Zomato Restaurant review - Rendezvous - Monotel Sector 5, Salt Lake, Kolkata

We went to Kolkata in summer during the vacation of my kids and met with a large group of relatives there. We planned a group lunch and this restaurant was chosen based on location and price of their buffet. It is conveniently located opposite to Wipro office and inside Hotel Monotel. Though it looked quite small for a popular joint the ambience was nice. The buffet was priced at Rs 708 and since we had Dineout Gourmet Passport 3 buffet were free of cost. Even for the rest amount I used my dineout pay and 15% reservation discount to get total 13 buffet at a price of about Rs 5600 which is quite cheap. Now let us review the food... there were 4 starters (2 Veg+2 Non-Veg), 7~8 main dishes and 3 deserts. The spread was not much compared to the buffets we experience in Bangalore but the food was quite tasty. Here we need to mention about the unlimited cold drinks and juices which helped us to overcome the harsh summer weather outside. We liked the starters and the Benarasi Pulao which is of little different taste with nuts and steamed rice. In dessert section Gulab Jamun was mouthwatering and chocolate pastry was so yummy. The staff's behavior was also very good. There were very courteous, polite and caring.We had a special kid with us and they made her food free of cost which is a very moving behavior. Overall a rating of 4.0 from my side. Few photos follows:-
 

Phulkopir Chal Ghonto - A medley of Potato and Cauliflower with aromatic rice

Phulkopir Ghonto with Gobindobhog rice is a traditional Bengali dish, very similar to famous "Murighonto" which is prepared with fish head and Gobindobhog rice (aromatic rice). This recipe is a vegan recipe with potato, cauliflower and Gobindobhog rice. My grandma used to cook this on those ritual days when non-veg dishes were not allowed. This recipe is from my childhood memory.

Preparation Time: - 15 min

Cooking Time: - 30 min

Servings: - 4 persons

Ingredients:-

1. 1 Medium size or ½ of a Large Cauliflower
2. 1 Large (about 200 gm.) Potato
3. 1 medium Onion
4. ¼ cup Gobindibhog / aromatic Basmati rice 1/4 cup
5. 1 tsp Ginger Paste
6. 1 tsp Bengali five spices ( Paanchforon) or Cumin seeds
7. 1 inch Cinnamon stick
8. 2~3 cloves
9. 2~3 Green Cardamom pods
10. 1 tsp Cumin Powder (Jeera)
11. 1 tsp Coriander powder
12. ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
13. 2 Bay Leaves
14. 2 Green Chili
15. 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder (you can use more according to your taste)
16. 1 tsp Garam Masala
17. 2 tsp Sugar
18. Handful of raisins
19. 2 tsp Ghee or clarified butter
20. Vegetable Oil as required (I use mustard oil as it is a traditional Bengali recipe but you can use any vegetable oil you like )
21. Salt to taste
22. Few chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing
    

Preparation-

1. Wash Cauliflower thoroughly with warm water.
   
2. Cut Cauliflower into medium size faucets. Chop onion.
3. Cut potato separately and keep both cauliflower and potato marinated with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder.
4. Take a non-sticky vessel/frying pan and heat oil sufficiently.
5. Shallow fry the potatoes until golden brown. Keep aside.
   
6. Shallow fry the cauliflower as well and keep aside.
   
7. Fry GobindoBhog / Basmati rice in the same oil for 3-4 minutes in low heat. Keep aside.
8. Use the same pan and add oil, heat it. When the oild is hot enough add whole Jeera/ Panchforon (Bengali five spices), Green /Red Chilli and bay leaves.
   
9. Add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Saute for few seconds
   
10. Now add the chopped onion. Sauté for a minute and when it becomes translucent add ginger paste. You can make the paste from fresh ginger with the help of blender or can use the ready-made paste.
    
11. Add all the spice powders like coriander, turmeric, cumin and Kashmiri red chili powder.
12. Stir to mix well and add fried cauliflower florets, potato, fried rice with the spices. Mix well.
13. Pour a cup of water and cover with a lid. Let the rice cook well for 10~12 minutes approximately in low heat. Check and if it is not cooked well add some more water. Cook until the rice becomes soft in low heat. Stir carefully so that cauliflower do not break.
14. Now is the time to add peas and sprinkle raisins. Cook for 2~3 more minutes in low heat.
15. Add sugar.
16. Cook for 1 minute and add garam masala.
17. In the end add Ghee and after a few seconds you will smell a good aroma. Switch off the burner.  
18. Garnish with some coriander leaves and your yummy Phulkopir Ghonto is ready.

Serve as a side dish to almost any main dish like any plain / flavoured rice or even rotis. The aroma of this recipe will surely bowl you over.

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As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.

How to make Hash Brown Potatoes Recipe

Hash browns are one of those brilliant Western breakfast recipes that taste amazing, look impressive and take very little effort. We do not have any equivalent dish here in Indian platter. But we can make classic Hash Browns with little modifications to suit Indian taste buds as well. The best part of this dish is that it is quite nutritious, kids love it but easy to prepare. A welcome addition to any breakfast or lunch this recipe has many smaller variations but I like the following:-

Preparation Time: - 20 min

Cooking Time: - 15 min

Servings: - 2~3 persons

Ingredients:- 

1. 2 large Potatoes
2. ½ large or 1 medium Onion
3. 3 tbsp Butter or 3 tbsp Olive oil
4. 2 corns of Garlic (optional)
5. Pinch of NutMeg Powder
6. 1 Egg (optional)
7. ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
8. Pinch of Red Paprika (optional)
9. 1 tbsp Chopped Parsley (optional)
10. Salt to taste

Preparation:-

1. Smash the garlic and ground the Black pepper with the help of Mortar and pestle. Finely chop the onion.
2. Peel the Potato and parboil the same. Since this is large potato we can use Pressure cook with one whistle. The idea is to cook the potatoes to about 50% of full cook.
3. Take a non-stick frying pan, toss the onion and sauté for a couple of minutes with one tbsp of butter.
   
   
   
   
4. Once the onions turn translucent switch off the burner and keep the onions in a large bowl.
   
5. Grate the potatoes by a grater with large grater side. Keep the shredded potatoes in a kitchen towel and dehydrate them to remove the excess starch. If you use Indian potatoes then parboiling and drying is mandatory but if you use russet potatoes then you may grate them, rinse in a large bowl of water and then dry them. No need to boil.
   
6. Mix the shredded potatoes with the already half fried onions, garlic, Nutmeg powder, one beaten egg, black pepper and Paprika. You can add chopped parsley or sun-dried tomatoes or olives but they are really optional according to your preference.
   
7. Heat about 2 tbsp butter or olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is sizzling hot, place potatoes into the pan in a ½ inch thick layer. Cover the whole bottom of the pan, or make separate piles like pancakes.
   
8. Lower the flame to low and cook until nicely browned on the bottom, then flip over and brown on the other side. It should take at least 7 minutes per side. If you are cooking them in one big piece, it can be cut into quarters for easier flipping. Otherwise to keep it in one piece you need to constantly pull the whole thing from sides to inside by a spatula. A dish may be handy to put on top, flip it and then slide it again for the other side.
   
9. A good hash brown will always have a very nice aroma and that is how you know it is browned well. It should be crispy outside but soft inside.

Now your hash brown is ready and you can eat it with bacon and eggs as a traditional western breakfast or you can eat with any Indian curry for your lunch or dinner.

If you like the recipe, then click my Facebook Page and like my page for regular updates. You can even share the recipe via Facebook, twitter or pinterest.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.