Recipe Time: Gobi Manchurian/Cauliflower Manchurian

Chinese food is my favourite cuisine and to keep a balance between ordering out and eating at home I keep trying out recipes at home. A few weekends ago, I developed this sudden craving for eating veg manchurian but had limited resources at home, so the next best alternative was Gobi Manchurian, and though it was my first time that I was making it myself, it turned out great! I ran a poll on my Instagram stories where the majority was a YES for the recipe, so here it is! The recipe took hardly 30 minutes to put together and totally satiated my cravings!

California Pizza Kitchen India: The Hollywood on your Table menu

Hello!!!!!! I know its been a while and we are back after quite a gap, but it has been a much needed break! :) Lots of cool stuff coming up with no breaks 'I promise' and we start with a yummilicious food review!

Right since the time California Pizza Kitchen(CPK) launched in India, they have impressed me with their style of cooking with their authority on California-style pizzas and industry leadership in creative dining. So when they decided to give us Indian diners a little peep into the life in Hollywood and what their celebs eat at CPK through a month special 'Hollywood on your table' menu, I knew I wasn't going to miss it. The icing on the cake was that the Ri(t)ch Styles team got invited to the Chef's Table on one of the days where the chef personally took us through each dish and how it's prepared and let me tell you, the menu was DIVINE! If you follow me on my Instagram, Twitter or/and Facebook you must have seen the mouth-watering food that we indulged in that night......

While the menu was quite an elaborate one (keeping in mind we had to try everything), with options to convert the chicken pizzas to paneer ones, there were 3 dishes to complete a meal that made it to my top 3 list, and here they are in that order as my recommendations/#RitchStylesFoodPick for you:

1. The Deli Style Bistro Pizza

This is one of the most mind-blowing pizzas that I've ever eaten! Pesto marinara, Italian sausages, Capicola Ham and Canadian Bacon, finished with lemon herbed rocket leaves and Bocconcini(a form of Mozarella) on a thin crust - YES it was just as exotic as it sounds!

2. Spaghetti Carretierra

A tangy yet creamy spaghetti preparation - An Italian classic with a Californian twist with hot red chillies, rocket leaves, Bocconcini and freshly crushed pepper. Non vegetarians you can make it even more delightful by getting smoked chicken added. I would have eaten a lot more but then I had to leave some space for the dessert.

3. California Delight

A trio of white chocolate, strawberry and dark chocolate mousse with cranberries and almond praline - Super Sinful! It is the only desert on the menu because it does total justice to the fact that you need nothing else once you have taken a bite of this. I loved it so much that I dreamt about it all night post the marathon eating session.

Other dishes that you could pick

Pizzas

The Spicy Sonora chicken pizza was my 2nd favourite pizza prepared with housemade special corn and black bean salsa, which gave a boost to the spicy smoked chicken, tomatoes and cilantro toppings.

The Rustica Pizza  is CPK's version of the Italian classic pizza - grilled zucchini, sauteed white mushrooms, green olives and capers on a thin crust. On the vegetarian front,  I would say this was the best one as it had a lovely mix of flavours .

The other 2 didn't really make it to my list.

Pastas

The Mediterranean Roasted Mushroom Spaghettini

Aromatic with a strong garlic flovour, roasted Mushrooms, Serrano Chillies, Mediterranean herbs and an overdose of Extra Virgin Olive Oil - I would have loved it had the oil been not so generously put, but some of you will love it I'm sure.

Specialities

California Peri Peri Chicken

CPK claimed that this was a must not miss special dish - succulent boneless chicken, grilled with housemade spicy peri peri marinade and served with a spicy creamy sauce and fries. It was nice but I personally felt it lacked salt(due to which it missed being in my top 3) which would have further added the bang to the dish.

Spinach & Paneer Malfati with Milan Sauce

This dish was a pleasant surprise and the gnocchi made up of Spinach and Paneer just 'melted-in-the mouth' while the creamy caramelized onion sauce with garlic and bits of fresh Goat cheese left a wonderful after taste. It was served with a filling portion of stir fried veggies. Vegeterians this is speciality that you must try.

Mocktails

Mango Mint Ecstasy 

Sipping on the refreshing Mango Mint Ecstasy well before the mango season felt sooo goood! This is for all you mango, non-alcoholics and mocktail lovers! Just a tip - Stir it well before you sip on it for the mango pulp to mix with the soda and mint or it gets too sweet!

Overall we loved the spread and were super happy to learn at the end that most of the dishes were going to be included into the regular menu, so go try it guys! And just in case something that you want is not there on the menu, make a special request to the chef and I am sure he will whip it up for you :)

We hope you liked our review and incase you do try out any of these dishes, do keep us posted on what you liked about them!

You can connect with CPK on:
Twitter: twitter.com/cpk_india
Facebook: facebook.com/CPKIndia

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You can also email me on ritchstyles@gmail.com :)

Recipe Time: Dahi wale Aloo/Yoghurt Potatoes

Since I am a foodie, I am going to start sharing some recipes too on the blog. Things that I cook in my kitchen :)

This recipe that I am sharing, is a pass me down recipe from my mother-in-law and is a dish PS loves :) Has also become one of my favourite dishes after marriage. It’s simple and super easy to cook. Takes only about 10 to 15 minutes and is delicious!

Ingredients:
• Sour Yogurt(whisked) - 1 bowl
• Potatoes(boiled) - 3-4 medium
• Salt to taste
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Oil - 2 teaspoons
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon

Method:
• Peel and cut the boiled potatoes into about 8 pieces each
• Heat oil in a wok and add the fenugreek seeds and fry for about 10 seconds. Then add the potato pieces and fry for about a minute.
• Add turmeric powder and chilli powder and continue to fry for about 2 minutes.
• Add the whisked yoghurt to this and mix well. Keep stirring for about 2 to 3 minutes till the first boil comes.
• After that add upto 1/2 cup of water depending on how thick you want the gravy. Let it cook for a few minutes and then after the next boil add salt.
• Reduce the heat and let it boil one or two times more till the gravy is well cooked. Stir the gravy a few times to avoid clumping of the yoghurt.
• Turn off the heat and garnish if you want to with coriander
• Serve hot with paratha or steam rice.

Let me know if you tried the recipe and liked it! :)

I also have a food related discovery to share with you. Like me, in case you have no time to cook or don’t wanna head out to eat sometimes, then you have www.Foodpanda.in that can come to your rescue. Foodpanda has online menus from the staggering selection of delivery restaurants around you. Simply enter your post code and search for cuisine type, restaurants or even price range. The restaurant index also includes address and delivery hours. The website operates by delivering food from a wide range of restaurants to either homes and/or offices in 14 cities in India, namely Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, etc. I have tried it a few times and I quite like it. Infact in my last experience, just at the time of payment my net crashed and they instantly called me to check whether I was having some issues and wanted to go ahead with the order or not.  It also is updated with the food festivals and offers happening around your city. Ordering food has become easy, fast and definitely fun and the mascot panda is so cute!

If you like what you see on Ri(t)ch Styles and want to stay updated regularly, follow Ri(t)ch Styles on Facebook, Bloglovin and Twitter. You can also email me on ritchstyles@gmail.com :)