Sussegado - Goan Food Fest, Hyatt, Bangalore : Restaurant Review

I readily agreed to review the Goan Food Fest along with a friend last week at the Hyatt, Bangalore for two reasons; Vegetarian Goan food is a challenge, and I wanted an afternoon of suseg – meaning relaxation in Portuguese.

The outdoor terrace seating facing a water body, palm trees, a beach shack-like grill and catchy Goan/Konkan music created the perfect setting on a cloudy/windy Bangalore day.

Chef Edrige Vaz from Park Hyatt, Goa was at the helm of the Goan spread. There was a dinner buffet with a variety of seafood and an a la carte menu for lunch. For us, a special three course menu was served by the Chef.

For vegetarian starters, there was home style crisp vegetable cutlet, a cheesy croquet and mushrooms in spicy peri peri masala. The cutlet and croquet were decent – nothing Goan though. The mushrooms however, were delightfully spicy and cooked right.

Moving on, for the main course we were served two varieties of rice and curries. Regular white rice and the boiled Goan rice. The yellow pumpkin curry was slightly sweet, with a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions in thin coconut milk gravy garnished with a generous helping of fresh grated coconut – relished the wholesome and delicate flavour along with Gaon rice. The mixed vegetables in red curry – Tarkarachem Hoomand, had an over dose of masala and was rather pungent.

The dessert platter included three types; Bebinca - the traditional layered pudding, Dodol – a halwa kind of sweet made of rice flour, black jaggery and coconut milk that I enjoyed and a payasam/kheer made of sago and channa daal. The kheer could have cooked a little more and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with the bebinca would have completed the dessert.

Summing it up, it was a decent experience for vegetarian costal cuisine, although the menu was limited. 

Verdict: 3.8/5

Vanilla Sponge with Caramel and Peanut Butter Frosting

Peanut butter craving & two birthdays in the family called for a home-made cake! If you like peanut butter, you will love this topping. The creamy smooth texture of peanut butter and gooey stickiness of caramel make a fantastic combination on a bed of moist vanilla sponge cake.  

I had a jar of Kirkland soft caramel toffees sitting in my shelf for long time. On impulse, I decided to combine it with peanut butter and yay! It was a hit!

For the cake:

Ingredients

1 cup sugar ( Indian granulated white sugar or brown sugar)

1 cup melted unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour (maida)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence or extract

1/4 cup hot milk

Method

Pre Heat oven to 350 degree fahrenheit / 180 degree centigrade. Beat the butter and sugar till fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time with vanilla extract and whisk untill well combined. Add the flour, baking powder and soda and hot milk and beat again for a few minutes. Pour this batter into a greased baking tin and bake for about 30 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted comes out dry.

For the frosting:

4 tbs peanut butter

3/4 cup caramel (I melted caramel toffees in the microwave)

1/2 cup icing sugar

4 tbs butter

Combine all the ingredients and whisk until light and smooth. I dint make it too think as I wanted it to drip over the sides.

Once the cake is completely cool, over turn on a flat surface. Pour the frosting from the middle of the cake and lightly spread with a spatula. Allow it to drip over the sides.

Akki Rotti

Akki rotti (rice flour pancakes) is a traditional South Indian snack. It is largely made as breakfast or an evening snack. In Karnataka, there are many varieties of akki rottis specific to the region/district. The one below is what I have grown up on at home. It is hand patted, crisp on the outside, and soft inside. The best part of these rottis is that they can be made absolutely thin and crisp or soft and fluffy - it all depends on how it is patted and spread on the tawa/girdle.

Ingredients:
Rice Flour: 2 cups
Finely chopped onions: 2
Cumin/jeera seeds: 1/4 cup
Chopped green chilies: 8 or as per taste
Chopped fresh coriander: 1/2 cup
Grated fresh coconut: 1/4 cup
Fresh curds/yogurt: 1/4 cup
Water: 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Oil/Ghee for frying

In a mixing bowl, combine the above ingredients except oil/ghee to form a soft pliable dough. The consistency should be firm, soft and should be able to form a ball. Make sure the dough is not hard/dry as that can make brittle rottis. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Grease a tawa generously with oil using your fingers. (Note: do not pre-heat the tawa as it is essential to grease the tawa with hand and also to hand-pat the dough)

With your greased palm, take a small ball of the dough and pat onto the greased the tawa to form a rotti/roti of desired thickness. With your index finger, make a small hole in the center of the rotti and fill it with oil. Cook on medium flame till golden brown. Flip the rotti to lightly cook the underside.

To quickly make the next rotti, flip and hold the underside/bottom of the hot tawa with the help of tongs/kitchen gloves under running water in the kitchen sink ( it will cool down the tawa immediately) and you can proceed with patting the next rotti.

Serve hot with chutney, tokku or pickle. You can also drizzle some ghee/butter for added flavor.

Note: You can store the dough and use it for up to two days by refrigerating.

Mango Mania: Mango Cheesecake

Ever since my last post on mango gojju, not a day has passed without eating mango in some form or the other. And when mango and cheese is combined, it is a killer combo. Layers of fresh ripe mango pulp, cheese and cottage cheese on a bed of crushed biscuits is just what the family needed as a sinful sweet indulgence on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Ingredients:

Cheese spread - 1 tub (I used Amul creamy cheese)Cream - 100 gms (I used Amul)

Cottage Cheese - 250gms (I used Amul paneer)

Sugar - Half a cup 

Mango puree from 4 ripe mangoes

Gelatin - 1 tbsp (I used Lion vegetarian gelatin)

Hot Water - 1/4 cup

Digestive biscuits - 2 packets (I used Marie biscuit)

Unsalted butter, melted - 75 gm 

Method:

Crush the biscuits in a food processor to form a coarse powder. Add the melted butter and mix well. Press into a spring form pan or a loose bottom dish, or individual glasses. Refrigerate till rest of the cheesecake is ready. 

Blend the mango pulp with sugar and set aside. Add gelatin to hot water till completely dissolved. Add this to the mango puree and stir well. 

Blend together the cheese spread, cottage cheese and cream. To this cheese mixture, add half the mango pulp and beat till well incorporated. 

Pour the mango-cheese mixture over the biscuit layer as a second layer and refrigerate for a about 2 hours. As a third layer, pour the mango pulp gently over the mango-cheese ensuring the layers do not get mixed. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Mango Mania : Maavin Gojju

It’s that time of the year! And my favorite - the KING of fruits is in plenty. Luckily for me, my family is crazy about mangoes so we've been hogging polly/totapuri cut mangoes with salt and chili powder, poori -aam rus, just good old ripe mangoes, Alphonso jam and today the irresistible mango/maavin gojju. 

Maavin gojju is a popular dish in most Kannada homes. It is spicy, tangy and rich in flavor  For this you need the small round variety of ripe mangoes – pairi if possible. Grind together dry roasted urad dal, dry red chilies, dry coconut, jaggery and some tamarind juice. Cook this on low flame and dunk the peeled mangoes in whole. Bring to a boil and finish it with a tadka of mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing/asafoetida.

What I love best is the versatility of this gojju – you can have it with steamed rice, chapatti/poori, akki rotti, or as an accompaniment with rasam rice or curd rice, or you can even just slurp up just the gojju in all it’s splendor.

Bite into the gojju covered mango for a beautiful blend of flavors - sweet and pulpy mango with spices and the tangy after taste.

Tambuli

If you have been following my previous posts, you will realize I have been eating out like crazy. I needed to give my stomach a much needed break and detox my system. At such times, the South Indian in me takes over and I turn to comfort food like good old curd rice or anything curd based.

Tambuli is a simple curd/yogurt based curry, best had with steamed rice. There is hardly any cooking involved and is quick to make. Tambuli is very popular in the Malnad belt and South Canara region of Karnataka. It has a very soothing effect on the digestive system and works wonders for acidity.

A typical tambuli is made by mixing a chutney made of greens such as doddapatre (the thick velvety leaves) known as Coleus aromaticus in English, palak and even arrive soppu.  Or you can substitute the greens with just pods of garlic, pumpkin, cucumber, capsicum or any other vegetable with heavy water content.

My favorite is the garlic tambuli.

You need:

6-7 pods of chopped garlic
2-3 green chilies (avoid green chilies if you have acidity)
Half a cup of fresh grated coconut
2-3 sprigs of fresh coriander
4-5 dry red chilies
Curry leaves
Hing/Asafoetida
Mustard seeds
2 tbs oil

Grind the coconut, green chilies and fresh coriander.  Dilute the curds if it is very thick by beating it with a little water – the consistency should be a little thicker than that of buttermilk. Add the ground paste to the curds and add salt per taste. Prepare a tadka/tempering of mustard seeds, hing/asafoetida, curry leaves, chopped garlic and dry red chilies and add it to the curds. Mix well and serve with room temperature rice.

Note: If you are using a vegetable, saute the vegetables with the tadka until cooked. 

Thalassa, Vagator, Goa : Restaurant Review

Thalassa means sea in Greek.  Perched on the edge of a cliff, this open air Greek restaurant in Vagator, a small village in North Goa offers a stunning view of the Arabian Sea and sunsets.

Thalassa offers a fabulous ambiance; ocean view, cool sea-breeze, interiors styled in white and beige, white muslin drapes, white walls and beige cane furniture complete with strands of white flowers suspended along the drapes. Plus comfortable seating and candle light as it gets dark. Unfortunately I do not have good shots of the property to put up on my blog, please do google and have a look.

A big group of us happened to visit Thalassa on a Saturday night with a reservation the previous evening – in spite of which we had to wait for about twenty minutes. Being a weekend, the place was swarming with diners with hardly any leg room. We almost decided to head out of the place doubting the efficiency of the staff on such a busy night…well almost, because out of laziness we decided to hang in right there and – surprise surprise!!! The owner Mariketty and her team turned out to be super-efficient and friendly. Our orders were taken real quick, and drinks delivered to the table even quicker – the hospitable staff even provided us a room to feed a small infant who was in our group. Furthermore, food was served piping hot and fresh.

White wine sangria was WOW! Very refreshing, fruity and fresh – surprisingly not sweet.

 Vegetable grill platter was decent, with dips and pits bread on the side

 Pita bread tomato bruschetta was served with crisp and crunchy tomatoes and fantastic feta cheese.

 Pita bread garlic and cheese margarita pizza for the kids was yumm – they loved it.

 Vegetable Moussaka was creamy, rich and full of flavor

Risotto was a disappointment – tasted like our very own lemon rice aka chitra anna with olives thrown in. No red wine flavor as promised in the menu.

 Chocolate mousse cake was yummy – the kids loved it, rich, chocolaty, soft and moist.

 Kataifi was…well different. Sugary and rich, loaded with nuts. Could not help noticing how very similar it is to our South Indian traditional sweet – peni. We even called it the Greek Peni!

 The Baklava was to die for – crisp and flaky with a heavenly coconut filling, served with ice-cream.

Profiteroles were good.

It is easy to see why Thalassa is popular and packed; warm hospitality by Mariketty and team, relaxed Greek culture infused ambiance,  personalized service and recommendation, deadly and exotic cocktails and most importantly delicious Greek food.

Surely going back there very soon!

Verdict: 4.5/5