Tigers Experience at Chor Bizzare with The Delhi Gourmet Club

Eighteen Months Old - The Delhi Gourmet Club - A Facebook community started by our very own foodies .

Sir Rocky Mohan / Shri Sourish Bhatacharyya and Mr Atul Sikand - 5500 members , 58 Events - a real value for money coupon Brochure - amazing achievement by the three stars .

Rocky Mohan - several recipe books to his claim , stylish , khandani,humble,classy thorough gentleman - loved by all . His recipes are perfect to the core , you cant go wrong with them .He belongs to the legendary family of Mohan Meakins.

Sourish Bhatacharyya - amazing man ,popular, famous , critic , sweet as ever - never heard him bitchin or criticizing a dish - Dada has written articles for every possible newspaper and food magazine in India, the man is so fantastically knowledgeable that i have to sit with him at every event and just absorb . He writes so romantically that i really wonder sometimes if he is actually a food writer or a love story writer.

Atul Sikand - Stylish - rather Atul is known as the style Icon of DGC , perfect dresser -has a food forum on fb called sikandalous Cuisine - has a beautiful farm with 21 cows and equivalent number of dogs . 

Together they make a perfect team .

 I had the privilege to be  part of the first event of The club - at the Indian Accent - it was a eye opener - perfect timing , super networking , stylishly being served by the guru Manish Mehrotra and his team - receiving back presents  - and the best part is that the people i met the first time have become good buddies and thats what a good networking club is all about - staying in touch - So today DGC is a family more than anything else - in any event 40 % are the loyalist and the balance new comers who are more than welcome to join the family . The Club invites you for lunches dinners at top restaurants in Five Stars and standalone chef driven places - and besides this they are know for their Trails - butter chicken ,seekh kebabs, burgers , chole bhatura - i was a part of the butter chicken trail - every monday religiously we met at new places to discover the best butter chicken somedays we covered two in a row , it was super cool  - they have also done a blind tasting of daal makhni and trust me the results were dynamic and totally unbiased. So basically a fun club which believes in keeping its members alive n kicking and most importantly together.

The usual construct  of any DGC Event - The members shud gain by eating at one of the most sought out places in twon , the member should get a fab deal in terms of Monies , food ,booze and Service - it has to be an event to be remembered . Stand alone Chef Driven restaurants , Fiev Star Restaurant , Street food 

The Flow of events -  announced min three weeks ahead on the group page , booking closes in 35 minutes yes 35 minutes of announcement can u beat that - this is true and endorsed , you are to send an email with your booking , post that u receive a confirmation , a runner come s along to collect the money in advance btw you receive a sms from one of the admins about what time the runner will there at the residence or office for the  money to confirm the seat , post this you receive a notification - Please skip Breakfast - par sunta kaun hai . On the designated day a time is fixed for meet and greet - here at chor bizzare it was 12.00 sharp - Atul was there to receive the guest . You meet and greet with fellow foodies , a round  of snacks is served around  (the greedy members watch out don't eat too many you have a min of 12 more dishes to come in the main course)and booze flow freely  , 1.00pm everyone is expected to be seated wherever and be ready for the magic to unveil ... it is a plated meal always no chasing a buffet , and this is amazing - how the restaurants manage to serve numbers from 50 - 100 in one go - trust me it is a big challenge specially for a standalone restaurant . Five stars also struggle doing the same . This is the moment when the spirits are high at some tables and on some there is silence - full on concentration of the food - my table was like that ... examining each morsel with a telescopic eye - getting to know what you are eating from the manager or the chef in circulation . After the meal before the desert is served the host the admins stand up in the centre, ring the bell for everyone's attention (Rocky sir is super at this )- thank everyone for being there , award the prestigious DGC certificate to the Team (Managers , chefs , service staff) and announce the next event - then the desert is served - while exiting again you see the host at the door seeing of people and giving out simple yet valuable gift to each member personally - infact the entire team stands and sees you off - it is so appreciative.

Its interesting to see foodies exchange views about food new places travel plans etc ... a great platform to discover new places globally, meet affluent members, exchange views and knowledge on food , clear issues etc etc .... great fun. BTw i go to the pocket friendly events lol - they have events from 1500 to 5500 which goes over my house budget hahahahahaha.

Meet N Greet / Discussions 

Awarding the DGC certificate of Satisfaction 

I salute Mr Rohit Khattar for his Vision, consistency - Old World Hospitality definitely has made dent in the Indian Food Business - may it be cuisine, interiors ,service ,food and chefs . The group has turned out some of the most famous chefs in the country - some of the most popular magicians are  Manish Mehrorta of Indian Accent, Gurpreet Gehdu or Punjab Grill , Himanshu of masala Library, just to name a few - totally incredible. 

The current Corporate Chef of OWH is Rajiv Malhotra who over sees the entire chains kitchen and establishments with special focus on QSR and Casual Dinning formats - the man has three decades of experience behind - don't think there is any hotel chain where he hasn't been , Chef Malhotra experiments a lot at home and tries out his dishes with his mom who is the yardstick for him . 

Chef Pradeep Khullar the handsome young man looks after Chor Bizzare , he is the Chef De cuisine .The entire team of Chor Bizzare is seasoned they know how to handle Goras and also hard core foodies  like tiger . The Kashmiri Tarami  is one cuisine which has to be served with love and tender and they excel in the same . 

3 Hotels and Over 40 restaurants  - Rohit Kahttar is the czar of entertainment - Hospitality and Cinema is his passion - he has an amazing collection of cinema Posters and Photographs ./ Chor Bizarre was his first restaurant in the family run business - Broadway hotel . Rohits family is one of the most known families from Kashmir - they have their own waza ,who have laid down the basic ground rules of Kashmiri food at Chor Bizzare.

Rohit if you are reading my blog - " Please Adopt Me " hahahahahahahahah

Everything out here is supposed to be chori ka - hahahaha just because the chor bazar lies right behind them  LOL , Btw they have a pub called thugs which is filled with all the stock brokers more than the chors of asaf ali road .Chor Bazaar or ‘thieves market’ within its kaleidoscopic interiors and is dedicated to serving authentic Indian cuisine in a unique atmosphere.  There was a time where in the crockery no fork no spoon no plate was identical - but i guess over time they have standardized the same of the chor has learnt to match and steal hahahahahah. The Interiors - a vintage fiat stands in the latte  half of the restaurant on which they usually serve the starters . It is a 1936 Fiat Bolela - wonder if this is also stolen . Ideally chor bizzare shud have stolen - crockery , decor , and event he recipes shud be stolen lol . Anyways the interiors are dimlit , totally antique loaded , gordy velvet , squeaky chairs , beautiful table tops , amazing arte facts  and the lamps were something to go mad about ;The resplendent furnishings and décor were collected from various bazaars of India, and have been creatively arranged so as to inspire diners to venture beyond their immediate and uniquely decorated surrounds and explore the wealth of objects d’art displayed in each corner of the restaurant-just like the bazaar to which it owes its name. - ek dum mughalo ke zamane ke beautiful purple lights - i read somewhere that if u like something ask the waiter he might oblige - but sadly he didn when i asked , now how mean can that be . Make us an offer we cannot refuse and you may walk out with more than just an enjoyable meal.

The Chor Bizzare Menu 

The DGC Event Menu - Specially Crafted for the Members

The Specially Crafted Menu for DGC Members

Before i reach the menu of the event - the regular menu consist of dishes from across the regions of India and their forte lies in kashmiri cuisine . Hence the mash up . Lets go starter by starter - Pepper Prawns - beautifully marinated and infused pepper in the prawns - served nice and hot on wooden skewers , easy to eat as the tail was removed ; Aamras roomlai paneer - something never tried before - if i didn know the name i wudn have been able to guess - passable ; Chatpate phal - yes Rajiv insisted i tried this - a very common dish found on the streets of dilli - cut fruits with amchoor and served cold - very refreshing ; Kashmiri seekh kebabs - hmmm  this was questionable - the flavor was mast but were they kashmiri  hmmmm no - i have had kashmiri seekh which are long a bit dry and have mustard oil in them - the flavor is mustardy ... nevertheless they were nice seekhs served hot ; Nimboo Murh tikka - basic chicken tikka marinated in juice of Kafir lime yum flavor -  punjabis as it have the habit of squeezing nimboo on the hot tikkas so loved them ; kurkuri Makka - very interesting starter - nice crunch of kur kure  dipped in a yellow sauce which had coconut flavoring making it real delicious and kind of thai sauce dip ; the khus khus dahi kebab - beautiful presentation - a good veg option ; the rest Sev puri , Galoti on ulte tawa roti  were ok ok had too many of them at shaadis in town.

The Kashmiri Tarami - Essentially meaning eating out of one plate called the traem four to one plate is the order. Rice is the basic component and then the waza keep serving one dish at a time till u r Fed Up . Traditionally a 36 dish meal - majority of it is non  veg . I am told most of the established families in Kashmir have their own waza - so stylish . it is indeed a pleasure to see them at work - huge aluminum containers being cooked on wood fire . Infact Mr Rocky Mohan had a sit down lunch for the DGC members at his farm where the waza actually flew in from Kashmir to treat the members. 

I am actually doing a research on food and cultures which bring the family to eat together from one plate , i think t is a great idea for family bonding.

The Kashmir tarami is a a very scientific meal - each dish has ingredients which work on the body and stimulate different organs - as per the season - i feel its more for the winters - red meat galore . 

The Tarami consisted of Mutton Roganjosh beautifully red thanks to the kashmiri de seeded kashmiri chillies , traditionally the dish is to be full of flavor of spices rather than chilly - cooked in fat and strong heat - the dish had a beautiful lingering flavour of saffron in it , Mutton Yakhni not a complicated dish cooked in yogurt with beautiful mild spices the aroma is divine, Goshtaba beautifully pounded red meat - pink in colour from inside i just love this dish but unfortunately cant eat more than one - heavy and filling for sure - the art of pounding is actually an art - wooden hammer keep beating the meat til the time is not spongy and bubbly ;Murg Rogni or Kashmiri Kukkad  tender pieces of chicken cooked with bones served in the same yakhni yogurt gravy .,Tamatar chaman tomatoe puree fully loaded with kashmiri masala with big pieces of chaman = paneer , Karela Yakhni this i had for the first time and i want to go back to chef rajiv malhotra for the receipe for soem reason the karela was not bitter it was abit sour which made it so much eaasier to eat and relish in the yakhni yogurt gravy .,Haaq - Ilove Haaq ka saag- a friend told me that the best haaq saag is from the Dal Lake dont know if its true or not but it is then im headed to kashmir - so simple to cook and taste of mustard makes it even more delicious , just haaq and plain rice is a killer ,Dum Aloo - Kashmiri do it differently they stuff the aloo with dry fruits and then cook it in thick gravy of spices m the server served these balls and told us its rishta we got excited but when we bit into it you shud have seen all our reaction Haiiin? ,Gobhi Roganjosh didn fancy this but try karna toh banta than a - very shaadi type gobhi masala not very impressed ,Nadru Palak ,lotus stem with palak wah wah if the haaq came from dal lake im sure this one is also a delicacy from the same lake ,have seen people go mad about Bhe or lotus stem ,im not too found of it tho - i prefer mine fried the chinese way but my partner in crime sitting opposite me kept asking the server for and more hence concluded it must be good hehehehehe- Rajmah jammu Ke rajmah wah jee wah quite different ly made like the ones made every sunday at home - thicker gravy lesser masala or rather no pyaaz and timatar just some spices for the flavor and essence thats it , always fun to eat . tabak maaz -twice cooked lamb Ribs first braised in spices and milk and then browned in ghee , actually this piece of meat cooks in its fat or charbi - i love the stickyness and hate it when some restaurants microwave it to serve - the one at chor bizzare was freshly made this was confirmed by nt only me but also the critics on thee table ; and RISTA the grand finale , logic is that its made in yogurt helps in digesting heheheheheheh dont know from which angle ,its heavy dude and whatever lil space which was left for the desert was over and out lol .

All the above dishes were amazing , and they can only be had with steamed rice and akrot ke chutney plus laal pyaaz on the side . all the dishes need to smelt first for the aroma of kashmiri masala , saffron and its freshness. Yes forgot to mention the soother of the day - The Safforn Yogurt - chilled mild flavor of safforn , a bit sweet was a well deserved accompaniment for the huge course of dishes laid out at the wazwan.

Jamun Kee Kulfi , Kashmiri Phirni , Mango Shrikhand, Sharabi Jalebi 

Jamun Ki Kulfi was something new i have tasted , loved the deep purple colour of the jamun , the phirni was passable , the Sharabi Jalebi was topped with Old Monk .. hmmmmmm  no justice done to either , prefer them standalone. 

This is a special mention for the Official Photographer of DGC who now is actually one of the top guys covering all major events for the news papers etc . Ajay - have seen the boy grow , pick up new equipment excellent and above are a few of his shots of the day .

Overall Tigers Experience : For a good Kashimiri Tarami Experience there is no other place better than Chor Bizzare - authenticity , originality all intact . Would definitely go only here when ever the craving for Kashmiri food comes again . They need to work on their deserts for sure and also try and experiment with some new Authentic Kashmiri Starters . Highly recommend a must visit place . Loved the DGC hospitality .

Food : restricting my self to the Kashmiri Cuisine - Fantastic would love to go back for the Rista ,the Karela Yakhni ,the akrot chutney and the saffron yogurt.

Service - Super Duper - the team is well versed with the Kashmiri Cuisine ,makes life so much easier . The Gm , The Chefs the serving staff are extremely courteous and humble 

Ambiance - Freaked out Chor Bazar Experience - you can spend a day checking out the artifacts and other stolen thingies ...  lets steal them from the chor bazaar , now that would be something .