Eggless Tender Coconut Souffle

The day I dug my spoon into a tender coconut souffle years ago, I knew I had to make it. This dessert makes me fall in love with it with each passing bite. The restaurant I had it in served it as part of their buffet and I remember shamelessly serving myself again and again and again. This is a famous dessert in Kerala and there are loads of recipes on the net. Many call it a  pudding too. I didnt want ANY recipe. I wanted an easy peasy exact tasting recipe. After several tries, I did stumble upon this recipe and its super duper awesome. The sad part is I dont remember the source as I had written down too many versions of the souffle.

This has become such a popular dessert now at Just Like Mum's, Bangalore that I get many orders for this one. 

All this takes is three simple ingredients - coconut milk, condensed milk and gelatin. Well, the other recipes on the net have a lot more ingredients and the results were not great. 

Here's my treasured recipe of the tender coconut souffle. 

Ingredients: Sweetened Condensed milk - 400 ml Gelatin - 3 tbsp Tender Coconut water - 5 cups
Method: Take half a cup of warm water and dissolve the gelatin making sure no lumps are formed. In a large bowl, add the condensed milk and dissolve the gelatin mixture in it slowly without forming lumps. Now pour the coconut water into this bowl and mix well.

  Pour into desired serving glasses/bowls and refrigerate for  3-4 hours or until set. Garnish with fruit of your choice or chocolate decorations like I have done and serve chilled.

Note:

• If you have unsweetened condensed milk, add about 2 tbsp of sugar.
• Use tender coconuts which have cream (malai) in them for better taste and texture.
• I have not tried this with agar agar, you are free to try it and let me know.
• This recipe serves a llloooottt of people. Feel free to reduce it as per your choice.
• Refrigerated, this stays good for a week. 
• Use garnishes just before serving.

Shivaji Military Hotel

At the place I work, the food courts are filled beyond capacity during the lunch hours. You have to make a couple of rounds staring into plates to see who is about to finish. Then you quietly stand behind them to politely remind them that it is time they vacated the place. And as they are almost done, you begin to make your way into their chair ensuring nobody gets there before you.

Well, that was the scene at Shivaji Military Hotel when we went there for lunch one Sunday. Our fault, we picked the busiest day and the busiest time (1 PM). But no complaints on that because we expected the rush.

The restaurant is in a narrow lane very close to the Banashankari Bus stand. Ask for directions if needed. This humble eatery has won several coveted awards and you have to visit it in case you are in Bangalore. Like Koshy's, this one is a big checklist item in the 'must-dos' while in Bangalore.

The humble entrance

With our 3-month old baby, we stepped foot into this legendary place known for its biryani. We waited a bit and strategically placed ourselves in such a way that we got to sit as soon as a table was emptied.

Amidst the huge crowds there is not much of the ambiance that could be seen. Maintaining hygiene could be a constant challenge here but it did not bother us much.

While there was a menu, at peak hour, you have to go with what is available. So Chicken Biryani and Mutton Dry was the only thing available and we went with that. The food is served on Eco-friendly leaf plates and the service is fast. While the place can seat about 150 people, the same number were standing around waiting for their 'parcels'.

Chicken Biryani

Mutton Dry

The biryani is great, unique in taste and perfectly spiced. The green masala was evident in this one. I personally like biryanis where the rice and meat is cooked together as compared to the 'assembled' ones. With tender pieces of chicken thrown in, this biryani scored high with raitha and a spicy gravy to go with it.

The mutton was a pepper fry. The right amount of pepper and well cooked meat qualifies itself to a  second helping. The quantity was a little below average but the taste of the biryani left no space for complains.

Vinod particularly mentioned that he liked the food. A big win in itself. We'd love to go back there again on a day when its less crowded.

The pricing is average. However please note that the place is open only from 8 AM to 3 PM and closed on Mondays. Parking could be an issue.

Address: 780, 1st C Main, 45th Cross, 8th Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore

Ph no : +91 9845149217

Rating : 4 out of 5

Pay : By cash. Could not check for credit card

Meal for 2 : Rs 450                        

Halli Mane

I am not usually a fan of South Indian fare and breakfast is a meal I rarely venture out to try. But a visit to Halli Mane definitely changed that for me. We ended up at Halli Mane as we were on that side of town and needed to finish our breakfast quota for the day.

 

The name is derived from Kannada where ‘Halli’ means village and ‘Mane’ means house. The ambience is therefore is very much like a village house (a little fancy of course!). The Warli paintings on the walls, some cut tiles turned into splendid art definitely impress a first-timer. The cleanliness and hygiene surely meets the eye. The menu is straight and simple – Karnataka ‘tiffin’ varieties. We definitely feasted on a lot that day leaving no space for lunch.

The humble entrance

Sunlight making its way through the roof

On our plates that day:

Idli Vada

 The nothing-can-go-wrong idli vada. This is a dish that is not just filling but is a must have in any Karnataka breakfast.

Rave idli

Rave idli – Soft, mildly spiced yet really high on taste.

 

Poori Saagu

Poori Saagu - Soft, non-oily pooris complimented with a mixed vegetable curry. The pooris can tell you if the oil the restaurant uses is clean. This place definitely was!

Masala Dosa

Masala Dosa – another staple among South Indians. The dosa here was impressive – crispy, generous on ghee, ‘bhaji’ tasted great. So that’s a ten on ten right away.

If that was the spicy side of breakfast, there the sweet side.

Chiroti

First up – Chiroti. This is a fluffy  and flaky ghee baked pastry that is eaten with milk. The milk here had a badam flavor and took the chiroti several notches higher in taste.

 



Coconut Holige



Coconut Holige. We usually buy holige (a sweet roti) from the bakery. But its completely different to taste something that’s so fresh and just out of the pan.



Kesari Bhath



Kesari bhath or Ksheera. Not one of my favourites on a regular day. This one was irresistible though with loads of ghee and dry fruits. Literally a moment on the lips, forever on the hips.



Mangalore Buns



Mangalore Buns – Vinod would have died if we hadn’t ordered this. This sweet bun was better that the ones I tasted in Mangalore as well.

With a fresh lime soda and some teas and coffees, it was tata time for the Halli Mane. Cant wait to go back again.

While at the Halli Mane, expect crowds and a little waiting. Explore the area for safe and hassle free parking. The food is simply superb and the prices are very affordable. We recommend a fast the previous night.

Pay by : Cash

Restroom : Decent

Average meal for two : Rs 250 (for a lot of food)

Mel’s overall rating : 4.5 out of 5

Location: 3rd Cross, Sampige Road, Malleshwaram, Bangalore. Ph: 080 65611222

Kanua

Aaah finally I get to revisit my blog after months or should I say years. Well, its not that I didn’t try places or eat during this period but yes, there were some reasons. Firstly I knew I had to watch my pocket and then my growing waistline…this automatically meant slowing down on hopping to every new joint in town.

Secondly (somehow this seems more important) I was preparing to be a mommy. The first few months were tough considering I could not even stand the smell of food and as the days went by…I could not travel much. So that pretty much sums up my bag of excuses.

I feel guilty for those few places I visited and never wrote about but I knew I had to start somewhere all over again. So here goes!

With pregnancy, along with the doc’s list you have to listen to mum, aunt, grandma, cousin, neighbor and everybody else who seems to be interested in what and where you eat.

I was in two minds deciding between a Kerala joint and a Mangy place. The seafood won over the pepper beef fry and we headed to Kanua for dinner on Saturday night.

It was an occasion where hubby and me managed to sneak out some time for a quiet dinner….candle, romance, open seating et al. Much needed at this time when the romance quotient is rather low. I confess, we did only baby talk at the table.

Coming back…We called in for directions and found the restaurant with ease though it was tucked away in a quiet bylane off Sarjapur Road. Having explored this locality after long, I must say there are quite a few places to try.

Parking is right on the street, no hassles there! Now the tough part, you have to climb two floors to reach the restaurant. For someone like me struggling to walk, this was quite an effort. But as we reached the place, the interiors were welcoming.  The ambience is warm, romantic and reminds you of old homes in Mangalore. A lot of detailing has got into making this place special. The display of utensils, old doors, tools and a tiled roof transport you straight to a bygone era.

The warm interiors

The vegetable corner

Part of the interiors

A large collection of old bottles

The main seating area

A look at the menu and you know that they have charged you for the interiors as well. The menu is not very vast but has everything to give you a perfect Mangalorean culinary experience. Mangalorean food again has delicacies from the Hindu and Catholic communities and Kanua focusses on the former. This was a welcome change for us as we have almost taken Catholic cuisine for granted at home.

Pondering over Chicken and seafood, we picked Chicken ghee roast for starters. A great one here! I didn’t want to risk the portion of fish and opted for this one.  Rich, full of spices and ghee...this one was great. But with 6 pieces for 415 bucks, it was almost like a rip off considering other Mangalorean joints serve the same stuff (very similar in taste) for less than half the price.

Chicken Ghee Roast

Poddhale Podhis

I never pick veggies but this time I did. We chose the Poddhale Podhis. These were roundels of snake gourd stuffed with very mildly spiced mashed potato and deep fried. Quite a surprising dish and the taste was unique and simple. This dish came with a tamarind and onion dip which was good if not great.

Yetti Randhei

Shevai

For main course, I decided to dive into the sea food. Yetti Randhei (prawn curry). This was the highlight of the evening. A thick coconut based gravy, perfectly spiced and extremely tasty. To accompany it we asked for Shevai (vermicelli) and boiled rice. Little did the waiter warn us that the gravy is sufficient only for one. Again for Rs 495, the gravy was too little and the quantity of prawns just ok. We had to pick another gravy.

Motte Saar

Vinod loves eggs so for the first time ever, we ordered for egg curry (Motte Saar) in a restaurant. The gravy again was coconut based with red masala. The gravy was not as special and was more like the one we made at home, may be a little thicker. Again at 295 bucks, definitely not VFM.

The restaurant also has a bar menu but we chose to ignore it. Vinod tried the fresh Lime Soda which was perfect to say the least.

Fresh Lime Soda

We didn’t pick desserts as I am off sugar for a while. The food was very good but I felt it was way over priced. This also could be because I am Mangalorean and cant imagine paying too much for home food.

But yes, for someone who has never tasted coastal cuisine, this could be worth it. I would pay that extra bit for the ambience and the memories it brought.

Note: The pics are not clear, thanks to the dim lighting.

Pay by : Cash and cards

Average meal for two : Rs 2000

Mel’s overall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location: 6/2, Kaikondrahalli, Near Wipro Headquaters, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore.

Ph:  080 65374471

 

Gullu's Chaat

It’s not often that we find ourselves in a  chaat house. Especially when grab a bite means the nearest KFC. There is no time or day in the week when we are not hungry and recently while we were at Sheshadripuram, we decided to head towards the famous Gullu’s Chaat for a chatpata feast.

We had to ask for directions to reach the place which is tucked away near Kumara park. As expected the place was crowded. There were people all around eating a variety of chaat. We headed right inside for the ‘service’ section. Nothing to mention of the interiors because there aren’t any.  The seating area is run down and functions as wash room, part kitchen and store room. However that did not hamper the good reviews we had heard of the place.

The menu like most snack houses offers chaat, pizzas, sandwiches and juices. I have loved Masala Puri since time immemorial especially at those roadside eateries. The smell of simmering gravy over the kerosene stove still makes my  mouth water. Anyways, so with this masala filled thought, I had to order for a Special Masala Puri. It was good, though not out of this world. When asked what at the must-haves at Gullu’s, the waiter recommended the Dahi Puri. Again not the best in town. We enjoyed both nonetheless, but I definitely would not travel even one extra mile to taste this.

Special Masala Puri

Dahi Puri

For the second round we picked a Pav Bhaji and a Samosa Bhel. The Pav Bhaji was slightly tangy but was fairly high on taste. It reminded me of the Pav Bhaji you get at the Jayanagar 4th Block Shopping complex. The samosa bhel was better than the rest. With crumbled samosa tossed in the usual bhel, this one went down pretty well and fast too.

Pav Bhaji

Samosa Bhel

 And finally to complete the chaat meal, we ordered for Pani Puri. Having had the usual potato and onion filling for the last few years, the peas and curry filling was a good change. Gullu’s Chaat definitely sells good chaat, but with so many chaat counters in the city…there is nothing much to travel here for.

Stepping out of this place, I noticed that the shop next door was jam packed and sold ‘Indian Burger’ and ‘Masala Cola’. I wouldn’t mind giving that a try.

Pay by : Cash

Restroom : Didn’t risk it. No second thoughts, I didn’t come across one.

Average meal for two : Rs 100

Mel’s overall rating : 1.5 out of 5

Location: No 2/1, Serpentine Road, Kumara Park West, Bangalore 560020. Ph: 080 2356 0164

Zaika

The craving to have biryani is always there. But that special ‘Muslim’ biryani is just irresistible. So over the weekend, we were heading for late lunch and picked Zaika on MM Road for our fill of biryani.

The shirt stairs led to a spacious hall with basic seating. Fancy wall posters of biryani coupled with the enticing aroma make you order almost immediately. Though I gave a customary look at the menu, I anyway knew what I wanted.

A chicken biryani for me and a mutton biryani for Vinod. Aaaahhhh! Awesomeness. The gentle spices, the fragrant rice, the soft meat all cooked under ‘dum’ to create the perfect biryani. I loved this and I am definitely going back to this place. The masalas in both biryanis were the same. Sometimes chicken in the rice tends to be tough but the softness of this one completely surprised us. The mutton was tender as always.

Chicken Biryani

 I could have ordered another plate had it not been for this whole ‘watch your weight’ thingy. What’s more the biryani came with the famous tomato-brinjal gravy that is to die-for and the yummy phirni. Vinod stays away from the brinjal gravy making me a twice-as-happy person so I can have the share of two.

Raitha

Tomato and Brinjal Gravy

Phirni

Malai Kabab was our choice to accompany the heavenly biryani. Though it reached us after we had finished our rice, this was a good after snack. The chicken again was marinated in cream and light spices and was cooked to perfection in the tandoor.

Malai Kebab

This meal was one of the most satisfying meals of recent times. For those of you who wish to try other items, there are various options of tandoor and Chinese.

Pay by : Cash or Credit Cards

Average meal for two : Rs 450

Mel’s overall rating : 4 out of 5

Location: MM Road, Mosque Road, Frazer Town, Bangalore 560005. 

Anjappar

Family lunches at restaurants are a great idea. Not only do you get some exclusive bonding time, but you get a chance to order a lot of food. With my new found interest to try cuisines I was not familiar with, we zeroed in on Anjappar. Of course this reputed Chettinad restaurant is there around the world but we chose the outlet in Koramangala.

The first thing that strikes you is the capacity of the place. Two large halls on two floors can accommodate a whole wedding party if needed. With no reservation 6 of us found our way to our seats. My knowledge of Chettinad chicken was limited only to a chicken dish I make and so I was super-duper kicked about belting on the non-vegetarian delicacies that Chettinad cuisine boats of.

The menu has a lot of regional favourites including quail and rabbit. There is a good balance of veg and non veg food here with a choice of Chinese food as well. The food here is served on plaintain leaves.

First up was the Anjappar Fried Chicken. We asked for a full portion which had medium sized pieces of chicken marinated in spices and deep fried till golden brown. The meat was tough and was extremely dry giving little chance to enjoy the taste.

Anjappar Fried Chicken

 Next in line was the Rabbit Roast. I had tasted rabbit meat before and this was as expected, soft and was cooked with pepper and a lot of strong spices. This one was good but the quantity was too little to satisfy.

Rabbit Roast

We went on to order Chilli fish from the Chinese section since one of my cousins loves fish and is comfortable with ‘more-familiar’ food. This one had  pieces of seer fish sautéed with diced onions and capsicum and tossed well in various sauces. I must admit that this was amazing and a great Chinese dish at a  Chettinad outlet.

Chilli Fish

For the main course we ordered for Chicken and Mutton Biryanis. Cooked with basmati, the aromatic biryani with tender meat went down really well. The taste was superior though not extraordinary. For Grand mum, we ordered the Anjappar Regular Meal. As much as she insisted on eating only rice and curry, her meal was more than what she could handle. Rice which came with fish, chicken and mutton gravy, rasam, sambar, kootu, poriyal, keerai and curd.

Biryani

The meals

To go with it, we asked for the day’s special which was Tuticorin Chicken – a spicy and thick masala with chunks of chicken which was high on the spice meter. This was surely one dish which had all the spices in a  kitchen. A dash of lime and this gravy is finger licking good. 

We washed down our meals with lime sodas (though we ordered for lime juice). The bill was not heavy compared to the quantity we devoured. With a bill that came up to Rs 1500, this is a great family lunch option.

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Clean

Average meal for two : Rs 600 (ours worked up to Rs 1500 for 6)

Mel’s overall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location: No 4, 4th B Block, 17th Main, 100 Ft Road, Near BDA Complex, Koramangala, Bangalore 560034.