Pizza margherita

A quick and sure shot yummy margherita pizza ready in minutes..

For the base -- 

3 juicy and ripe tomatoes 

6-7 - big flakes of garlic 

Purée it 

Heat oil in pan and sauté the purée in oil ( 2 tspn oil ). Olive oil preferred. 

Add salt and pepper as per taste 

Take a pizza base and spread the purée 

Sprinkle with some fresh basil leaves 

Grate mozzarella cheese liberally 

Microwave it on Pizza mode or bake it in the oven as per individual requirents of the microwave or oven. 

After removing it sprinkle some more mozzarella and the yummy pizza Margherita is ready 

 

 

xoxo

Bhakti

A dose on Cafe Xtra dose

I happened to spot a small cozy place thriving with activity on an already ever busy kothrud which has loads of cafes sharing space. Me being me, love to explore new places and entered this one . Oh boy! Was I surprised ...  A small but pleasant place?walls covered with beautiful painting adding to the charm and coziness. The entrance is lines up with bamboos and a comfortable seating over looking the busy road. We sat ourselves outside after I finished having a look at the entire property.  It was raining and I loved sitting outside enjoying the rain as well as the crowd passing by from the distance. I was all ready to order.

The menu card was the best kept secret. Do not expect lavish things and preparations at this place. This place served simple but really tasty snacks and they are loads of options to chose from and the best is yet to come. The prices are so economical and pocket friendly that it is a boon for all young people on a budget as well anyone who wants to enjoy some time lazying around, having a nice meal and time which is light on the wallet too. 

We started with the cold coffee- the coffee served was really nice with chocolate sprinkles as well as a chocolate stick adorning it. Just made my day looking at it. Not too thick, neither too watery it was a perfect blend of sugar, coffee and milk for me. Whilst we enjoyed our coffee looking at the rain, hunger pangs built in and we ordered for some more and then agin some more;p

This was so simple yet so tasty and addictive - lays with Salsa , they also serve Nacho chips with Salsa 

 

Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich 

Huge chunks of chicken, nicely cooked, well marinated and juicy wrapped in lettuce and grilled to perfection, served along with chips. A wholesome yummy meal. I loved the sandwich. I really liked the simplicity in everything, wether it be the presentation, food, cafe and the overly economical rates. Must visit. 

Cafe Xtra Dose 

+91 8378994151, +91 9822350755

Shop 10, Near Bedekar Ganpati, Paud Road,Kothrud, Pune

xoxo 

Bhakti 

Snack on Watermelon salad

Nothing like a juicy watermelon to cool on a hot summer day. It hydrates, replenishes and is equally tasty and can be eaten in a number of ways.

A simple recipe using watermelon which can be had as a snack or a meal by itself.

Watermelon salad 

1 bowl of watermelon cut and de seeded.

Feta cheese 1/2 cup grated 

A handful of mint leaves 

Sliced white onion 

Salt and pepper according to taste 

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl and squeeze a fresh lemon on it, refrigerate the salad 

and enjoy it chilled. You can also drizzle some balsamic vinegar on it and exclude the lemon if you like.

Hope you like it.

xoxo

Bhakti

Toss lounge Menu Tasting

Zaheer Khans Toss lounge invited me to try their new Menu and was I glad and privileged to have accepted the invitation. 

Toss located in the heart of Nibm, Pune is a good option to visit and spend some quality time over some good games / matches, sipping on chilled drinks and relishing the mouth watering food. A high standard sports lounge especially for the young at heart who believe to include some fun and play in life. 

The theme being enjoying and coming together for sporting events like cricket , IPL, Wimbledon, NBA etc. plans to open another brand new Toss lounge at K.P. are in the pipeline 

The food tasting event was organized for a few selected foodies across Pune and was a pre launch for their new menu. 

We were presented with a vast 9 course meal which included 26 dishes and variety of cocktails and spirits. It was a meal fit for a king truly. 
 

 

Let me take you on a journey of my favorites from the brand new menu of Toss.

1st course included a vast variety of starters and I had my winners

Bomb shelled pikers 

 

I strongly recommend them with some beers. 

Jalapeño poppers stuffed with cheese, they were juicy and the cheese melted in the mouth. A perfect balance of spice, cheese and a tinge of sour served along with remoulded sauce.

Green Rifle White Pond

 

A tasty and a good way of eating one's beans. 

Green beans marinated with balsamic and crum fried served with Parmesan mayo. 

Goodness of beans with the comfort of fried food and mayo. wow !!!

Must for veggies and others alike.

 

Muscled up Hen wings

 

An innovative take on wings which were really tasty and make for a superb starter.

Strongly recommended 

Wings stuffed with wild rice and mac n cheese. Served with cucumber salad and black pepper brandy dip and the favorite carrots and celery. Give me wings any day. Drinks, wings, a game and the evening is set. 

2nd course Bruschetta

Their Bruschettas were an instant hit right from the word go. 

Pumpkin Patch

 

Portabella mushroom, jalapeno, onion, cheese sauce, pumpkin, walnut, feta cheese

Innovative and tasty, they were served on corn tortillas.. I found it a marriage between Bruschettas and tortillas resulting in an innovative Nachos.

I think this was the best way of having pumpkins. A flavorful, wholesome taste in each bite.

Strongly recommended.

West Milan Bread Topper (for the non veg lovers) 

 

This was served on a ciabata bread. The combination of garlic chicken, peppers, onion, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with T sauce was heavenly.

Recommended 

3rd course salads 

The salads were wholesome, juicy made with fresh ingredients and a good choice for the health conscious. 

 

4th course made up of Burgers

 

Worth a mention and the one for non veg lovers amongst all the burgers served was 

Double. Decked meat Polly.

 

Lamb patty, chicken patty, coleslaw, cheddar, pepper, onion, lettuce, tomato, jalapeño, mayo, mustard, in a big bun with some crisp fries

What can go wrong with such an wholesome combination. One giant burger.

P.S. The wedges and fries served with the burgers were perfectly crispy and thick. 

5th course consisted a range of Gourmet Sandwiches guaranteed to woo the sandwich lover.

6th course Pizzas 

 

My favorite amongst all the pizzas served was 
 

Meatball Fire Pizza 

 

Recommended 

Huge chicken meat balls seated on top of a juicy pizza made of tomato, thyme, garlic, onion, basil, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, oregano. It was perfect. The combination of different kinds of cheese couple with huge meat balls and a traditional Italian ingredients lent a distinct taste to the entire pizza. 

7th course had to be Pastas.

 

And the good old Lasagne was a hands down winner amongst all the pastas served.
 

Lasagna Alforno

 

Chicken bolognese layered on lasagna sheet with bechamel, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese baked to perfection.

Truly comforting and cheesy

Recommended 

8th course Main course 

 

Nut crusted Lamb chops

 

Recommended.

The chops are encrusted with cashews and honey mustard served with lamb jujus, spinach sautéed and mashed potato.

Lamb flavoured with the cashews was different and delectable, the Honey mustard lent a nice sweet spicy taste to the entire dish. 

 

Desserts made up the 9th course 

 

Brandy brown Vanilla melt.

 

Sizzling chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream flamed with brandy and topped with chocolate sauce made for a perfect sweet dish.

The brandy added a lovely powerful flavour to the entire dish a bit of bitter which went extremely well with the chocolate. The brownie was moist and full of nuts. 

Strongly recommended 

 

With this my gastronomical journey came to an end

Perfect end to a royal feast indeed. 

Cherry on top - A lovely goody bag from Toss.

A afternoon truly well spent relishing some really good food. 


P.S.- these are strictly my views on the food served, I have led stress and suggested only those dishes which truly satisfied my taste buds. The service is good and polite. The interiors of Toss lounge is very comfortable and relaxed guaranteed to give you a laid back fun time with a treat for your taste buds as well.
Toss lounge has introduced these innovative dishes to their existing Menu. With more perfection and a better creative presentation for the food, which they promise, I am looking forward to visiting them again especially their K.P. branch.

Toss lounge is a perfect place to unwind after work over drinks or to catch up with friends and your favorite team on the weekend. This place surely wont let you down. A perfect casual sporty hangout.

xoxo
Bhakti
 

Offbeat Goan Food

I love to walk the path uncommon, to explore the unexplored, and to do things which are not well known... 

I love to do and experience new things. Though Goa remains a constant every year however my quest to discover the Goa which is untouched and still innocent and pure carries on. I love to see places in their natural beauty and true roots. 

This Goa trip was nothing new, the urge to explore something new, got us to the quaint side of Goa, where few tread and that's what I like. 

Places and food which still has its authenticity and simplicity, For me that's pure beauty.

Exploring the small and homely eateries and bakeries and losing myself in the overly tasty and yet simple Goanese cuisine just kept me craving for more. 

Goan food is not only Vindaloo, Xacuti, Goan curry, Bebinca but so many other things and mouthwatering dishes still to be relished. 

Have a look yourself, a small glimpse in the treasure trove of Goan Food. 

Rassa omelette 

A simple yet hearty breakfast- Egg omelette topped with a curry made of coconut and local spices. Creamy, spicy and a coarse taste along with a fluffy omelette garnished with a generous helping of onions and a good squeeze of a juicy lemon relished with Goan buns. 

 

 

Usal pav 

A gravy made of white chic peas, the base is water and just simple spices. The consistency it gets is entirely from the peas savored again with Pav or sweet Goan buns. 
 

 

 

Banana fritters

Mixture of mashed Banana in flour, deep fried. What you can expect is a thick puri kinds. Break it and you will get a nice soft, smooth, mushy texture. Lovely and dissolving in the mouth. They are creamy, mildly sweet. So good. Taste superb with tea. 

 

Do try the local delicacies like these which are available at small joints and homely eateries. The taste and the goodness of the food makes up for the ambience. The true essence of the place indeed.

Share any such local goodies you love on your travels with us and get featured on the blog. 

Happy Travelling and relishing food!! :) 

xoxo

Bhakti

Macaroni Salad - Recipes for summer

Its summer, and we love our food light and refreshing at this time of the year. The heat is really bad and its difficult to eat anything which is very heavy and at the same time one gets hunger pangs what with summer being the season of outdoors and vacations.
I love to snack a lot in summer ( guess that's a little psychological thing I associate summer with school vacation and I am always in vacation mode in summer even now).

Here's a quick, healthy and light snack on the go (quick cause by now you guys must be knowing, I hate lengthy recipes and longs hours of work ;p).


Macaroni Salad

Boil one small bowl of Macaroni salad as per instructions, drain and set aside to cool.

Take 2 medium size cucumber and chop them finely.

Cherry tomatoes one bowl or One medium sized tomato finely chopped

Fresh coriander around a handful finely chopped for garnishing

curd as per required

salt and pepper as per taste.

Green chilies chopped finely optional.

one small capsicum finely chopped optional.

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl nicely and set aside to cool in a refrigerator.

Macaroni salad is ready to be devoured with Chapati, some garlic bread or just like that.

I was inspired by The Punekar thanks to Sapna Sarfare. 

Let me know did you like it and what personal twist did you guys give to this recipe.

A perfect summer salad on a hot summer day.

xoxo

Bhakti

Seasonal Love

Call me confused, can't stick to one thing or can't chose or can't make decision, yet I still will stick to my opinion - I love all Seasons.

In my defense can you compare between two Gods, then how can you compare and to top it all chose one season. Seasons are the most perfect and beautiful things to keep the earth going, without them it would have been one monotonous ride. 

Every season is so beautiful and gets with it the beauty and wonderful things it had to offer. 

I love rainy seasons reason being I think it's so romantic, walking under one umbrella. It's fun splashing puddles, playing in the rain. Oh the beauty of the earth in rains. It's like rainy season is thd bathing season for the earth. Hot pakoras and chai. The fragrance of the wet soil. What's their not to love. Everything is in full life and fragranced. 

Winters bring along with them the cool, breezy and windy nights. Snow I many countries. Beautiful weather, hot soups. Movies cuddled in blankets. Comfort food ladled with cheese. The earth in winters looks at it's best. 

Summer season - the season for vacations, for a dip in the pool. The season for mangoes, watermelons and juices and fresh fruits. A season to relax and take a break. The earth dressed in golden hay and trees all shedding away the years tiredness and waiting to dance in the rain back to life is a miracle. Summer I feel is the month to shed away all inhibitions, eat well, be active, travel and just enjoy. 

How can you compare any one now, the beauty of these seasons is what makes the earth and hence life so miraculous and happening. 

How can you deny me my seasonal love for each one of them. Can you blame me for not chosing one? I think not 😜

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” —Henry David Thoreau ❤️❤️






xoxo
Bhakti