Thursday, May 28, 2015

Tigers Experience - Amritsar - Giani Tea Stall


GIANI The TEA Stall 





Cooper Rd, Company Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab - enroute to Darbar Sahib...  55 year old Shop owned and run by Giani Gurmeet Singh jee .

Yes it is ICONIC and a must do when visiting Amritsar , Punjab.



There is definitely some magic in the Tea served all over Amritsar and i am totally convinced its the water of Amritsar which does the magic ... the food , the tea taste so different and good . The tea is nice kaadi hui perfect sugar levels - mild , milk just right and trust me you cannot just have one .


It was quite a sight of fitness freaks ending their routines with a must have chai at Gianis's and they said they cant go home without one Chai and gup shup ...  didn see any women tho . These guys have been coming to Giani for years after their walks , badminton games . I can can very much relate to them - we do it al the time here in delhi too . 

So I asked the man serving us about the crowd , he said sir sab rich log hain who go to work at 11 am so they have all the time to enjoy the morning tea .. fresh hone ke liye .


Picture Lifted from the Net 
I loved the utensil in which they made the tea , brass pateela with a welded handle .. and the best part is that they never make and store .. they serve every lot fresh - water leaves etc etc etc. 
I did ask the man on how many cups do they sell per day he said he had no idea .. its infinite , never counted them .

Me and my driver did an estimation .... opens at 5 am and its peak business hours til 10 am ...  they have 100 stools outside on the pavement .. each lot of 100 sit for a max of 30 mins .. hence  5 hrs x 2 x 100 = 1000 cups of tea in 5 hours with intervals of 30 mins each .. Each cup is for 15/-  now calculate his business volume heheheheheheheheh.
 Besides tea the man is also know for his omelettes and his sunny side eggs . 



Tigers Experience : What an experience , being a Tea freak loved every sip of the chai .. had two cups and was still keen on the third til i realised where would i go to piddle hehehehe.. a must visit hole in the wall . Small places small pleasures. A must do on the way to the Golden Temple .

Sad part is that his son's dont want to get involved in dad's business so wonder who wil take the legacy ahead ?

Why is tea in Punjab Made in Brass or Peetal ke bartan ?Why is Tea more enjoyable in Mitee ke kulad ?


Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Tigers Experience - Kacheri Wale Nutri Tawa Kulche


After a successful hearing at the court , after bribing the whole world to get my work done .. i asked the lawyer Bhai sahab kuch khila pila toh do ... and he promptly inthe ambrasari style - "O jee kee gal kar ditee .. anil de Nutri Kulcha Khao the best in town .. people come from far far away to eat them and naal tussi chai v jaroor peene hai ".. oh no not a good sign hehehehhehehe I personally would not like to visit the courts again ...

Well anyways i sat down on this wooden creaking bench , the cleanest i could spot amongst the millions flies .. the flies were also so well trained that as i sat down they disappeared lol .. a good food adevnturer has to ignore such species to enjoy the food .. and then came the well awatied Nutri Kulcha .. along with came the owner Anil ... young hip n happening man with a team of mustandas .. the one's you see in punjabi movies , Kanada return heheheheheh. They all work as a team . He sets up stall at 10 am and by 3 pm he is all OVER . 

The Nutri Kulcha Tawa wala
Delicious Amritsar Nutri Kulcha


The Bench

The Tawa Nutri
 Deep red colour , tangy flavour filled with masalas so addictive ; could easily pass away for mutton takatak .. relished it to the end. Served garam garam straight from the Tawa. 



The World Famous Kulcha

I loved the Kulcha more .. dabbed in the masala from the tawa .. slightly crisp on one side .


The Tawa

The Magicians Tawa.... 

Though i missed the making process - i tried to understand and grasp whatever i could from Anil (and you know why - the punjabi they speak in ASR is different from the others .. most of it went over my head ,being a punjabi)..  he said he cooks in refined oil adds Paste of - Garlic , Onions, Tomatoes , and other mixed veggies and then tops it with some magic Masalas and goes Taka Tak tak ... and thats it Tawa Nutri is ready to be served  ... The kulcha is dabbed in the masala fromt he tawa to give it the necessary ting . 

No rocket science in the making the Famous Nutri Tawa but the taste was amazing .. spicy chatpata , yes fulfilling for sure but greedily i had three kulchas ...  They would not tell me how much is per plate as my kind lawyer insisted on paying .. but my guess is Rs.20 /- per plate . There definitely was some magic in what i ate . 

Now the downside and i hope im not taken to court for this because what im going to say has been told to me by people who eat Nutri Tawa regularly in amritsar ... and i dont want to spoil Anil's rosy roti . Apparently most Nutri Kulcha guys put Charbi (animal fat) while they cook it on the tawa to give it the addictive flavour ... hope its not true .. I asked anil why his nutri was thick and greasy .. he promptly said sir we use refined only and other maybe using other material :)

Well keeping what im sold in mind .. the Nutri was delicious , the kulcha could be had on its won .. just yum and you could get it all over Amritsar .. i saw stalls on Lawrence road also.

This is at the District Courts Amritsar .





Sunday, May 24, 2015

Tigers Experience - Select'ED High Tea






What is High Tea?
The drinking of tea not only became a social event for the upper classes, it altered the time and manner in which they took tea. Afternoon Tea became the bridge between meals because many wouldn't eat their evening meal until maybe 8pm. As such, Afternoon Tea became a 'mini meal' in itself.
This was all well and good for the upper classes, but the working classes ran to a different schedule and a different budget. Tea was still quite expensive at the time and the working classes could not afford to waste it on anything other than necessities. A wearied factory worker wouldn't arrive home until six in the evening, and when he did, he was famished! Thus, in the industrial areas of the UK (northern England and southern Scotland), the working classes evening meal evolved: high tea.

Why is it called 'high tea'?
A possible explanation why this type of meal was called high tea is the fact that it was eaten at a table. In comparison, Afternoon Tea was taken whilst seating in low, comfortable chairs or sofas. Of course, soon after, the upper classes developed their own variation and also called it 'high tea'. It was a meal that could be eaten when their servants were away or not available, as it was so easy to prepare. The upper class 'high tea' involved the amalgamation of Afternoon Tea and high tea, with the addition of pigeon, veal, salmon and fruit.
It is important to add that the Afternoon Tea menu served in the UK today is often refered to as high tea in many other parts of the world. Because of this some hotels, such as The Ritz in London, use the term 'High tea in London' to advertise their Afternoon Tea because a large proportion of their customers are from overseas.
Some venues do serve a special high tea menu, in addition to Afternoon Tea, which includes additional savoury items such as Welsh Rarebit, English muffins, pies or omelette.
....... lift off from the Net.


We were invited to witness the display of the newly launched Bespoke Catering Services from the House of SELECT - yes the same owners of the Super Saket wala Select Mall ... Mr Arjun Sharma . Select ED is head by Ishaan Sarkar as the CEO , Curated by Diector Culinaire Gaurav Mathur and yes supported by a awesome team of Chefs and Managers. 


The High Tea was curated and displayed at Their Manesar Property Heritage Village . While i want you to just enjoy the pictures and droool .. I would like to put my personal thoughts on what a High tea is expected to be and what it actually was . In india as per us desi people high tea is a after work heavy meal between 5- 7 pm  - usually witnessed at Shagans or Engagements or at Conferences .. and most it comprises of Sandwiches , chola bhatura, pakode , jalebi , chaat papri ,bhel puri , pastry from the local guy , and garam garam chai or fizz wali coffee .. thas it ... Well select Ed has certainly done a lot of research in what they presented - they mixed the traditional dishes of the high tea with the desi dishes and presented a beautifully curated mid evening of High Tea . They had a perfect mix of Hot and Cold goodies on display and trials ...  fantastically presented as you can see from the pictures below . 

I personally feel it wil be a hit with the Kitty Party stylish Ladies who like to eat a lot thoda thoda hehehehehehe and  The White collared executives who are showing off to their clients in the Propah way . It has has been renames from High Tea to High Treat . 

I had a picture of the High Tea i enjoyed at the Ritz London with scones etc etc .... but to my surpise this was different and better . The choices were fantastic and they were not just aesthetically gorgeous but they were great flavoured and well textured dishes . 

Please enjoy the High Tea.


Bakers Bricks
The fun of playing with the flour and seeing it rise…. 
Mediterranean Vegetable Pizza
Peppered Mushroom Calzone
Smoked Lamb and Mint Empanadas
Tea Infused Cup Cakes
Spiced Carrot Madeleines
Apple Chutney Samosa
Coffee Religieuse
Chocolate Cup with Creme Chantilly and Fresh Fruit
Assorted Mini Danishes
Caramelized Lemon Ginger Tart with Mini Meringues
Californian Avacado Pie
Coconut Truffle Pops

Mumbai
The evening at Chowpatty comes alive with hawkers selling traditional delicacies, a few to offer… 
Bhel Puri – Interactive
Kalla Khatta Gola – Interactive

Delhi ka Swaad
Delhi Famous for buzz on the streets with the aroma of food...... 
Gol Gappa a’la SelectED -Tabouleh with Fanta and Salsa
Dahi Bhalla
Laccha Tokri Chaat

Cookie & Crunch...
Milk Rusk
Khari
Pistachio Cookies with Chocolate Kisses
Linzer Cookies
Assorted Chikkies
Choco fills Cookie Shake - Interactive

Organic..... 
Ouinoa Ki Tikki
Sweet Potato and Oats Galattes

Organic Mixture




Gol Guppa a'la SelectEd- Tabouleh  with Fanta and  Salsa



Dahi Bhalle / Lachha Tokri

Assorted Mini Danish Pastries


Apple CHutney Samosa

Med Veg Pizza,Mushroom Calzone,Smaoked LambEmpanadas


Organic Bhel Puri 

The Crew
Tigers Overall Experience : Well SelectEd has filled a great vacuum in the society ... they have organised the High Tea market in a much better way , they have actually moved away from the Halwai and the local pastry shop , thank god for that . All i requested them to do was to offer more variety of Tea's and Coffee to complete the wonderful experience .

Special thanks to Chef Gaurav Mathur ; CEO Ishaan Sarkar ; GM Gopal Vaideshwaran and the Team of SelectEd for this fantastic High Tea Experience . I like what you say " We organise Bespoke Events to suit every Occasion".