Mujhe naaz hai- Empowering to encourage

NAAZ JOSHI: INDIA’S FIRST TRANSGENDER COVER GIRL

After big celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair and Time magazine respectively, it was time for Tehelka to look for an Indian name. That is how Naaz Joshi, the strong headed woman, became India’s first transgender cover girl. She is a leading fashion designer, stylist, model, model manager, model trainer and a fashion columnist, who has worked with renowned names like the ex-cabinet minister Shelja Kumari, late model Viveka Babajee, Riya Sen and Neha Dhupia.

With a name that means pride, 35-year-old Naaz was born in Mexico City into a middle class, family. She was born a transgender with a twin brother—the late fashion designer Chirag Joshi. Soon after they realized she was a transgender, and considering the conservative family she was a part of, her father sent her to a distant relative in order to avoid wagging tongues. While living with relatives, she studied till class 8 and was unable to complete her education, as her brother passed away after losing his battle with cancer at a very young age. It was then that Naaz came back to Delhi and took control over her brother’s business.

It’s not that Naaz was new to the fashion world. She has had a flair for fashion from a very young age and also used to take lessons in marketing strategy and public relations from her brother as and when possible. Ask Naaz how fashion designing happened to her and she says, “I was merely 12 when I started my career by designing beautiful diyas for Diwali meals. As soon as I turned 14, because I looked older than my age, I started working backstage for the Sunder Verma, Rohit Bal, Ravi Bajaj, Payal Jain and Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla shows. I was mesmerized by Madhu Sapre’s style when she was crowned Miss India in 1992, and soon I started following fashion institutes and event companies so that I could give wings to my dreams.”

That determination brought her to Pearl Academy in 1998 where she did her first student fashion design show with top models like Mehar Bhasin, Dipannita Sharma and Sonalika Sahay. Thereafter, Naaz got into NIFT and even won the most creative designer of the year award for her designer lehengas and got to work closely with super models like Noyonika Chatterjee, Bhawna Sharma and Lakshmi Rana. Continuing the story, she adds, “After that, I polished my Indian wear designing skills by working with brands like Ritu Kumar, Ritu Beri, Adarsh Gill and Divya Bindra. I have also done certificate courses in fashion from the Singapore School of Fashion. In 2007, I launched my own label and started retailing from a number of big stores.”

In India, despite the fact that the third gender has been given a green signal, it is still looked down upon and that is the reason Naaz had to face the gender tussle. She went through breast augmentation surgery in 2013, sex re-assignment in 2014 and eventually a breast removal surgery because of cancer in 2015. Ask Naaz how difficult it was to face society and she says, “When I decided to undergo a change, my own so-called friends left me. I also worked as a cabaret dancer at night in order to feed myself. People used to hate us during the day but the same people were ready to pay a price for our glamour at night. I landed up in prostitution so that by working as an escort, I could save funds for the surgery. My clients stopped coming to me and I went through so much emotional distress that I tried committing suicide thrice but failed.”

Naaz was not just answerable to the society for who she was but remains unacceptable to her own family members even today. “I was never accepted by my family. Even today, there are many restrictions on me—no male friends, no socializing, no late nights, always wear covered clothes, sometimes I feel I am living like Cinderella,” states Naaz.

But, all this doesn’t stop the fashion designer from aiming high. It was in 2014 when Supreme Court gave recognition to the third gender. After that, Naaz left prostitution and started her own company. This time, she was a one woman army, unapologetic, strong headed and one who wanted to rise in her career.

As the owner of Naaz Joshi Designs, the designer offers Indo-western fusion clothing to women. She seeks inspiration from Donatella Versace, who, like her, took over as the chief designer of Versace after her brother’s death. She has been a part of several fashion weeks and events. Apart from the wide acceptance Naaz has been receiving from her participation in social media, she is also a recipient of many awards like Miss Queen Mauritius, Wamba Diva of the Fortnight, besides achievement awards from NGOs and news magazines. As a grooming expert, she has trained more than 500 aspirants, including home makers, students, models, corporate clients and singers.

Naaz lets her work do all the talking and is constantly on a mission to find out ways to help the community so that they are not deprived of their basic rights. What has been her learning in life, we ask, and she says, “My life has been a roller coaster ride full of emotions. I love it simply because unlike others who are ashamed to accept who they are publically, I came out in the open and took a stand for myself. I love teaching, training students and children—it makes me feel like a mother because biologically I can’t have kids.”

Naaz requests everyone to look at people of the transgender community as human beings. “I beg all of you to understand the fact that we too have a heart full of emotions. At least, listen to us, as we also value relationships. To all the parents, I just want to say that may be your children have changed their body, but their soul is the same. Don’t be ashamed of them and don’t leave them in darkness as they love you,” pleads Naaz.

Having emerged as an inspirational woman the society can look up to, Naaz has her future plans in place. She shares, “Things haven’t changed and even today people laugh, make fun and mockery of our gender. It is a long journey and will definitely take about 15 years to bring some change. From my side, I will try and come up with concepts where each and every member of the society gets to live a life of a model for at least one day, possibly in a reality show like Big Boss.” Wish her dreams come true.

(Source:- magzter.com)

From The Little Black Book - BoomBox Cafe

Review: RESTRO BAR CAFE

Gurgaon sector 29 is a hub of countless hip-hop cool eating joints. Every food joint tries to offer something different to win customer loyalty. The newly opened BoomBox Cafe has also joined the bandwagon and welcomed us for a food review meet. 

Boombox live upto its name with peppy foot tapping numbers and musical aesthetics on display. I loved the music. Atleast they don’t play the irritating Honey Singh numbers. You would be stunned with the superb ambiance, the moment you enter. Glowing BOOMBOX branding at the ceiling, cool retro musical artefacts, a beautiful large bar and variety of seating arrangement will leave you in awe. 

There were tall tables as well as lounge sofa seating. We chose the low table with four chair seating since our friends Mandira and Manoj had their two years old daughter with them. While the height of the table was perfect, I found the chairs a little uncomfortable. That’s the only area of improvement for Boombox. 

            

Guava Mary

 

Kiss of Kiwi

Chilly Paneer

We began our evening with Guava Mary and chilly paneer. Unfortunately the Guava Mary didn’t suit my taste buds. This mocktail is prepared on the likes of Bloody Mary with salt smeared on the glass rim. I don’t have a taste for bloody mary, so asked for another drink after few sips. The replacement – Kiss of Kiwi exceeded my expectations. Soothing, refreshing and filling it was!

Chilly Paneer was a surprise package. Usually I don’t find spice in pizza or rolls as they claim, so I happily ordered chilly paneer thinking it to be the same case. But the spicy punch inside paneer took me by surprise. It was well marinated and spices had seeped inside. Neither soggy nor hard, this dish was a killer!  

Dahi k kabab

Cranberry mocktail

Chef Deepak met us in person to tell about the menu selection. He personally recommended Dahi k kabab for starters. Sharing the secret of Dahi k sholay, he told us the correct proportion of curd that should go in its preparation. My apprehensions of cholesterol with deep fried stuff was resolved when he told Dahi k kabab were shallow fried. With a great presentation and tinge of tanginess, these soft dahi k kabab tasted heavenly. A good variety of chutney accompanied the dishes.

For another rounds drinks I ordered Cranberry mocktail which had subtle sweetness. Thankfully it did not have the taste of strawberry juice which usually is the case. Hubby tried Italian Smooch which was my second favourite after Kiss of Kiwi.

Veg platter

As the evening sky grew darker, the music tracks changed from one pop number to another groovy song. We swayed to the fantastic music as Chef Deepak curated a non-spicy bowl of veg noodles for Mandira’s daughter. The noodles kept her occupied as we ordered two platters. Non veg platter for husband and Mandira, veg platter for Manoj and me. They highly apprised non veg sampler. The veg platter had Dahi Kabab, Tofu Yakitori, Paneer Harrisa Tikka, Cottage cheese Spring Roll ,Tomato Bruschetta and Caesar Salad.

The cheesy spring rolls and Tofu Yakitori are things to die for! Every dish had the perfect balance of spices and salt. The spacious, beautifully decorated place won our hearts as we left with great memories and the promise to come again.

Highly recommend this place for office parties and large group of friends to chill and spend fun time. 

My rating- A good 3.5 on 5

The Ancient Barbeque

On the same concept of Barbeque Nation, The Ancient Barbeque too has similar live grills and unlimited buffet.  Our colleagues planned a day out for lunch at this newly discovered place at Good Earth Center, Sector 50, Gurgaon. 

As you enter the premises, the aesthetics with Gothic touch and pleasant lighting, instantly attract you. TAB (Read- The Ancient Barbeque) has good food and quick service. The staff is courteous and fast, who serves with a smile.

TAB is less spacious compared to Barbeque Nation. Seating arrangement seems a little crammed up which leaves less room to move around. It becomes uncomfortable for the staff to serves while pushing through the table gaps. Personalization hence becomes difficult. I am sure they can handle space issues better.

The live grill has the Barbeque Nation famed crispy corns, creamy cajun potatoes, corns kernel, pineapple, veggie cubes, chicken, fish and mutton. What looked like potatoes turned out to be juicy   pineapple, and I loved it! Roasted paneer is vegetarian’s delight, which wasn’t the case here, as paneer was too soft and not well marinated. I enjoyed the rest of the vegetarian grill with Virgin Mojito. The latter was well prepared with no fizz and the right balance of salt & sweet. I can hence righty claim that I had nice mojito after a long time!

The buffet menu had a large variety comprising dal makhni, noodles, veggie and black bean sauce, Kashmiri paneer, mix vegetables, steamed rice, veg pulao  in the vegetarian menu.

Since I prefer dal makhni with less cream/fat load, TAB’s Daal Makhni perfectly fitted the bill. The consistency wasn’t thick nor watery, and I loved the preparation! Veggie and black bean sauce

was another item I loved. This tasted better than preparations of Chinese cuisines. Kashmiri Paneer was a bit disappointing for me because of thin ginger grates. All I could taste was raw ginger that killed the dish.

  

Salad had a colourful spread of kimchi salad, green salad, aloo chaat, pasta salad, sprout salad, papad and lettuce mix. Pasta salad is something you must have. Very well made with a hint of sweet. I would suggest TAB to roast papad on stove. The microwave roast left papad half raw.

Since I am die hard dessert lover, the sweets’ spread had to be good! The attractive spread comprised ice cream, gulabjamun, fruit tart, hot choco brownie, moong dal halwa, kiwi cake, pastry and cup cake.

Obviously, one can’t dig into everything post a hearty meal, so I chose few item. Brownie gets a special brownie point! Soft, fluffy and warm it was. A bite off the Kiwi Cake felt refreshing!  Moong Daal Halwa was the usual. If only I had more space in my tummy, I might have tasted them all, but I was full to the core.

As we were a large group of 16 people, we were given group discount. On an average we paid around 500 per pax. Happy reasonable deal it was.  

Though it is unfair to compare TAB to Barbeque Nation, yet I cant help since the concecpt is the same and TAB scores a little less than BN. Still worth giving this place a try. A nice place recommended for big teams or families.  

Cafe Hi5

Café Hi5 reopened this year and buzzed the market with a new menu and expanded place. The interiors are quite cool with funky graffiti on walls and ceiling. The cafe has separate space dedicated for private parties, match screenings, DJ and usual diners. Music was excellent. Credit to the DJ who did not stick to the usual Punjabi songs but played kicky foot tapping numbers.

Chicken Lollipop

We started with paneer tikka, chicken lollipop and fish tikka. Paneer was fresh and not greased with oil. The good thing about the whole experience was that management was open to feedback and ready to improvise. The manager sat with us and tasted paneer tikka when I told him about high salt content. Chicken lollipop and fish tikka were well marinated and soft, juicy from inside. The nice smoky flavor was appealing. Papad & Mint chutney accompanied the dishes. The spread had a great presentation.







The manager showed us the whole place. The showstopper was the bar and they claim that to be the only one in India with tap bar! Take a look at the picture!

Tap bar- The only of this kind in India

Italian Smooch

Juicy Jullian

Chef's own innovation -Juicy Jullian came to us when we asked for a non-aerated mocktail. It was a mix of crushed pineapples, orange juice, mint leaves and sweet lime slice. Mind you, there was no added sugar in the drink. It felt extremely good and refreshing. Italian Smooch is another refreshing mocktail to watch out for. Peachy, minty and no sugar, the drink is a perfect summer cooler. I highly recommend the drinks to all mocktail and non-alcohol consumers.

We scanned the whole menu for something interesting and ordered thin crust veg pizza on manager's recommendation. I sipped Nutella Hazelnut Shake in the meanwhile which was filling and good. Loved the perfect crispy thin base of pizza.  Unlike the usual pizza, this was not overloaded with cheese!  Cheese topping on pizza was fresh and it was not high on salt either.

The manager insisted us to try a dish named “Dal chawal beyond imagination”. The dish lives up to its name and gets a standing ovation from us. Now who would have imagined spotting daal chawal in a hip hop café menu? With the first bite of it, our appetite multiplied and our curios minds jumped out again asking about the masala of it. A simple yet delicious arhar daal and steamed rice with crispy fried potato balls and papad was an out of the box experience! So we now know where to find good healthy home cooked food in Hauz Khas.

The concept behind designing such a dish is to provide economical meal for a single person or twin sharing basis, since it is difficult to find home cooked traditional simple food in cafes.

Brownie

With tummy almost full and guilt tugging at health consciousness within ourselves, made us try the ceasar salad which was a mix of assorted veggie leaves, lettuce, olives topped with mayonnaise. It turned out to be a bad choice as we left more than half of it uneaten. It wasn’t good. Anyway, the last thing we tried was brownie. It was no different than a piece of overtly sweet black forest cake. I was a little disappointed since a brownie is light and non creamy that melts in mouth. But the presentation was nice. It was a compensation for the ceasar salad.

Movie Review- Wazir

Director- Bejoy Nambiar            Producer-  Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Genre- Thriller                            Release Date- 8 Jan, 2016          Duration- 1 hour 44 minutes

Wazir is one of the most talked about thriller films in Bollywood and the screen presence of Big B Amitabh Bachhan with super talented Farhan Akhtar gives you a reason to watch it. The duo feature in unique roles like never before. O yeah that’s intriguing enough.

As the name suggests, this thriller plot is based on a chess game where the pawns represent the characters. No, the movie does not revolve around the game of chess or but on dirty politics and corrupt thoughts that the characters portray, just like one does in chess.

The plot- The protagonist Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachhan) is a wheelchair bound grand chess master who lost his daughter in an accident. Deep down in his heart he knows the killer of his daughter but is unable to avenge him because of two reasons- Lack of concrete proof and his disability.

The second character Daanish Ali (Farhan Akhtar) is a high ranked cop in the anti-terrorist squad who is married to Ruhana (Aditi Rao Hydari). The couple lives a happy life with their cute six year old daughter Noorie. In an unfortunate accident, while chasing a terrorist, Noorie gets shot and dies on the spot. A grief stricken Ruhana blaming Noorie's death on Daanish, gets separated from the latter, refusing to see him.

A devastated Daanish promises himself to avenge the death of his daughter. He finds confidante in Pandit Ji and as both share a common thing – grief of their dead daughters. In their unique friendship, Pandit teaches chess to Daanish and narrates to him how he had lost his own daughter Nina. Daanish is intrigued by Pandit's story and promises to help him find Nina’s killer. The suspect Minister Quereshi holds the story in the second half. The hunt grows messier and shocking truth gets murkier as reality unfolds.

Screen brilliance by Farhan

Neil- The surprise package

Character analysis-
Needless to mention, Big B outshines and Pandit’s character is unbeatable. Farhan Akhtar gives his hundred percent in every role. The intensity and the hard work in his performance clearly shows on screen. This is Akhtar's another commendable performance after Bhaag Mikhaa Bhaag. From an officer on duty to a father mourning his daughter’s death, Farhan’s shift in expression and body language is superb. He is superb as the new age actor.

Aditi Rao in the role of a classical dancer and perturbed mother, justifies her presence quite well. I surely would love to see more of her classical dance moves. John Abharam adds just the right amount of spice in the climax. What’s more- Neil Nitin Mukesh is a surprise character, who is slyly named Wazir. Why slyly? Well, you gotta watch that for yourself!

Cinematography by Sanu Varghese is brilliant, giving an excellent angle and feel to the story.

The plot is promising and very well executed. Yet the punch of spice unlike in fast paced thrillers is missing. The climax was a little over the top and not out-of- the-box. Could have been better!
In many a places, the story was kind of predictable.

The songs are excellent and enjoyable. In fact it was the song "Atrangi Yaari" that made me watch the movie. (But it does not feature in the movie). Kudos to Big B abd Farhan for singing, considering their talent and energy they have always displayed for audience. A special mention of Ankit Tiwari, Shantanu Moitra hence!

Rest, the songs are not disturbing, performance was excellent and in a true sense a potentially great thriller.

Spoiler- If minister Quereshi could kill Nina, he might as well had killed his own daughter and easily fabricated it as an accident. Sympathies would still remain with him. No?

Rating- 3.5/5

Book review- Bankerupt

Book -Bankerupt                 Author - Ravi Subramanian                       Publisher-  Penguin

Genre- Thriller                     Number of pages- 319, paperback        Purchase Price- Rs 250 from book stall

Available- in all book stores, online stores

The plot- Aditya Raisinghania is a senior investment banking manager at the prestigious Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) in Mumbai. Cirisha Narayanan and her father walk into BG2 on a warm summer morning of 2000 for a huge loan amount. Cirisha is a research scholar at M.I.T Boston struggling for a permanent job there. The duo meet and get married a year later. While both are doing well in their fields, Aditya bumps into his old classmate Shivinder who is a top shot with a footwear giant. Aditya helps Shivinder professionally to inflate the profits of the company on papers and cook up a false success story to attract international investment. Aditya soon gets promoted to the head of the bank, Shivinder is able to show profits for the company and together they literally mint money.

Meanwhile Aditya and Cirisha’s marriage starts to fall apart because of the growing distance between them. Her frequent trips to Boston and absence in Mumbai frustrates him.  To make the marriage last, Cirisha comes to India on a long break for a research project only to find something fishy at Shivinder’s company. Oblivious of Aditya’s involvement, she requests authorities of the parent company to investigate the fraud. The whole scam balloon built by Aditya and Shivinder bursts one day, costing Aditya his job. Aditya moves to Boston with Cirisha in quest of a new career. The worse and unexpected happens when an esteemed M.I.T professor supports the National Rifles Association (NRA) against the favour of gun control and wins several accolades across the country for his book. Richard, Cirisha’s colleague and closest friend, is also struggling for a permanent tenure in M.I.T since long. A frustrated Richard, on losing his last chance of tenure during the campus interview allegedly shoots the council members before shooting himself dead. Multiple rounds of chasing the culprits, protecting the victims and fishing out the clues happen. What follows next puts the readers in awe with an unexpected series of incidents, difficult to believe.

The 319 page book is a true thriller that involves financial fraud, politics in educational institute, murder of characters, all driven by desire and greed!  The story is quick paced without a single boring or dull moment. It keeps you riveted throughout. At least I was engrossed thoroughly! Subramanian’s style of writing is unique where he keeps the chapters short, interesting enough to keep readers at the edge of their seats.

The character portrayal is good, could have been better though.

Bankerupt lives up to its name and the tag line (desire, greed, murder). The plot is very well written and sub plots neatly weaved in together.The climax is not a happy ending fairy tale. It’s tragic and sad, leaving the readers thinking about the protagonist’s future. (I do so when I am totally attached to the characters).

Spoiler, loopholes of plot- Mr. Subramanian, why did you kill the character and take the story in reverse? By the time the actual story is revealed, the readers forget the initial incident and the time warp.  Secondly, checking email is one of the first things on a crime investigation, especially when a prestigious institute is concerned. Thinking of doing so and hacking a password would not have been difficult by Boston police team!

Recommended for- Thriller lovers, or Finance professionals in large corporates who would love the story and its twists.

My rating- In spite of a gripping plot and quick pace, I would rate it 3.5 on5, owing to a weak climax and loop holes in the plot.

About the author- (Source:Wiki page)- Ravi Subramanian is a banker by profession and an alumnus of IIM Bangalore. Post a career spanning two decades in the banking industry, he has authored novels such as Devil in Pinstripes, If God Was a Banker, The Incredible Banker, and I Bought the Monk’s Ferrari. He is also a columnist for The Economic Times. He has won the Economist Crossword Book Award twice, and has also won the Indiaplaza Golden Quill Book Award.

SENS wellness clinic media launch

A new sensation in town- SENS CLINIC, launched in New Delhi.

A high stressed and imbalanced life that we humans live is the root cause to many

diseases and illness, most of which happen at a young age. Hormonal imbalance, anxiety, pollution and wrong lifestyle just add some more flavors to it, leading to irrational brainstorming on the treatment of such diseases. While surgeries or allopathy may have the cure, they certainly don’t come without side effects. Also, without appropriate root cause analysis, you may have the disease come back or in worse case never go. So there is a need of treating human body holistically and that’s where SENS fit in the picture.

An initiative of Primal MD and Wave group, SENS comes as a sure winner with a vision to spearhead the current healthcare model, realigning the tropical researches in medicine along with the ancient learning of Ayurveda. They focus on 360 degree approach of healing through mind, body and soul.

A panel of like-minded doctors and healthcare professionals who recognize the gap in our current healthcare model have come together to address the true needs of people. SENS anti ageing and wellness clinic is bringing together the best Indian and international practices, medical practitioners and latest technologies for holistic wellness.

The occasion had a panel of eminent speakers- Dr. Graham Simpson, Founder & Medical Director Primal MD, Dr. Debjani Chakraborty, Aesthetic Physician, Shanum Chaddha, Director Wave Group, Dr. Kalpana Shekhawat, Nutrition Expert and Mr. Sanjay Sachdeva, Executive Director, SENS clinic.

Dr. Simpson stressed upon preventive measures to keep healthy. Two of his most highlighted points were- To control blood sugar and to avoid frozen/preserved food. Diabetes is the root cause of evil which may even lead to death if not treated on time. In a shocking statement he revealed that India is the diabetic capital of the world! SENS targets to treat such diseases and take preventive measures as well.

Located in New Delhi’s South Ex-2, SENS has a fully equipped state of art clinic with 9 treatment rooms and best of industry doctors offering newest treatments.  They have programs as follows to choose from-

1. Weight Loss Program (WLP)
2. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Program (BHRT)
3. WellMan/ WellWoman Program (WMP/ WWP)
4. Ultimate Anti-Ageing Program (UAP)
5. Reversing Diabetes Program (RDP)
6. Specialised Cardio-Metabolic Programs (Program 3 + Specialised Tests)

Under the art of aesthetics, SENS offers skincare, body sculpting and hair care that include skin rejuvenation, lifting and firming skin, weight management, hair restoration, transplant and many more customized services. The makeover clinic offers programs like hair & eyelash extension and makeup studio.

High time we take our wellness seriously, before it becomes irreversible.

Visit www.sensclinic.com or visit the clinic at M-10, 2^nd floor, South Ex-II, New Delhi-49

Palmyra Restaurant - Innovation at its best

Smiling Chef Somnath

Fine dining at Palmyra restaurant, in Hotel Bristol, Gurgaon turned out to be our best experience ever. In spite of the fact only veg food was served during Navratra, the absence of non veg food was not felt at all! The credit goes to Chef Somnath Porel, who made his way to our hearts with his innovation at food.

Reach him on twitter at @Chef_Porel

The spread comprised Daal Makhni, Stir Fry Vegetables, Makhana Kaju Matar gravy, Paneer Butter Masala, Veg Biryani, Potatoe. Needless to mention, there was a huge layout of salads, curd and sprouts for the health conscious ones. Let me save the best for the last. So I will come to desserts later.

With Bon appetite we tried tasting everything from the huge platter, ensuring not to regret later by missing anything nice.

Dofinose potatoes

The most interesting pick was Dofinose Potatoes.  What looked like Lasagna tuned out to be a potato dish! With the first bite of it, my eyes started looking for Chef Somnath wanting to ask him the recipe of the fabulous item. He acknowledged our query and revealed the recipe. The layers of raw potato, spread with cheese & spices were baked and simmered together, letting the starch of potatoes act as the binding agent. It tasted fantabulous! Had never seen or thought of a unique recipe before this!

Somnath loves to experiment with food and his skills were clearly seen in the dishes served. He wanted to give a twist to more dishes, but was asked by the manager not to go overboard since too much of experiment is also not welcome often.

Chikpeas and aubergine tagine

Chickpeas or choley what we have at usual restaurants is always spicy and loaded with fat. I always visualized choley in Punjabi style tadka and spices. But here Somnath gave a surprise twist to chickpeas with so much creativity. Eggplant, tomatoes, capcicum in the dish of chickpeas and auberbine tagine which traditionally is stew of spiced meat and vegetables prepared by slow cooking. Somnath had smartly replaced meat with chickpeas. Now, who in a restaturant wants to have an eggplant? You surely can’t say no after tasting this! The preparation was light, not spicy and very well prepared. We savored every bit of it.

Kaju Matar Mushroom Makahana

Stir fried vegetables made with baby corns, broccoli and red bell pepper was another mind blowing item. I can have it as snacks for my hunger pangs! The dish was in low salt while the vegetable stock acted as the soup. I also went gaga over the colorful Kaju Matar Mushroom Makahana. As I started to feel hungry again while writing this, you would feel the same just by looking at the pictures!

Paneer Butter Masala and Daal Zaafran were the usual but without fatty cream or hot spices. The veg biryani was the best with the right amount of spices and aroma. Somnath agreed Biryani is not about oil. It’s the combination of flavor, color and appeasing aroma that should keep you asking for more. He had ensured less oil and calorie in every dish he prepared. A health conscious chef who also had the heath of diners in mind.

Banoffee Pie

Now coming to the best spread and revealing the surprise- Desserts! Chef Somnath’s magical touch to sweets were fascinating. The one I loved the most was Banoffee Pie. After relishing the whole portion, I ran to Somnath again asking for the recipe. (I just could not stop myself). With base of biscuit crumbs, he layered the glass with caramel, mashed banana, dry fruits, muesli and whipped cream. The first bite I took rendered me speechless. I dug into it till I gorged the whole of it, only wishing to have more but wasn't able to.

While hubby enjoyed the Red Velvet Tiramisu, I tasted a bit of it. Less sugar content and absolutely light, it melted in mouth. With a full tummy, I gave kalakand a miss, though had a bite of the yummy rabri with jalebi. I over ate that evening completely ignoring my calorie intake count.

As a food blogger, I rate the place an easy 4.5 on 5. While a good ambience of a restaurant for fine dining is a minimum requirement, it cannot be ignored while rating the restaurant. Many restaurants don’t bother to look after the seating, which should be upto a certain level making customers feel easy. At Palmyra, the seating was comfortable, lighting was pleasant and the service staff was excellent. One can dig into a huge variety at this restaurant.

Highly recommended place for fine dining.

Cook Fresh experience

The Cook Fresh Box

Want to cook something new, but are pressed for time? No time to buy groceries for a dish you want to prepare? Don’t have an idea about the measurements of ingredients? Okay then, http://www.cookfresh.in/ comes to your rescue!

A new online venture with an innovative concept especially beneficial for the professionals on the go. Cookfresh measures, packs and delivers fresh ingredients for a recipe you select on the website. This is claims to be India’s first food delivery service that gives you the tools you need to be a gourmet chef at home! Impressive, yeah? If you don't have a lot of experience in the kitchen, Cookfresh is a great way to learn how to cook and start working in the kitchen. You could use Cookfresh for a date night in cooking for your partner, or as a great gift for your foodie friends!

While you can read about them here http://www.cookfresh.in/about-us, let me show you what I received from them.

1.       Ingredients for Greek Salad-

Neatly labelled, packed, delivered

Freshly cut, assorted, neatly packed and labelled. The ingredients for salad included- Lettuce leaves, chopped capsicum, tomatoes, onions, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, black olives, canola oil, red wine vinegar, feta cheese and oregano.

Ready in 5 minutes

So all I had to do was to mix all veggies together and add canola oil, vinegar, feta cheese. Sprinkle oregano as per your taste.

A healthy salad was ready in 5 minutes!

2.      Ingredients for Moist Mug Cake

Castor sugar, canola oil, milk, cocoa powder, Nutella, flour, baking soda. Every item was in leak proof locked pouch and labelled clearly.

The instructions on the card read-

-Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl followed by mixing the oil and milk. Whip the mixture to form a smooth batter, ensuring no air bubbles are left.

-Drop Nutella in the middle of the batter. No need of poking or pushing it down.

-We placed the batter in microwave for 70 seconds. The only difference was we did not keep the batter in a mug but a microwavable bowl.

I call it Choco Lava Cake and it was ready in a minute!!!

Super impressive and quick it was. Yeah?

My take on this- 

You see, mixing ingredients and getting the dish ready, barely takes time. What’s time consuming is assembling the ingredients. Finding time to buy groceries is the first step and then washing & chopping them consumes more time. For people like me, bad in the kitchen, are lost and scared about the measurement of the ingredients. For example, baking the perfect cake has been my dream since long but I could not make it because of poor measurements. Either baking soda would exceed the limit or sugar would fall short. Oops. May I confess, this Chocolate cake was the best ever made by me? (Okay, hubby helped, so made by us) Thanks to Cook Fresh to send the right mix and proportion of ingredients to churn out great delicacy!

They have a large array of dishes. Take a look at the available ones here- http://www.cookfresh.in/recipes

Cook Fresh delivers in most of the areas in Delhi NCR. Delivery is free, however a minimum delivery may be required for a location not listed in the website. Pay cash on delivery or online. Call  +91 9971 835722 or shoot a mail to contact@cookfresh.in for more info.

The common ingredient for both the preparations is Canola Oil which is a storehouse of several benefits as follows-

Canola Oil

• Minimal  “bad” fats: Compared to common culinary oils, canola oil has the least saturated fat (7 per cent) – less than a third that of rice bran oil (25 per cent) and half that of sunflower (12 per cent), olive (15 per cent), soybean (15 per cent) and groundnut (19 per cent) oils. Canola oil is also free of trans fat and, like all vegetable oils, has zero cholesterol.

• Helps protect the heart: According to scientific studies, 1.5 tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil a day may be enough to help keep the cardiologist away, when used in place of saturated fat. That is for just a few rupees a day. The US Food and Drug Administration authorized a qualified health claim for canola oil’s ability to reduce the risk of heart disease when used instead of saturated fat.
• Helps control blood sugar: Canola oil can help control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes when included in a low-glycemic index diet (one that minimizes changes in blood sugar levels), according to published research, because of its high monounsaturated fat content. Adding canola oil to the diet is a simple way of helping control blood sugar.                   

• May reduce belly fat: Canola oil was shown in a clinical trial to lower belly fat when used in place of selected oil blends in a heart-healthy diet for weight maintenance. Belly fat is one of the five criteria for metabolic syndrome. Reducing it can decrease blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides and increase in HDL cholesterol. Those who consumed canola oil on a daily basis for four weeks lowered their belly fat by 1.6 percent.
• Good source of heart-smart fats: Canola oil is rich in two polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) and omega-6 (linoleic acid). These fats are considered essential because the body cannot make them on its own. Of all common cooking oils, canola oil has the most plant-based omega-3 fat (11 per cent). It substantially reduces total and LDL cholesterol levels when used in place of saturated fat.

• Good source of vitamins E and K: Canola oil is a good source of these fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin E is an antioxidant and vitamin K plays a key role in healthy blood clotting.

• May protect against breast and colon cancers: Early research indicates the potential of canola oil to protect against breast and colon cancers.

• Canola oil is a culinary delight: It can be heated to a higher temperature than most other oils before it starts to smoke (smoke point of 242 °C). This makes it ideal for high heat applications like sautéing and deep-frying. Its light texture, mild taste and colourless appearance are a good match for any type of cooking. Its neutral taste does not overwhelm the flavours of other ingredients in a dish, allowing the spices to work their magic and enhance the flavours.
• Canola oil enhances baking: The delicious nature of baked goods is enhanced by canola oil providing them with a moist, soft texture with no cholesterol and little saturated fat. Replacing solid fats like butter or lard with canola oil allows for a reduction in both total and saturated fat. In fact, total fat can drop by up to 25 percent, sparing calories without sacrificing goodness.

With cardiovascular disease a leading cause of death across the world, there is a need to improve our lifestyles and shift to healthier oils in our diets. Canola is a good choice of oil given its heart-healthy qualities, suitability with all cooking methods and cuisines, and affordability among other healthy oils. This is why and more and more people around the world are now making it a part of their kitchen.