Guest Post by Aishwarya Menon
However much I like to call myself a foodie, the idea of trying new things is always exciting but also a little daunting. The opportunity to try authentic Japanese food a few months ago made by Chef Ashish Singh and his team at Pan Asian, triggered my curiosity but also made me a little sceptical because of the pre conceived notions I had about Japanese food and the nature of the flavours used in its cooking. It turned out that the scepticism was completely unnecessary. The food he made us took us by storm and exceed our expectations. Recently, we had the pleasure of being blown away by his food once again with the “Obento” another ingenious idea of his to take the concept of a Bento box and convert it into a fine dining masterpiece.

To start with, a Bento box is essentially a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. Chef Ashish has taken this concept and created a Bento box which come with 6 broad components for both Vegetarians and Non- vegetarians alike. We both had the non veg obento but one was a little different from the other, because of our differing tastes. What impressed me the most was the flexibility of the menu. Chef Ashish explained to us about how he did not want to limit the variety but rather, eliminate the rigidity of a traditional menu and accommodate different tastes.

The Bentos served at the Pan Asian Consist of six elements

ZENSAI : Assorted Appetizers

SASHIMI : Palette of Premium and Select seafood with fresh Wasabi
SUSHI (for vegetarians) : Imari Sushi and California Aramaki with fresh Wasabi

YAKIMONO
Grilled Fish and meat for the Non Vegetarians
Grilled Mushroom and Asparagus for the Vegetarians

GYOZA
Pan fried Chicken Dumplings 
Pan Fried Soybean and Quinoa Dumplings (for the vegetarians)

TEMPURA
Deep fried Seafood and Vegetables
Deep fried Vegetables

CHIRASHI
Sushi Rice Topped with Seafood accompanied by Endamame Truffle soup

YASAI YAKI MESH 
Fried rice with vegetables served with Endamame truffle soup (for the vegetarians)

OR

YAKI UDON
Stir fry Udon noodles with either Chicken or Greens

DESSERT
Matcha Raisin Ice cream with Valhrona Chocolate

The Verdict

The food in itself was (needless to say) spectacular. What adds to this, other than the chef’s skills is the sourcing of the ingredients and how much care is taken in terms of making sure that the ingredients are of best quality. Right from the Wasabi to the pork (which was incidentally sourced from Holland) to the Chilean Sea Bass, Chef Ashish makes sure that he uses the best and most fresh ingredients possible.

This particular “Obento” will be served till the end of this week ONLY (though it may come on to the regular menu in some form ).

Although a lot of people hesitate when it comes to Japanese food or authentic Asian food in general, this Obento is a good start to the Japanese food journey.
​
The Vegetarian Bento is priced at 2650 + taxes
The Non Vegetarian Bento is priced at 3000 + taxes

 Sopa de Abobora E Coco : Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup, Pumpkin Seeds, Coconut Cream Cilantro..Garnished with Award winning Pure Equadorian Lemon Grass Chocolate.
The soup perhaps set the mood for the rest of the brunch. It was like nothing I had tasted before with the ingredients blending perfectly. 

Makki Rolls
I tried a selection of Makki Rolls which contained 
Asparagus, Cucumber, Tofu & Spring onions as Vegetarian Options 
Crap Stick, Salmon and Prawn Tempura as the Non Veg Options.
Served along with Wasabi, Pickled Ginger and Soya sauce

Salad
Melon & Wild berries Salad with an Apple Cider Dressing with Organic South India Raw Cocoa Nibs. 

The origin of the Nibs was from Coorg !
Note : Cacao nibs are simply chocolate in its purest form, before anything else is added. They are dried and fermented bits of cacao beans. The texture of our raw organic cacao nibs is similar to that of roasted coffee beans. They have a deep chocolate flavor which can be described as slightly bitter and nutty.

From The Charcoal Grill
Grilled Polenta Cheese cake with Pomegranate salad and Honey Balsamic Reduction. the Polenta had 72 % Ghana Dark chocolate integrated into the dish. 
I personally loved the dish...
Note : Polenta is a Northern Italian dish consisting of Cornmeal which is boiled cooled and either had in a porridge form or made like a loaf and then grilled. (Ricotta, mascarpone, Sugar and Vanilla are mixed into the Polenta for the Cheesecake)

From the Rotisserie
Whole Chicken Skewered on a spit . The Chicken was marinated with Honey Mustard and Rosemary served with Roasted potatoes, Pineapple and onions.  
This dish was a hot favourite amongst the diners and was as yummy to taste as it looked !!

From the Tandoor
Paneer Tikka : This was definitely a paneer tikka with a twist. This Tikka has a stuffing consisting of Madagascar 70 % Dark Chocolate, indian spices and Amul Cheese ( why Amul Cheese !!! I know not !! )..Another awesome combination !!
Chilgosa malai Tikka : Boneless Chicken with Garlic, Hung curd, Cream, cheese and Pine nuts. 

Note : Chilgosa Pine (Pinus gerardiana )  derived from Persian it means 40 nuts in one cone), is a pine native to the northwestern himalayan region, afghanistan, Pakistan and Northwest india.

RISOTTO
Cauliflower and Vanilla Bean Risotto : Mint oil, Hazelnut containing 100 percent cacao Gold Venezuelan Chocolate.
Another innovative dish which blended the chocolate in beautifully !!

Bistro
​Tenderloin Steak : Crunchy Garlic and Potato blinis, Broccolini, Poivrade Jus

Note : Poivrade sometimes called 'sauce au poivre', is a peppery sauce in French cuisine. It is made of a cooked mirepoix thickened with flour and moistened with wine and a little vinegar, then heavily seasoned with pepper.

BTW : Mirepoix (pronounced "meer-pwah") is a combination of chopped carrots, celery and onions used to add flavor and aroma to stocks, sauces, soups and other foods :)

Late Breakfast
Eggs Florentine :
Creamed Spinach, English Muffin, Poached egg and Grated Parmesan.
This was made to perfection and the runny egg was a delight to watch and taste. I had wanted to taste their version of the Eggs Florentine since the 'Eggs bennedict' festival last month !!

Note :  Eggs Benedict is an American brunch or breakfast dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin each of which is topped with Canadian bacon – or sometimes ham or bacon – a poached egg; and hollandaise sauce. In Eggs Florentine, the Spinach replaces the Ham. Benedict is not actually French. The dish ha definite American/Canadian origin. However since most professional chefs are well versed in French cooking terms, and so when the ham was replaced with a bed of spinach, it was called eggs Florentine. In French Cuisine Dishes prepared 'a la Florentine' almost always include spinach and are often topped with a mornay-or cheese-sauce.

Pizzas from the Wood Fired Oven
The ingredients that were on offer wereChicken Pepporoni, Bacon and Eggs as Non vegetarian toppings.
Mushroom, Grilled vegetables, sweet corn,jalapeno, roasted garlic, basil, sun dreied tomatoes as the vegetarian toppings
The pizzas were the 'Thinnest Crust' I have had and  had 88% Gold Colombian Chocolate as an ingredient 

The Patesseries 39
This was the section where the chocolates came on their own and the nearly every dessert was chocolate flavoured with exotic award winning chocolates having origins in different countries.
Some of the Desserts on offer were.

•  Zucchini Brownies with 70% Chocolate from Equador
• Chocolate Salami with 70% Belgian Chocolate
• Ghana Textures
• Silk Log with 70 % madagascar Chocolate
• Blueberry Macaroons with 70 % equador chocolate
• Choclate Fondant with 66% Italian Prendine

​

There were far too many items as a part of the regular Brunch that I did not even attempt to dive into.
Park Hyatt has been at the forefront of bringing in innovative culinary experiences for its diners.
This event was put together in association with Nitin of Chocotrait ! It was a definite revelation for me about a lot of the chocolates and their origins and the things that go into them before they reach our palate.

Kudos to the Park Hyatt team !! 

Prices for the Sunday Brunch:
Non-alcoholic brunch: INR 2,295 + taxes
Alcoholic brunch: INR 3,295 + taxes
Champagne brunch: INR 7,295 + taxes

I am sure they have a lot of innovative surprises for their diners in the coming days !!

​PARK HYATT CHENNAI
#39 Velachery Road, Near Raj Bhavan
Chennai,  
Tel: +91 44 7177 1234

Food is as much about History as it is about Geography…
 
The ITC Grand Chola plays host to the ‘Cuisine of the Navaithas’ for the next few days. as a part of their 'Kitchens of India' series.
The Nawaitha’s (also spelled Navayath and Nawayat) are a Muslim community concentrated mostly in coastal Karnataka, pockets of Banglore and some parts of Tamil Nadu around Gingee. It is an ethnic society, having its own unique traditions and distinct cultural identity. The Nawayathi community holds an important place among the other coastal Muslim communities. There are smaller distributed pockets of Nawayaths in Bhatkal , Honnavar, Byndoor,  Malpe and Basrur in Karnataka and in Arcot district in Tamil Nadu. Meenambur, a small village close to Gingee south of Madras in Tamil Nadu, is the largest of these. The Navaitha community is also present in Chennai around Royapettah who have moved from Meenambur.

They trace their ancestry back to the Arab and Persian traders who arrived on the Western coast of South India during the medieval era. The Nawayaths are spread around India and the rest of the world. They maintain their strong sense of community and identity which is evident in their Culinary traditions.  
 
Here is a forgotten cuisine story shaped by migration and rootedness, Indians, their British masters and their regional rulers. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the Urdu speaking Muslim settlers of Gingee in Tamil Nadu followed their British masters to fight the war against Tipu Sultan during the ‘Anglo Mysore wars’ of the later end of the 18th Century.
 
The Madras Sappers set up base in hospitable Bengaluru and their Muslim soldiers ( predominantly Navaitha Muslims ) settled down besides them. The Navaitha Muslims brought with them the secrets from the Mughal Kitchens, their ability to weave magic with select use of spices and their flare with the grills and meats. Their cuisine is an irresistible blend of Mughal and Nawab traditions, savoured with select spices.

Gingee the fortified royal center and a melting pot, had seen the reign of Mughal as early as the 17th century, who brought with them the royal cuisine as they fought their way to the south. They were quick to soak in the local flavours, adopting them yet maintaining the uniqueness of their cuisine. They could also use the tawa to their advantage, churning our many a delicacy on the humble griddle. They had the ability to use local vegetables and combine them with meats, as well as traditions of cooking rice with meats.
 
Since a lot of the cuisine developed during the many wars, there was a lot of accent on one pot cooking and maximum utilization of minimum resources, which is evident in the ways they looked at using every part of the sacrificed animal in the cooking.

The Starters

We were served range of starters from the traditional Navaitha cuisine.

Aloo Methi Tikki : Potato and Fenugreek cutlets fortified with traditional spices. This was one of our favourites.

Soya Kabab : Soyabean and Potato cutlets, fried on a tava and finished with traditional spices

Murgh Sina Kabab: Literally means 'Kebabs made of Chicken breasts' marinated and cooked in a girdle

The Next starter was the one I found the most interesting ...

Gurda Kapura : which literally means the Kidney and Testicle !!! This basically consists of Testicles and Kidneys of lamb cooked in Spicy Onion Tomato gravy. 
Incidently this dish is a very famous Lahori street dish and probably originated from there and was carried from there. Its known as 'Taka Tak' in lahore (becasue of the sound made while the dish is being prepared and hence avoiding naming the 'kapura' ),,This is one of the instances where the Navaitha cuisine involved not wasting any parts of the lamb.

Main Dishes

Paya Khamiri : Lamb trotters slow cooked in a hearty flavoured broth finished with a black stone flower powder. The Paya was served with freshly prepared Idiappam.
​

Rice fare

Yakhni Pulao : Consisted of Rice and lamb cooked together in a hearty lamb stock and then fished with spices. The flavour of the mutton and rice had integrated well and was one of the stand out dishes of the evening 

Lehsun ka Pulao : which consisted of Basmati rice and garlic cooked with mild spices over dum.

Main Course

Methi Ghosht : which was braised lamb which was finished with fresh Fenugreek. This was another standout dish.

Masale Wale Machi : This was a spicy fresh preparation, in which the fish was marinated in a spicy traditional marinade and then fried.

Tamatar Paneer : Paneer cooked with tomatoes and green Chillies.

Tamatar Dalcha : This was a preparation of Bengal Gram cooked with tomatoes and southern spices

Khatta Baingan : Baby Eggplant which is cooked in a sour gravy. This was another dish that i found interesting !

Soya Lauki : Bottlegourd cooked along with Dill leaves. This was a fabulous dish and one of the best of the evening. The fact that 'Lauki' which is the enemy of nearly every child can be cooked to taste this amazing was indeed a revelation.

The Vegetarian dishes were the absolute surprise of the festival especially since you expect the Meats to steal the show , but the amazing Vegetarian mains held their own !!

Desserts

Methi Boondi Ki Kheer : Sweet gram drop pudding finished with reduced milk

Seviyan : Extremely thin Vermicelli cooked with Milk and sugar syrup.

Both the dishes were outstanding with just the right amount of sweetness ! 

The above mentioned dishes were the ones that were part of the 'Navaitha' Cuisine. Other than this the usual components of the Buffet of the 'Madras pavillion' were served, which included selections from Tamilnadu, Andhra, Manglorean and Kerala dishes.
There was a huge selection of Western and Oriental fare.
Added to this was the HUGE selection of Desserts, which included traditional indian desserts, western dessserts and pastries.

A brief snapshot of some of the dishes posted below !

There were also some pretty interesting wine offers too along with the Dinner !!

This festival was curated by Chef K P Srinevasu – Senior Master chef at ITC Windsor who has been responsible for researching the cuisine and bringing it to the fore. He was ably supported by the resident Chefs of the Grand Chola to bring out the nuances of this wonderful Cuisine !!

The festival menu is on till the 28th of December and priced at INR 2100 plus taxes

Timing: 07:00pm to 11:30pm (Dinner Only)

At the Madras Pavillion, ITC Grand Chola !

Don't Miss it !!