Jai Jawan Linking Road Bandra

Hi Guys

Its been some time since i could blog. Nevertheless its better late than never. As i have promised all of you (i.e whoever reads my blog... which i am sure can be counted on my fingers :) ) i am back with a new story and a new place which again serves lip smacking, smoking hot delicious food. So here goes...

There are times in a week when you just get this craving to go out and have something different for dinner and then again you don't want to end up blowing a load of money just for your whims and fancies. So it was one of such days when i had this strong craving for some street food. As all of you are aware by now that i have the most amazing set of ever hungry friends who are exactly like me and who help me indulge in these delicious sins whenever possible. To top it up these guys always have one or the other place up their sleeve where i have never been and which serves amazing stuff. So one of my friends who is fauji by nature..not by profession though (Manish spare me man..don't kill me just yet :) ) suggested that we go to Jai Jawan at linking road Bandra. When he told me that this place serves one of the most amazing fried fish and juicy tikkas....ummmmm that was it. I told him that we needed to get going immediately to this place. So braving the peak hour mumbai traffic both of us raced on my Bike to the foodie heaven Jai Jawan. Let me describe what i saw......there was a delicious fragrance of fried fish in the air. I could see the people scrambling over each other trying to get their orders through. Braving the crowd my friend got into the thick of it and ordered 1/2 kg of fried fish and 1/2 kg of fried prawns. The fact that we never order food by weight made me think whether we have over ordered.. however when i saw the serving i was pretty sure that we will be going in for more. So we got the two crispy, steaming and fire hot dishes on my bike. I picked up a piece of the batter fried deep red fish and bit into it......ummmmmmm there it was....food fit for gods. The fish came clear off the bone. I could taste the batter but it did not overpower the fish. The rawas was every bit as fresh. The prawns were so crunchy that i could hear the cruch every time i bit into a morsel. The dishes were absolutely heavenly. We took 15 minutes to polish off the two plates and our stomachs were crying for more.

This time we decided to go for the Tandoori chicken. Despite the fact that i have had Tandoori Chicken most the places in Mumbai and elsewhere, but the Tandoori at Jai Jawan is a clear winner. With almost no traces of colour and blissfully cooked and crunchy skin, it is a sheer delight to enjoy. Every time i bit into the chicken it made me realize how distorted the concept of Tandoori has become. For the first time in my life i could taste the chicken meat with its juices running freely along with the hint of Tandoori Spices and not the other way round. The entire meal set us back by a mere Rs 500 which is nothing compared to the quality and quantity we devoured.

I have to say ....Hats off to Jai Jawan and the guys behind the miracle. Though there is no place to sit, there is little space to stand and the heat sometimes get unbearable..but still if you want to taste one of the best street foods in the non veg section, then this is the place to be.

That's it till the next time folks.. watch this space for more....

Shantan

Spicy Mutton / Chicken Curry

Hi guys

Meat is a food item that i am extremely fond of. As it is with Indian families, Sunday was considered to be the non veg day. This day captured my fascination as a kid and still does. The entire process of going out with my father to the chicken / mutton shop and purchasing the respective cuts of meat after a lot of close inspection, post which my dad sat down to clean the meat and i accompanied him with much curiosity to see how he did it. All these childhood memories make me extremely nostalgic. This adds to the special feeling that i experience every time i go to pick up meat or sit down to cook meat. I still remember how my mother used to grind all the spices to a fine paste using the stones (sil batta) when blenders were considered to be a luxury. I could always smell the spices from my Mom's hands at the end of the day when she had finished her chores and would be trying to put me to sleep. Cooking these recipes which my mom followed makes me believe she is right next to me...... Anyways i would straight away take you guys to the main section of ingredients to make this recipe.

Ingredients:

Mutton /chicken (curry cut)- 1 Kg

For Green Paste:

Coriander - A generous bunch (makes the broth flavourful)
Garlic - 7 cloves
Onion - 1 Large
Green Chillies - 2-3 (as per your taste)
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Dry Coconut Powder - 2 teaspoons

For the Red Masala

Onion - 2 Medium
Garlic - 7 Cloves
cinnamon - 1 inch piece
cloves - 6
black peppercorns - 5 to 6
Red Chili Powder - 2 teaspoons heaped
Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons

Misc:

Oil - 8 tablespoons
Turmeric Powder - 2 teaspoons heaped
Salt - as per taste
water - 350 ml

Procedure:

Clean the mutton / chicken pieces under running water carefully. Put them in a container and allow the excess water to drain for 15 mins. Meanwhile put all the ingredients for the green masala into the blender and grind them into a coarse paste. Please note that the ingredients should not be ground into a very fine paste otherwise the essence of the dish is diluted. Add 4 tablespoons of oil to a pressure cooker. Once oil is hot, lower the flame to medium and add the ground green paste. Fry the green paste till the raw smell of ingredients disappears. Add the mutton / chicken to this mixture , increase the flame and saute for 2 mins. Add 2 teaspoons of turmeric powder and 3 teaspoons of salt to this and saute for another 2 mins. Once the chicken starts to fry at the edges add 350 ml of water. Let the water boil. Once the water starts to boil, close the lid of the cooker and allow it to cook for 6 whistles (mutton) / 4 whistles (chicken). Post this take the cooker off the flame and allow it to cool. The broth prepared in this stage can be served as chicken soup. It is spicy and flavourful and also the meat is fully cooked.

Meanwhile put together all the ingredients required for red paste in the blender and grind it to a fine paste. This paste must be ground to a very fine and creamy consistency. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a wok / pan. Add a small blob of masala to see if the oil crackles. If it does then add the full masala, lower the flame and allow the masala to fry for 5 mins. Meanwhile keep stirring the masala to avoid burning it. Once the Masala is fully done it will start releasing oil. When this happens, add the cooked chicken pieces to the Masala and allow then to fry for a few minutes. Add the broth from the cooker to make the gravy. The thickness of the gravy can be decided by you in this stage. In case you require thin gravy them add more water. Check for salt, if less add the desired quantity. Allow the chicken to come to a boil while stirring in between to ensure proper mixing.. Finally lower the flame and allow the dish to simmer. Garnish with coriander just as you are about to close the gas.

Serve with Rotis /  Rice with lemon wedges and onion on the side. Bon Appetit.......

Hope you guys like the recipe. Watch out this space for more.......

Gastronomical Adventures in Mumbai

Hi

We have all come across reviews of eateries / joints and fine dining places time and again. As a reader i always wanted to get more out of the reviews that were posted. Me and my wife both are avid foodies, and like to experiment all cuisines in all sorts of joints right from roadside stalls to the five star hotels (budget permitting  :) ). Before trying out places we used to shortlist the joint through reviews. However i always wanted to know the story behind those reviews. Sometimes when people put their heart into the review and readers like me who are reading them with a grumbling stomach read through them, then you can actually taste the flavours and smell the aromas that the reviewer has been subjected to. It is with this intent that i am putting forth these reviews for everyone's benefit. This list comprises only of places where i have been with my friends and / or family and my the ensuing experience. So people here goes the story........


Jai Hind (Dadar)

Now i would like to clarify once and for all that there are actually 2 Jai Hind Lunch Home's in the same vicinity i.e Dadar and Lower Parel. The one i am referring to is in Dadar opposite Swami Samarth Mall. This place was close to my office and all my friends as well as me have a special love for this joint. We used to horde in groups of 10-15 guys / gals mix and hog on the food that was served. The speciality of this joint is Seafood and non veg. Vegetarians beware..... as this is not the place for you. I cant comment on the veg fare as frankly i have never tasted veg food here. Hey.....my review sounds a lot like the other reviews. So where is the story that i was talking about? Well....here goes....

We are a pack of hardcore non veggies who wanted to find a place for our occasional Friday lunch..(we looked forward to it as a welcome break from our Dabbas. I am myself a hardcore meat and fish fan and the company of distinguished hoggers (i.e my friends) gave me ample opportunities to indulge myself in such delightful sins...(sorry praful, abhishek,manish,chaitanya, nakul,sandeep, ashish......man !!!! the list is getting long.... well in short everyone who accompanied me). We always called up beforehand to ensure that Jai Hind had space to accommodate us. We were always told that there is space, and whenever we reached we had to wait for at least 15 Min's to be accommodated. I don't blame them as we were quite large in number, also the thought of the sinful food helped us, while away those excruciating five min, as we could get the fragrance of the stuff other guys were having around us...hmnnnn. Anyways we always began with the Sol Kadi which was perfect. Not very spicy and not very bland. It got our appetite roaring and then it was time for the kill. Our order always seemed like the menu for a Malvani wedding..   :)  . We are young guys and we love to eat.... Our typical order would consist of :

1) Bombil Fry (4 plates with 2 peices each) (Lots of it.....i still drool at the thought of the scrumptious fish...but  wait...... more about the taste later)
2) Surmai Fry / Surmai Chilly(2 plates with 2 pieces each) (out of this world again, served on a banana leaf)
3) Bheja Fry / Butter Bheja (2 plates each)
4) Sukka Chicken / Liver Fry / Sukka Mutton (1 plate each)
5) prawns Kolivada (4 plates)
6) Kombdi Vade & Neer Dosa (you wouldnt believe the quantities if i told you)
7) and yes ofcourse the Pomphret Fry (2 full fishes)

The helpings of all these dishes are pretty generous and we would ensure that the waiters had to run around to complete our order. Now...for the taste of the food. The Bombil Fry that i have had here is one of the best ever. The batter is not too thick. The meat is succulent and juicy and finally as you put the crispy bombil pieces sprinkled with lemon juice in your mouth....yummmm they just melt. The surmai fry is again delicious with the meat just falling off the bone with one finger to it. Bheja Fry again is a speciality with not a lot of masala and just the right flavouring. You can get the buttery taste of the Bheja along with the blend of spices. The sukka chicken / liver fry and mutton sukka were pretty standard fare which you get in most of the places. The prawns kolivada is again heavenly and you just cant stop at one...:) We usually ordered one additional dish of prawns and Bombil at the end of our meal....:)The neer dosa's are amazing and blend perfectly with the fish curries and meat dishes. Kombdi vades compliment the bheja and chicken sukka perfectly. And finally the pomphret fry is something to just keep talking about. The portion is healthy, not too oily and with the perfect blend of spices. The fried fish retains its character in terms of taste and there is no batter that hides the taste of the amazing pomphret. Finally we used to wrap up our meal with one last dash of Sol Kadhi Bottoms up.(They say its good for digestion and god knows we needed it after the mammoth meal  :)   )

The total hit for such a meal was in the range of 1500 to 2000 bucks which is pretty neat, considering the quantity and portions involved. The cost of the meal worked down to 200-300 rs per head. Also the fish they serve is extremely fresh.

Now the restaurant has just been fully refurbished. But they still serve the same amazing food. The guys there know us by our faces (but of course...how can they forget the hoggers). The few amazing lunches that we have had there are some of the best times i have spent with my friends and colleagues. Hope my review help all you guys to get the story and build your own so that your experience of visiting Jai Hind becomes a memorable one...

So guys if you like this....please post your comments. Also watch out this space for more reviews to follow.