Krustys...

It was a lovely winter afternoon when three crazy women, yours truly included, decided to catch up at Krustys. We had heard lots of good stuff and were eager to try it out. The first thing I noticed was how clean, airy and bright it was. The staff was also polite and attentive and Atish, their manager, was extremely knowledgeable about the food they served. That is a big plus for any food establishment. 

For drinks, my diet conscious friend chose a Watermelon and Pomegranate mocktail, while two of us decided on the Chocolate Hazelnut Shake. From what my friend told me, the mocktail bordered on the tangy side. (Oh you sure as hell won’t catch me trying it when there is a delectable Chocolate Hazelnut Shake by my side.) The Chocolate Hazelnut Shake was thick, chocolate-y and delicious! What’s to not like about anything that has a good amount of chocolate! 

There was a variety of appetizers on the menu and we selected the Peri-Peri Spiced Chicken - served with burnt garlic mayo and Panko Crusted Prawns - served with lemon caper mayo. The prawns were beautifully cooked and the Peri-Peri sauce on the chicken blew us away (in a wonderful way). The only negative: The portion sizes weren’t big enough. It would be awesome if bar-finger food/appetizers were served in ‘American’ sized portions. 

For the mains we chose, Savory Crepe, Fusilli with Grilled Chicken and Chicken Cannelloni. The Savory Crepe was served with smoked mushrooms, buttered onions and Parmesan cream sauce. Ideally, I would have preferred a thinner crepe because crepes are meant to be that way. However, had it been thinner, the filling within would have seeped through the crepe; hence, I overlooked the ‘slightly thicker’ crepe, more so, because the dish in its entirety was delicious. The mushrooms still retained their bite and the crepe by itself, without the filling, was spot on in taste. Perfecto! 

The second main dish, Fusilli with Grilled Chicken was served with lemon parsley butter sauce, garlic and grated Parmesan. It was cooked to our liking (not al dente; oh bite me!) but I did not enjoy the rest because I found it too acidic. We split the portion between the three of us. Even though I ate a small portion, I found the dish too tart. I dread to think how I would have finished the entire dish had we stuck to individual plates/portions. Request to the chef: Please tone down the acidity.

Our third main dish Chicken Cannelloni was chicken and Ricotta cheese filled tubes, baked with shaved Mozzarella. This is a dish I can return to time and time and time again. As the server set the dish at our table, the cheese gently and deliciously bubbled. Superb is an understatement for this one. I truly loved it as did my friends. While taking our order, Atish asked us if we would like some Garlic Bread to go with the pasta. We said, ‘yes’. His next question was, ‘with cheese?’. Three ‘cheese crazy’ women at Krustys shout out ‘YES’ in perfect unison. (Well, nearly shouted out. :-) ) The garlic Bread was cheesy, warm and fresh. Just the way bread should be! 

Everything we ate was beautifully plated and except for the finger-food, the portion sizes were adequate. We skipped dessert because we were stuffed to the gills and sharing even one dessert was impossible. We took a rain check on the desserts though; I can’t wait to try them. The words Panna Cotta, Eight Textured Chocolate Cake and Orange Centered Dark Chocolate Mousse (especially so), keep reverberating in my mind. 

Our total bill, for the three of us, was Rupees 2821/-. The one question is ask myself when I review a restaurant is; will I come back for more? The answer in regard to Krustys is… Definitely, and soon!

Ambiance: 3.5/5

Service: 5/5

Food: 4.5/5

Address: G-101, Ground Floor, KP Annex, Kapila Matrix, Mundhwa, Pune

Tel No: 020 65201490 / 020  60202252

Orange-Ginger Chutney spiked with Ghost Pepper

Orange-Ginger Chutney spiked with Ghost Pepper

I made this chutney some time last year and being the big procrastinator that I am, I’ve finally found the inclination to post it. I had Ghost Peppers in my pantry which is why when Manini posted this recipe at ‘Kenzy’s Kitchen Korner’, a Facebook food forum, I was sure I would recreate it. I asked Grumpy and Anu whether they would prefer this preparation sweet (like jam) or tangy, sweet and spicy (like chutney). They, in unison, said, ‘chutney’, so chutney it was! The three main elements of the recipe (orange, ginger and ghost pepper) blend beautifully and the fragrance of the cinnamon gently hits your olfactory receptors every time you eat the chutney. Do give this superb recipe a try, you won’t regret it. I know I didn’t! This one’s a keeper! 

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh orange juice, strained

1 cup orange segments

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 dry, smoked Ghost pepper / Bhut Jolakia chili, very finely chopped (I discarded the seeds)

25 grams ginger, very finely chopped

100 grams sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ inch piece cinnamon

Method:

1. In a non-stick pan add orange juice, orange segments, salt and sugar.
   
   
   
   
2. When it comes to a boil, add cinnamon, ginger, red chili flakes and continue simmering till it begins to turn slightly thick.
   
   
   
   
3. Add the finely chopped Ghost pepper chili and simmer.
   
   
   
   
4. Allow the chutney to get thicker. (Please keep in mind not to thicken it too much as it will further thicken when it cools down.)
   
   
   
   
5. When desired consistency is achieved, remove from fire. Discard the cinnamon stick and empty the chutney into a bowl or a sterilized glass jar and allow it to cool down. Do NOT cover it with a lid until it cools.
   
   

-- This quantity yields approximately 250 grams of chutney. 

-- This can be stored in the fridge for a minimum of 10 - 15 days.

Chef Notes:

1. IMPORTANT WARNING: When you handle Ghost Peppers do NOT handle them with the naked hand. Please don a pair of gloves to handle them. 
2. Instead of a knife I used a pair of sharp scissors and snipped the Ghost Pepper into teeny-weeny bits. Because I had to hold the chili for a while to chop it very fine, I could feel the heat of the chili penetrate even through the gloves. No, it did not burn my fingers at all but if you hold the chili long enough to snip it and you will feel the heat through the gloves. I kid you not! Felt so weird.
3. I only used one Ghost Pepper and I found the spice factor perfect but if you want spicier chutney use ½ or 1 more Ghost Pepper. 
4. Please do not thicken the chutney too much at the end of the simmering process as it will further thicken once it cools down If it is too thick it will be quite difficult to empty out into the bowl or glass jar. 
5. Please do not cover the hot chutney with a lid as you don’t want moisture from under the lid falling into the chutney. The chutney won’t keep for long if that happens. 
6. Please strain the juice to ensure there are no pips in it. Also ensure that the orange segments do not have any pips. 
7. I haven’t seen the original recipe but I’m told it belongs to Farah Pasha. It was recreated by Manini Lalbhai Badlani, whose post at my Facebook forum inspired me to try this. :-) Thank you gals, this one was awesome! 
8. I have made changes to the original recipe in regard to proportions of certain ingredients. I have added cinnamon as I felt it would give the chutney a warm, woody aroma. I've added just a wee bit because I did not want the aroma to be too overpowering.  
9. If you wish to turn this recipe into a jam instead of chutney, increase the sugar quotient and decrease the chili quotient to your liking. 
10. If you wish to see full sized photographs of the small photographs shown at the blog (of the ingredients and process), please click on the photographs to enlarge them.
11. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.