Bhog - The temple cuisine of India at The Eatery - Four Points by Sheraton

India is a land of festivals and has a rich cultural heritage. This is reflected in the temple food served across various Hindu temples of India.

Vola! It's that time of the year when it's raining festivals in India. And what better way to celebrate than gorge on some delicacies, especially to usher into the festivities! FPBS presents Bhog-The temple cuisine of India for a limited period of 13th - 22nd Oct for dinner, all at Rs.675+ taxes. For the variety and the heavenly taste of this fare, I would say it's value for money.

Right from the decor to the presentation of food to the taste, all represent the festive mood of the season.

Matris, Karanjee, Patra, Aloo Kachori, Khandvi, Dhokla were some of the dishes that we started our dinner with. All being quite authentic in taste reminded me of the times I spend at my native place during this part of the year. My favorite pick out of these is Aloo Kachori and Patra. Dadhojianam reminded me of my roots in Andhra Pradesh. It's kind of tempered curd rice preparation, which is made using broken rice and is mildly spiced. The Dahi Wadas were quite fluffy and tasty. I added some tamarind chutney to my taste and it tasted even better.

As welcome drinks, we were served a portion of Papaya Panna and MuskMelon Panna. I liked the musk melon panna for it's delicate cardamom infused flavor and it's smooth consistency and light body.

A few warm starters were served on the table - Paneer Tikka, Hara Bhara kebab, Masala Potli. All this came with a tamarind chutney, green chutney and a dry fruit powdered chutney.

For the main course we had a choice of authentic curries to choose from - Delicately flavored pumpkin curry Elliserri from Kerala was my favorite. Loved the delicate flavors of coconut and mild spices. Methi Palak, Kache Kachalu(Loved this one too!), Thoran, Pakori Rassa, Moong Dal Khichdi are some other options. Patal Rassa and Aloo Dum reminded me of the kitchens of Odiya temples. Quite authentic in taste. We had these curries with a selection of Bajre ki Roti, Poori and Chapatis.

Desserts section was quite impressive and thank heavens I still had some room in my stomach for them. Nei Payasam, Battasha, Revri, Safed Pedha, Boondi, Besan ka Sheera, Jalebi, Besan Barfi, Modak were highlights of this section.  One has to try each one of these to appreciate the variety in the temple cuisine of India.



Each part of the country has it's own unique temple cuisine and this festival is just a reflection of the same. A must try for all who want to try some traditional food, inspired from the famous temple kitchens from length and breadth of the country.

International Beer Day at The Best Brews - Four Points By Sheraton

International Beer Day(8th August) was celebrated in style at Best Brews, FPBS. Lots of beer cocktails and a master class with Chef Sanjay Mitra and Chef Michael Swamy on doling out amazing dishes out of your kitchen, using beer! A few bloggers and people from the media were invited to the event.

It all started with their star bartender Abhishek presenting us with a welcome drink - Badge of Honor. It was quite yummy, considering that it was beer infused with Murphy's, passion fruit and caramel, with some vanilla foam, served in a shot glass. It was quite a bold attempt of adding vanilla and caramel flavors to a beer shot and it did work wonders!


We were later presented with some more interesting beer cocktails -some infused with fresh fruits, ginger, star anise and other spices. I'm not quite a beer person, so trying out these quirky cocktails shots worked for me, But I doubt if serious beer lovers would go for any these beer cocktails. :) Nevertheless, it's a good attempt by Best Brews to showcase their innovative side when it comes to serving beer and it's variations. My pick out of the ones we tried is The Bud Twist - Budweiser infused with some fresh orange, thyme and cinnamon. I loved the hint of orange and cinnamon in the drink. It was quite refreshing, to say the least.


The master class was started by Chef Sanjay Mitra cooking a dish called Drunken Beer Butt Chicken. The end product itself looked gorgeous. It had whole chicken, except the neck, marinated in some special seasoning mix. A entire beer can is used for marination and the empty can is shoved into the chicken, bottom up, before grilling it away to perfection. Vola! Drunken Beer Butt Chicken is ready to savoured with
some sauce.

Chef Michael Swamy illustrated another exquisite dish - Ale Cooked Lamb. Marinated lamb chops cooked and served with a colourful couscous of coloured peppers. The marination mix was quite an intersting mix of ale, garlic, grapes, pomegranate juice and some fresh herbs.

We also had some popular dishes from The Eatery - Ajwain Paneer Tikka, Chicken Kolhapuri, naan and some pasta. I savoured the paneer tikka in particular.

All in all it was a fun evening with lot's of conversations over good food and beer! Cheers!
(PuneFoodiez were invited for the event)