Cloves
Catering has been on the Pune food scene for quite a while now. It is a food
venture run by a husband-wife team: Parikshit and Anuja Vilekar. A few weeks
ago I was expecting guests who love Biryani. Having read so much about the
Biryani the Vilekars make, I could not help but reach out to them. The items I
ordered from them were: Mutton Dum Biryani, Mutton Mince Patties and Kothimbir
Wadi.
I had
eaten the Mutton Mince Patties at a pop-up conducted by the Vilekars and had
loved them then. It was no surprise that those patties were the first items we
attacked when the food was delivered. Mashed potato encased the spicy mutton
mince and a crisp coating of breadcrumbs held all that yumminess in. This was
fried to a beautiful golden brown. Perfection in every sense of the word! I
wish I had ordered for more.
The
Kothimbir Wadis were not actually for the lunch menu. They were for me to
nibble on as a between-meal snack. Guilty! Yeah, I do that at times. :P The
Kothimbir Wadis, were not the Maharashtrian (Brahmin) ones that I was expecting.
When I described them to my friend, Priyadarshini, she enlightened me about the
different types of Kothimbir Wadis made by different sects. What I had received
were the Paatt Wadis made by the CKP-Maharashtrian sect; a close cousin
of the flattish Kothimbir Wadis that I was expecting on my plate. When I opened
the food pouch in which the Wadis were sealed, I found to my dismay that the
packet had moisture in it and the Wadis had gone soggy. My guess: they had been
packed in the food pouch while still hot. They looked perfect, I will not deny
that but I was not happy with what I bit into and nor were my guests. We barely
ate a couple and the others were sent back into the kitchen. (Sad, disappointed
puppy face) Also, I would have preferred a tad more Kothimbir (coriander
leaves) in the Wadis. A request: please, allow the crisp Wadis to cool down
before you pack them.
Fast
forward by two days:.
As I
mentioned above, the Wadis had been sent back into the kitchen. A couple of
days later, I told Anu (my daughter from another mother) to bring them out and
heat them in the microwave for a minute. (Please, no lectures about how harmful
a microwave can be – everyone dies :P ) I then told her to drizzle a wee bit of
oil in a non-stick pan, heat it and quickly toss in the now-hot Kothimbir Wadis
in the oil until they crisped up. As the Wadis were already hot from the
microwave they could be quickly crisped up without burning. Anu followed my
instructions to the ‘T’.
The
result:
The
Wadis were as good as new. It was as if I was sitting at the Vilekar residence
and they had served them straight from the kadai (wok). Yes, that wee bit of
extra Kothimbir was still needed but the Wadis were a massive hit once we
crisped them up. The 3/10 Wadis suddenly achieved an 8/10 status! I took away two points. One, for the initial sogginess and two, because it definitely needed more coriander leaves.
Coming
to the last dish I ordered, the Mutton Dum Biryani: The Biryani was fragrant
with each grain of rice separate, as it should be. I had requested Cloves
Catering to add potatoes to the Biryani and they had obliged. The only drawback
was that the potatoes were not the typical ‘Dum Biryani’ potatoes which, ideally,
are cooked with the mutton. These had been cut into wedges, fried and then
added to the Biryani. It wasn’t what I was looking for as but as I had made a
special request and they were kind enough to comply, I shall let it pass. As
for the mutton in the Dum Biryani, each piece was succulent and delicious but for
some reason, each mutton piece after being cooked to that perfect succulence
was sautéed to a dark colour (or at least it felt that way). The look of the
mutton, thus, was not very appealing. I have to be honest, though, and say I
could find no fault with the inner texture of the meat or the flavour.
Nevertheless, we all did wonder why the mutton was so dark in colour.
Another
point that I wish to specify is that the Dum Biryani on the first day was good in
flavour but when I ate it as leftover (read: typical baasi biryani) over the
next two days, the flavour had intensified tenfold. I kid you not! I had
specially ordered a whole kilo because I love leftover Biryani as it always
tastes better the next day. The Biryani tasted incredible! I just could not
stop eating it! Abso’fuckin’lutely mind-blowing! (Note to self: Next time, call
for this Biryani a day ahead)
Cloves
Catering has a delivery system in place. They have a tie up with Dial-A-Meal to
ensure your order reaches you on time. Delivery charges are levied by
Dial-A-Meal depending on the bill amount and the area of delivery. The food was
safely and neatly delivered well before the stipulated time. Extremely
commendable!
The
meal from Cloves catering was everything that it is made out to be on social
media. The adulation and appreciation they get is, indeed, very well deserved. I
have taken a peek at their menu and the dishes I read about made me feel like a
kid peeping into a kaleidoscope. I say this because, just as a kid looks forward
to turning the kaleidoscope to check the myriad frames that falls into place, I
look forward to trying many more of those dishes from Cloves Catering. I know each one will bring a new and pleasant surprise to my palate.
Parikshit
and Anuja, thank you for making this order a possibility. I know you guys had
just returned from a short holiday that very morning. I appreciate the
professionalism with which you executed the entire meal. Kudos and heartfelt
thanks!
Food: 3.5/5 (This rating went up to 4/5 after the Wadis were crisped up but it was an extra effort for me and Anu where there should have been none, hence the official rating remains at 3.5)
Service
(Over the phone, package & delivery) 4/5
Ambiance:
Not applicable, yaar, home delivery tha, ab tak itna toh samajh jana chaiye tha
na :P
To
order meals from Cloves Catering please contact Parikshit & Anuja Vilekar
on +91 9822007315.
Please
feel free to check out the meals and menu at their Face book page: https://www.facebook.com/clovescatering/
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