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Happy New Year!

2015 went by so fast. Wishing you all a joyful, hopeful, cheerful and awe inspiring 2016...















Awadhi cuisine at Vivanta by Taj

Awadhi cuisine can be considered as the food of Lucknow, where I have spent some years of my life. When Vivanta by Taj, Whitefield invited me to their signature restaurant - Terracotta to try some of their authentic Awadhi fare, I was eager to revisit the memories of the wonderful Lucknow city through the meal. Here's a photo tour...




Terracotta's culinary expert team is lead by celebrity Chef Anwar Ali Ansari (3rd from left), who has inherited the recipes from his family that traces its lineage from the Nawabs who perfected these delicacies...


Beautiful ambiance with candle light...


Guava cooler... 


The open style kitchen allows diners to watch the chefs in action. Kababs being cooked in the tandoor...


Paya ka Shorba, slowly extracted from mutton shanks spiked with saffron. The soup was mildly flavored with bits of mutton...


Tava grilled spicy pineapple...


The smiling wait staff started serving the appetizers. There was Chargrilled Prawns,  Galouti Kababs, Peshawari murgh, Tandoori Salmon Tikka, Bharwaan mushrooms. All of them tasted nice. Galouti kabab was excellent... 





Tandoori Broccoli marinated in a homemade yogurt and carom spiced  marinade was quite interesting...


The giant tandoor oven...


Mains had Broccoli Jalfrezi, stir fried with onion, tomato and light spices...


Murgh Pasanda Wajid Ali Shah - beaten chicken breasts simmered in almond and poppy seed emulsion...


Kheema Kaleji - hand chopped mince of mutton and mutton liver cooked to perfection with pounded masala...


Pashto naan was the perfect accompaniment for the Kheema Kaleji...



Palak Rasogolla - another version of Palak Paneer with Rasogolla instead of paneer...



Methi Parantha...



Smoked eggplant - char grilled in a tandoor and finished with mild spices,  yogurt and cream...



Peshawari raan - whole baby lamb leg smoked with cloves, cooked to perfection...



A very good example of Awadhi Lamb biryani. The meat was tender and the rice was fragrant and moist...



Shrikhand parfait - layered fresh fruit shrikhand was a really lovely dessert...



Sewai ka Muzaffar is vermicelli cooked in milk enriched with dry fruits and Garlic Kheer was a surprise from the kitchen of 'Royals'. 


Overall, it was a wonderful meal with some very interesting dishes.
Leaving you with the beautiful smile of one of my co-diners...



Black Dog Cocktail Masterclass and Brunch at Social

Black Dog organized a special Holiday Brunch at Church Street Social. I was invited. The event promised some special Black Dog festive cocktails and hand picked menu from Social. Here's a photo tour... 



Black Dog is a brand of Scotch Whisky that is distilled, aged and blended in Scotland. With a 130 year old legacy the brand comes in two variants, Black Dog Black Reserve and Black Dog Triple Gold Reserve...


Hemant Mundkur, Brand Ambassador, Diageo Bar Academy walked us through some interesting trivia about Black Dog...


I found myself nursing a glass of Black Dog Ginger Space, a lovely cocktail with the said Whisky...


Here's the recipe...

Hemant started the demo with a cocktail called Black Dog Happyness...

Cinnamon and apple are such a wonderful pairing...


Here's the recipe...

Black Dog Berry Nice...

I didn't sample this as I don't like berries much but the cocktail looked great...


Here's the recipe...





Black Dog Caffeine Kick...

It was an enjoyable drink...


Here's the recipe...


Black Dog Blacksmith...

This remains my favorite of the day...


Here's the recipe...


I like my drink better the classic way. Here's Black Dog Triple Gold Reserve on the rocks...


The food that followed were just divine. Drunken dates pancake with Maple syrup...


Beef steak and eggs with paprika butter...



Fiery chooza pops...



Pork Wurstel with spiced mustard crème sauce...


Roast Chicken with Veggies was most awesome...


 Fruit parfait with seasonal fruits and cream. This was not remarkable...


Whisky plum pudding was possibly the best dessert I have had in a while...


Leaving you with some beautiful smiles I caught when my co-diners were indulging in a selfie session...