Terra Exotic Vegetable Chips

Terra Adventure: Let the Journey begin

This Diwali I am super excited to spread the joy with Tera chips. They are an explosion of colours, textures, flavours and tastes. What is more is that they are made out of real vegetables. Eating Terra chips is a unique experience and nothing short of an adventure. The adventure starts even before your first bite. They are a perfect crunchy snack. They are perfect party snacks that can be served to the guests with different dips. My recent party was a big hit thanks to Terra chips. The guest loved them the most. They are real gourmet snacking. They are made from diverse range of root vegetables- naturally blue potato, yuca, parsnip, ruby dipped vegetable, sweet potato, batata, taro.

You can order them online on amazon or get them from big basket, nature's basket or even Foodhall.

You would never experience vegetables like this.

What is more, you can create many recipes out of these packets- appetisers and main dishes too.

I like the socially conscience company specially because they have their packaging in recyclable bags. The company also actively works with seed savers exchange. They work towards preserving the seeds.

Real vegetables are used in these e.g Batata is cuban sweet potato. Batata has been savoured in the Caribbean for centuries. It is light brown in colour. Then they use beet and candy striped beet, carrot, Kabocha which is also known as Japanese pumpkin. It is popular for its strong and yet sweet flavour, similar to butternut squash. They also use Yukon gold potato which is cultivated in Canada. Such exotic fruits and vegetables are sourced from all over the world and what you get is a very sophisticated snacking experience. The unique crunch surprises you and the beautiful colours are very intriguing. The taste makes you long for more. They are a tested and tried company for over two decades. Every vegetable is still hand picked and selected and prepared in small batches and packaged in distinctive simple black bags. 

This Diwali, bring home this joy, gift it to your loved ones and serve it to your guests. Celebrate this Diwali with Terra chips. Take a plunge and let the adventure begin. Every member in your family will compliment you for your choice.

QRO Gourmeteriia: Restaurant Review

As I came nearer QRO Gourmeteriia, what stuck me was PWD- Underpass being constructed and metro construction on ring road. The roads were dug out. Of course, parking was a problem. In the same lane, in Satyaniketan, I saw many restaurants one after the other. There are 3 colleges, 50 plus restaurants that cater to 1000 students. So their priority customer satisfaction. In a student market everyone has budget issues. They are providing best in affordable budget. People find it value for money. This place is more than 2 year old. In this area best one wins. Yesterday only, 4 outlets closed in this market. Everyone here is providing best in terms of value for money, quantity, service, etc. It is made for college students but after 4 or 5 pm, it is more for families and couples. Then the vibe of the place changes.

As I entered, I noticed that the music was too loud (Read: blaring) and not so classy- tunuk tunuk ta ra ra in day time. It is a small a place. It was not so well lit- kind of dingy. The food was well priced-rather quite cheap and affordable. During day time, I could see students puffing sheesha. The place seemed apt for college students, who are on a shoestring budget. It has a 30 people cover as there are no bigger plot sizes in Satyaniketan.

I was served QRO sunshine. It is a nice shaded drink. I liked its colours. The taste was good too though a bit too sweet and artificial. 

Few other things I tried were:

Vegetarian Keema paav- It was so good, I had to ask again and again if it was vegetarian. It was made of soya. The paav was really soft.

Veg stroganoff- capsicum, mushroom, onion. Rs.190/-. It was nice but not my top favourite. It had too much white sauce and less mushroom. But again it is about pricing. In Rs.190/- how can they add bell peppers and mushrooms and serve with nice rice.

Fusion platter- It had salt & pepper, spring roll, mushroom duplex, lavash, onion grill, chilli garlic toast, hummus, sweet chilli.

I found the lavash soggy and mushroom undercooked. The Garlic bread and hummus were not the best ones I have had in town. But again comes the price point. In such low prices, it seemed to be real steal deal. Their expenditure are like any other market but their prices are super low and their work in tough competition. Ideally they would want to cater to crowd apart from students. I was told that students find this price also too high and ask for 10% discounts. Families should try this place during dinner. 

I also had Chilli momo, which is their USP. I found the fried momos too heavy. They told me that to keep younger generation happy and provide them with comfort food, they specially make things this way- add extra cheese to pizza, extra white sauce to veg stroganoff, fried momos and not steamed ones.

For dessert, I had

Brownie nutella waffle- again very heavy. 

It is a fusion cuisine. There is nothing authentic here. Everything has a desi (Indian) touch. When they started with authentic food, it was not received well. With fusion food, they got better response. They also incorporated Hookah bar.

For non vegetarians, you can try

Non veg peri peri chicken steak

Florentine

Chilli momos non veg

Stuffed grilled chicken

Thin crust pizzas

Sandwiches

What stuck me was the honesty of the owner. There was something very honest about the place. The staff and the owner seemed to be working tirelessly, giving personal attention to everyone and really trying to keep their customers happy. It is an enterprise by a young person who is striving and performing in arduous and difficult circumstances to make his dream project work. 

I really think families and public should support him. He will do everything in his capacity to deliver the best. 

VLCC Lovable lips: Lip balm review

With the onset of winters, we see dry skin and chapped lips. Well, I need lip balms even during summers. One thing that I always carry in my bag is lip balm. I am always on a lookout for nice lip balms. I could not resist these endearing little lip balms from VLCC. Their products are mostly good. I picked up in cherry and rose flavour.

They are priced at Rs.125/-

It comes in adorable outer packaging that also has detailed description of its ingredients. The rose lip balm stick is bright pink and the cherry one is white in colour. Both the sticks shut with a click. The packaging is neat but also looks cute an girlie. It can be easily carried in your bag or even your pocket. The cap of cherry balm is transparent. The cherry one has a fruity flavour and the rose has a floral aroma. They are both tinted and leave a beautiful and subtle tint in your lips. It looks so natural and nourished. The lips look shiny, soft and supple. Its texture is smooth and glides very well. 

Things that I really like about it are:

Attractive packaging

Nice tint and colour, very natural

The lips look beautiful- smooth and well nourished.

Glides easily

Travel friendly

Contains SPF 15 and protects the lips

Moisturises the lips and prevents dryness. Helps chapped lips.

Nice fragrance

Smooth texture

Delhi fashion blogger

My fashion posts are becoming rare. But they are not all out. Do not worry.

Here are few of my looks at different occasions.

Below a traditional Mexican dress. It is soft, comfortable and hand embroidered. I wore it to Akshaye Pratishthan mela in The Grand.

Another traditional Mexican dress. This too is hand embroidered. Worn at a dinner party over friends.

Indian suit. Worn in Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra.

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Diwali.

Junglee Billee: Restaurant Review

Junglee Billee is a Retail  café, restaurant, bar and a boutique in Greater Kailash 1, M block market in Delhi. Junglee Bille and my blog are so similar. Both are varied and under the umbrella of lifestyle, cover fashion, food and so much more. It certainly is not a not regular restaurant but a bit different one. It is unlike "running behind alcohol based restaurants" that we normally see in Delhi. The restaurant is only 7 month old. There is nothing loud in it, yet everything is quirky and out of the box.

Here everything is stylised- starting from décor and food. There seems to be a story behind everything-even food and beverage. The menu is enticing with pictures on notepad. It has been painstakingly designed, thought and presented. It is a fun menu that is very easy to navigate.

The place sells wallpapers, Swarovski, crockery, onyx mosaic and cutlery. It is listed as part of the menu. It is a stylised, fashionable retail eatery.

Its concept is around 70’s- Bombay Velvet- when ladies were coming out, Parsi women were outgoing and enterprising. That is the theme of the restaurant.

The restaurant proves that Mumbai food is not just vada pao. They serve Maharashtrian food, konakani, bori mohalla (muslim cuisine), Parsi, Khau Gully, Colaba café (modern, European). Sion koliwada (oldest fishermen food), Mumbai dabbawala, Patel bhais farsan korner. (Gujrati ).

They also have a Special Sunday brunch menu. Within few months of the launch of this restaurant, they have had a great response and lots of expansion plans pan Indian and Internationally. There is a certain Wow! factor here.

What I  loved about the place is that 75% of its menu is vegetarian but the choices for non vegetarians are amazing too.

Nida Mahmood has done its interiors. I could not help but wonder that to get quirky look, Manish Arora would have been a better choice. All 3 floors have a different feel. That is certainly commendable.

Apt to its name, Junglee Billee, which means wild cat, the restaurant is very women oriented. It is like going back to lanes of 70’s and bringing antiques. Food too is women friendly- healthy and refreshing.

We started with drinks

Bloody mary

Cinderella
Both were amazing. 

Starters:

Khandvi chaat- It had Sevpuri, peanuts, pomegranate. It was not spicy but very light and refreshing. I polished off the whole thing.

Mohammad ali boti chicken-Special cut of chicken that was juicy and tender but not dry. There were great chillis and flavours.

Charmunda prawns from Colaba- olive oil and good amount of garlic. It was out of this world.

Garlic button mushroom. Creamy, juicy and delicious.

Keema pao- It was like best hamburger in India.

Mains:

Grilled cottage cheese with cous cous. Succulent pieces of cheese on a bed of delicious cous cous. 

 Chermoula custard red snapper- crust made of chopped garlic, basil etc.

Desserts:

Mumbai Mawa cheese cake- eggless

Caramel custard.

The whole experience of eating here was awesome. I fell in love with the place. I can imagine going there again and again with girls, alone, for events, parties etc. It is a perfect place for women gossip of powder room kind. I am highly recommending this place. It is MUST VISIT.

There is a very interesting terrace that has live dj at night and water body. It is very popular for events and amongst people who want to be in open. There is a beautiful green wall on the terrace.

Once again all the dishes we had:

1. Mh Ali chicken boti kebab :- Succulent and perfectly cooked chicken chunks inspired from famous Mh. Ali road of Mumbai.

2. Khandvi chaat:- Regional Gujrati dish accompanied by delicious chaat.

3. Vitamin kurmure bhel:- chowpatty style bhel accompanied by imported apple(granny smith) and pomegranate which makes it a healthy version of chowpatty bhel.

4. Prawn aglio olio:- colaba cafe inspired european style prawn flavoured with roasted garlic and cooked in olive oil

5. Keema pav:- Bohri style mutton keema served with inhouse made fresh pavs

6. Limone mushroom:- fresh button mushrooms tossed in garlic butter and topped with aioil.

7. Grilled cottage cheese steak :-  thyme and garlic marinated cottage cheese steaks cooked to the perfection and served with steamed cous cous and fresh basil tomato sauce.

8. Chermoula crusted red snapper:- fresh fillet of red snapper crusted with chermoula and served with garlic potato mash and sauteed vegetables.

9. Mava cheese cake:- perfect creamy textured cake made with the help of mava and cream cheese with butter frosting and maraschino cherry and to cut down the sweetness it is served with the berry compote.

10. Caramel custard:- Perfect layer of soft caramel on top and balanced sweetness makes this dish star of the entire meal.

Chef Pawan started cooking at the young age of 14, as he used to stay away from home and he enjoyed cooking for himself and his friends since then.  Later he realised that he wants to make his passion into his profession .

Chef Pawan joined IHM Mumbai straight out of school, and trained in Kitchen Operations for three years. Chef Pawan has already garnered an experience of seven years in the industry at this young age.

Post this he was selected Olive Bar and kitchens prestigious Chef Training programme in New Delhi , where he gained further experience at Olive at the Qutab  and Olive Beach. He was also part of the team of three chefs, representing India at the Hans Bueschkens world junior chef challenge, Hong Kong, 2011.
  Post the programme, Pawan was the officiating head Chef at Olive Beach where he also showcased his talent and skill at the different festivals held at Olive - French festival, Greek festival, Swedish festival, the season of Spain and the Middle eastern season. He also travelled to Singapore for Food and Hotels Asia in April 2012 as a part of the Indian delegation of Chefs.

Known for his skills and professionalism ,Chef  Pawan is a popular name in the industry now.

Chef Pawan’s mantra, however is, that cooking is an emotional process and if you do not cook each dish with your heart, it’s an effort gone waste.