high in fat, calories, sugar, carbohydrates, etc? When you decide to splurge do you have trouble enjoying a forbidden food for fear of what it may be doing to your waistline or your health? If you've answered yes to any of these questions then it’s time for a change. Eating, one of life's most simple and basic pleasures has been transformed into a daily agony. Additionally, why should we deprive our-self of certain gastronomic pleasures in order to appease our oppressive internal master. Why should we carry our self-depriving and guilt-laden proclivities into life and its other venues? On the contrary, I would suggest that a person must invert the food guide pyramid and laugh on the face of death. In fact, become a gluttonous individual who eats whatever he/she likes and unfettered by Puritanical trappings. The only pangs must be of hunger and not guilt. Food is to be brazenly enjoyed. Savour a wide variety of foods without having any issues with your own psyche.

There’s a saying that we must have food only sufficient for our living. But, rather it should be the other way around, i.e. we should live to have food !! I just remember me having a conversation with a friend of mine regarding suicides among the young people. She was wondering that how can one commit suicide because she was of the opinion that if someone places a platter of Kebabs in front of her then she would surely put off her suicide mission and savour the kebabs. And, on the other hand the very thought of having a sumptuous meal will always make me elude a suicide attempt!! Cultures all around the world and through the ages have developed their own style and form of cuisines. We must respect their efforts in treating the varied taste requirements of the human tongue. Welcome to a blog for the voracious food lovers. Let’s talk only about food, the way it is prepared, the places it is served and the way one must enjoy it.