Taja Masala Soda - Prathas, Pastries, Perfection!

Taja masala is a small and humble place on the main road behind the BMS boys hostel.It has a narrow entrance and this gets even narrower, because of the fans this place has!To the left of this place, you can find a chilled glass closet with some deliciously decorated pastries, for those who like it without the egg, you have your choice to make as well.

The next counter is a frankie making one with one person busy making the fillings and tucking them into a neatly roasted thin roti with just enough oil. These frankies are available with a variety of stuffing, to name a few, mushroom, aloo, palak, onion, baby corn and sweet corn.
A bite of this frankie and you are tempted to have one more, two of the appealing factors of the frankie is the freshness it comes with and the price, costing just 15 bucks, they sure make you want more.
Next in line is the paratha kitchen, with 5-6 saree clad pleasant ladies. They have not more than 4 stoves, but manage to cater to the needs of all their customers without much wait. Let’s say that the division of labor has been very effective! The base filling for all the Parathas is Aloo, the variety in terms of mixed vegetable, baby corn, mushroom, beetroot, greens etc that one wants would be fried or sautéed on tawa and mixed with the potato filling! This is yummy and spicy filling is carefully placed in the dough and rolled over, it is put over a tawa with just enough oil and there the hot delicious Parathas for you, this is served with a bowl of curd, with some chat powder on it, a slice of cool cucumber, onion and a pickle. The first bite of these hot, fresh delectable Parathas and they’ll just keep you glued to this place!

This paratha place is also nick named as Paratha Point, with my work place just 2 roads away. I went to this place first with a big group of co-workers and from then this would be our most wanted place!
Even though we are shifted to another building, which makes this place a little less than 2 kms away, this still remains most popular.
It is a little heaving to eat at there during the peak time (1-2 pm) but any time before and after, the Parathas are more generous in their stuffing and tastier…
The fact that these mouth watering delicacies are just Rs.10/- each, make you gorge more! The price is one of the striking points to popularity.
The next best thing about this place is their fizzy drinks! For those who love masala soda’s. There are quite a variety and colorful sodas available in this place.

In the evening you also get some yummy bread rolls which just make you drool.
These are undoubtedly my favorite, one, two, three… and you just have to try really hard to stop!
For the monthly birthday bashes at office, this is the most desired snack.
Taja Masala Soda pseudonym Paratha point is all in all a Simple, Simply Super place!

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Address: 28/2 Mount Joy Road, Ashok Nagar, Basavanagudi, Bangalore, Phone: 9900252146

Chocolate Cake!!

I like cooking and love eating! I am sure that is quite understandable for those who read my posts…. I have tried quite many recipes and have been successful in getting them right and tasty! I can proudly say I have been successful, one because my people totally relish anything I make, ok… most of the things I make. Another is because my lil adorable sister, who is a chef in the making approves of them!! She is a pro and makes some of the best cakes, pastries and cookies I have ever savored! For a few years now, it has been a tradition that she bakes cakes for any family occasions like b’days and anniversaries. Her cakes make these special occasions even more special! We celebrated my mother’s birthday this month for which chef wasn’t in town, we concluded that they’d be no cake from the her, until it occurred to me that I could try my hands in baking!
I was a good student in taking notes through Gtalk and over phone and following every single detail my chef told me to do. I exactly did everything she said n..... Voila! There was a beautiful, delicious cake. Quite a fast learner, I am!!
I found process of making a chocolate cake quite simple, All you have to remember is to follow the process.
Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients
Cake:
Eggs - 4 Whole Eggs
Sugar - 1 cup
Oil - 1/4th cup
Baking Soda – a pinch
Maida (All purpose flour) - 2 cups
Vanilla Essence – 2 Tbsp.
Baking Powder – 1Tbsp
Cocoa Powder - ½ cup
Icing
Sugar – 1 cup
Cocoa Powder – half a cup
Water – 1 cup
Gems, cherries – 5-10 Grams

Break the eggs (whole) into a bowl, beat them till it become 4times its volume. Powder sugar and when the egg mix looks fluffy add sugar, pour oil into the egg n sugar mixture, pour the oil little by little and finally add the vanilla essence. Take a separate bowl, add maida, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda mix them together and add them into the egg batter. Now fold these ingredients together. Fold it horizontally and vertically. With this the batter is done! Pre heat the oven at 180 Degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Grease the cake tin and pour the batter in. Bake this in the oven for 35min at 180 Degree Celsius and your cake is done!

For those who are curious (just like me) Do not open the oven for at least 20 minutes, there are chances, it might sink. Extra sugar also would result in a sunken cake.


There are innumerable ways to decorate your cake, here is the most simple and yummy way to do one. Add 1 cup of water into a bowl, heat this and pour granulated sugar once the sugar water mixture gets thicker, add half cup cocoa powder and mix it well. Pour it on the center n rotate the cake.


Add frozen cherries or gems to make your cake attractive.


With this I can certainly say that I have my latest crush on baking and would share more on things I bake-make!!

Delectably Delicious Dosas!! Sri Sagar (Formerly CTR)

The Dosa, is indisputable the pride of south Indian cuisine. Every bite and it temptingly and quite very simply slips the mouth, mind and mood into a sumptuous fantasy!
It is easily one of the favorite, popular and likable breakfast in south India, I have always relished these golden-brown crispies in all their variety and forms, quite obviously, the Masala Dosa is my favorite.

Two weeks ago, it was in Malleshwaram that I got to eat the perfect Masala Dosa.
We started our kingsize breakfast at Veena stores and with that sumptuous treat, 5 crosses down is a corner green building madly crowded!
That's CTR for you, It is hard to miss, because of the bright green oil paint it has on the exteriors and the amount people movement.
We were lucky to get some parking on one of the side roads and squeezed ourselves inside the famous CTR. Thanks to the timely exit of a family and we got seats almost immediately. Something that I saw was that people who are waiting did not wait for longer to occupy seats. There was some good synchronization and speed.
We ordered for the Benne Masala dosa. The one who took the order asked us if we wanted extra butter, we said, “No”.
Thankfully because the one without the extra butter had more than XX-extra butter, however very tasty! They serve very quickly and consciously, they have got to keep up with the pace. The insides of this place had the necessary table and chairs and just enough place for one person to walk.
The just-cant-wait-to-eat dosas are brought in a plate with banana leaf below. The hot glossy, pleasing, golden brown dosa rolled on the green leaf gives you a contrasting and pleasing presentation.
I couldn't wait to savor it! The feel of this and u'll have your fingers all shiny with the generous amount of ghee and butter over it. The potatoes curry accompanying this was awesome. Bite by bite, it was getting better, I prefer to eat slowly to savor each bite completely. You can choose the hot delicious sambar over the chilli-n-coconut chutney, I have always been a sambar lover.
At the end of it, it was a super satisfying breakfast! We shared the table with another family and they didn’t seem to have any difficulty in having more than one.
Cheers to these deliciously delectable dosas… I am sure to go back there many times.
This review is also available on Burrp. This review made it to the weekly "just missed the crown" list! :)
Sorry about not having a picture of these delectable dosas... what can i say, i was just too unconscious and involved!!
Address:
Sri Sagar (Formerly and famously Central Tiffin Room)
No.154, Ground Floor, Margosa Road, 7th Cross, Malleshwaram, Bangalore.

Vowwwwie Vadas at Veena Stores!

This review is also available on Burrp
Reviews on Burrp and a foodie friend of mine suggested the same exciting plan of going to Veena stores and next to CTR for their famous dosas. I simply succumbed to the temptations of their experiences at these places and wanted to visit them as early as possible.
Finally made it on last sunday. I woke up way too early for a Sunday and decided to walk in beautiful Lal Bhagh, After a rigorous session of running, jogging and walking the calorie conscious duo didn't think it was a sin to pamper ourselves with some high-cal food, for this i wanted my husband to take me all the way to Malleshwaram!

Since it was early on a Sunday, It didn't take too long for us to get to Margosa road. Veena Stores is a humble little shop on the 15th cross. it is beside Lakshmi maternity hospital. There is no parking on the main road, so we parked our vehicle at one of the side roads and walked up to the store to find a long queue, patiently stood and soon when it was our turn, we quickly placed an order for idly, vada and Kara bath.
Without much wait, we got hot plates of idly n vadas.
The idly was flawless white and extremely soft. The chutney and idly made a heavenly combination. The idly at Veena stores was so close to the best idly i had eaten. It was at a vacation to Mysore during Dasara festival it is available only during the festive season and is called 'Mallige Idly' (Mallige - Jasmine in kannada).
The vada is the best here, it is honestly the best i have ever eaten! I am usually not a Vada person, but totally loved the bite and taste of the crispy, brown, fried chunk with the green chilli and coconut chutney. Without much wait we decided to bite on more. They were generous enough to take the second order off the queue :-)
The hot Karabath is extremely rich with ghee, ghee and more ghee. The mixture of rava, ghee, vegetables and species just melt in your mouth.

The fact that you are standing is totally forgotten amidst the yummies in your hand and mouth! They are very quick in their service. We were Full and completely loved the place. A place I would emphatically recommend for idly and vada lovers! Wait up for my next review on 'the best' and sumptuous Dosas at Sri Sagar (Formerly called as CTR - Central Tiffin Rooms)
Address:
15th Cross, Margosa Road, Malleshwaram, Bangalore.

Cable Car - CARving Cravings...

After restaurants with themes like forests, trains, metros etc, it is time we welcome cable cars too.
Cable car, a restaurant serving Indian and Italian food, opened less than a week ago. The theme of this restaurant has been to replicate the famous and reliable means of transport which is the San Francisco cable car system.
The building facing the main road indeed grabs some attention with its tall and gracefully done architecture. There are two doors, the one on the left leads you to the restaurant and the other makes way to a beautiful white spacious reception hall. On the white wall to your left, you’ll see the monuments and a brief story of San Francisco. The reception desk also depicts the famous golden gate bridge. I had a look at the rooms and they were of some good taste, very tidy and fragrant.
They are priced in the range of Rs. 3500, 4500 to 6000/- On the corridors they have hand paintings and depictions of San Francisco and some beautiful photo frames collages. A picture with the night view of San Francisco was beautiful!

The staff is more than glad to offer valet parking and welcome you into their newly built cable car. In to the door on the left and you are in the restaurant- Cable car. I must say that my journey in the cable car was a very pleasing experience!
The interiors are nicely done with light wood, the floor, the ceiling everything is out a wood. The hall is small and accommodates not more than 10 midsized tables.
The place is doing well and was over crowded on a few days. They had to send a few guests because of unmanageable numbers. Nevertheless they are prepared and are more accommodating with a bigger floor on the first level. I did take a look at it and it is indeed quite spacy. They also have a corner dedicated for the children’s play area. Both the halls are designed in such a way that you have look-alike cable car at the end of the hall. There are two mid-sized tables placed inside this replicate.

The staff dressed in denim and T-Shirts with a stamp reading San Francisco Municipal railways, the menu which is a 4 folded sheet with offerings of the Indian cuisine on the facing and Italian on the back do have the taste of rustic cable car theme on. The menu has sketches of the cable-car, people travelling and compliments the theme well. The Italian menu is categorized into beverages, Antipasto (Appetizers), primo (main course) and Dolce (Desserts). I didn’t really taste anything Italian, my preference was mostly weighted towards Indian cuisine.
I quickly turned over the menu and decided on starters. The Hara Bara Kabab and the Tandoor Dingri were my picks. Before this arrived some complimentary roasted crispy papads with some green mint chutney, was hungry when I reached there and they were over within no time! The Hara Bara kabab good but something that was more appealing was the button mushrooms equally sized chosen carefully to soak in the perfect Tandoor masala were mind blowing!! Button after button, they just melted in my mouth!!
I totally relished and loved this with the chutney and salad it accompanied with. These tandoori items never fail to steal my heart away! For the main course it was some kulchas with paneer lababdar!! No clue why I chose this, but I so made the right choice, this was spicy and had an amazing flavor, every bite was so sumptuous and we just kept appreciating that with some unending Mmmmm….mmmms.

One of the partners spoke to guests and checked on their opinions. He recommended we have desserts and exclaimed they were equally good.
Without much thought I chose Tiramisu but unfortunately it was out of stock and so chose the American Mud pie, this was frozen and didn’t really have cake in abundant that it is originally suppose to have. However the chocolate, walnuts and vanilla are always welcome and did sooth me on the hot afternoon!
The prices are reasonable and meal for two would cost you approximately Rs. 600/- A lovely place with some delicious food and a distinguishing ambiance.
I am sure to go there again and again!!

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Address
483/27, 46th Cross, 5th block, Jayanagar, Bangalore-41
Phone: 42977777

Sea Rock - Awesome Neer Dosas....

You do something nice to others and it sure does pay back… One of the nice deeds did pay back and got even better when it was returned with a treat at sea rock!

A hot sunny afternoon and we walked to Sea Rock, which was very close to our workplace. It faces the main road next to The Bangalore Hospital and is easy to locate.

They have restaurants in the first and the second floor, we chose to seat at the second floor, a huge aquarium with an elegant Arowana and a red flower horn fish, sure catch attention. It was a treat to watch them move in the well defined aquarium and this is definitely something that is more exciting than the fish on plate! ;)

The dim hall had closely placed tables with white and pink cloth and white cutlery. There is a bar in the corner of the hall, the music was on had some old Hindi numbers. There was no need for a menu since we had decided on tasting the much talked about Neer Dosa. This was tried and tasted by quite a few colleagues and they insisted we try the place. Majorities were vegetarians and so we quickly placed an order for 2 plates of Neer-dosas and Mangalore vegetarian curry. In a plate, they give you 5 neer dosas, which are extremely sumptuous, I just loved each bite! The stew with the dosas made an awesome combination. We also ordered another plate to quench the drooling lust for dosas! Then came the rotis and kadai Veg. The kadai veg also made a good combi with the dosas.

Neer Dosa is a Mangalorean Delicacy and is made of a batter with coconut milk and flour, they are extremely thin and are spread on the pre-heated tawa with a cloth, not very rich in calories, they just bowl me over on every bite I take.

The butter milk was cool and refreshing.

The other customers were mostly from my workplace, Our conversations were interesting and involved subjects about men at work, cute and handsome men, men in our lives. It was a memorable afternoon with some amazing Mangalorean cuisine!!

We waited for the bill and something that made us smile was the 10% discount we get because we are sonatians… Cheers!

I took a couple of other friends recently so it was 2 visits in 4 days! The prices are reasonable with a meal for two costing you around 300/-. With great food and warm staff, Sea rock certainly a place you would want to try, continue to try and appreciate!

Address:

22/A&B, Lakshmi Towers, RV Road, Near South End Circle, Basavanagudi, Bangalore

Phone: 9243404274, 41314376

24th Main - Very Veggie!

It took us some time to locate 24th main after a long day. Though it is on the main road at JP nagar, the road that leads you has been dug and there is a round about way to reach this place. A board with Cross roads Inn and a shady tree with pleasant lights rolled around its bark is what will catch your attention.
We chose to dine here after some praise from common friends. A lady greets and welcomes you at the door. Tables for two weren’t available and so we were asked to wait outside the restaurant and I couldn’t see any chairs. There was a place to accommodate an upcoming water body and the lady expected us and also gestured us to sit on the wall that formed the boundary of the fountain!! I insisted on getting some chairs, on demand got them. The others who had to wait had no choice but to stand, however the wait was not long.

After entering the place, I felt good. It gives you a pleasing feel with some deep dark wooden furniture, illuminated ornamental lights, spacious floor, fine paintings and pleasant walls. We ensconced in a table that was in the middle of the floor. We had some smartly dressed men with the menu. They offer quite a variety belonging to multi- cuisine.
Service is pretty quick and the portions are generous, unfortunately both the starters that were ordered were on the blander side. It was no fault of the chef, but a wrong order for pungent chilli lovers like my husband and I. However the malai kababs with the sauce did make quite an impression.
The next to come was some Rotis and curry, this is was delectable.
It would make an decent hangout for those vegetarians in south of Bangalore. The prices are reasonable, they take your feedback and send you a thanking mail. I also noticed a lady checking the comfort of a few customers.
Vegetarians, this is worth a try!
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Address:
Cross Roads Inn, 24th Main, 12th Corss, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar, Bangalore, Phone 26588620