Hyatt Regency Kolkata, one of the finest 5 star deluxe business hotels in Kolkata.

It is located 15 minutes drive from the Kolkata Int'l airport and down town. The hotel is also just 10 minutes’ drive from IT hub of Kolkata (Sector V & Eco Space - Rajarhat) makes the most convenient hotel for business travelers.
This hotel is also offers facilities like highly flexible meeting spaces and event venues for corporate meetings, cocktail evenings, exhibitions and wedding venues and business center. The banqueting and conference space include a pillar less Regency Ballroom, outdoor Regency Lawn and best conference halls in Kolkata. This is the best business hotel in Salt Lake, Kolkata, appointed with state-of-the-art technology infrastructure offering broadband connectivity and Wi-Fi, technology and meeting concierge, recessed projector screens and light racks, along with a dedicated events services team at your service to ensure the success of every event.
For such busy hotel who are offering so much to their guests, its not necessary to mention that their restaurants or eateries will be also state-of-the-art. Hyatt Regency has three restaurants - Waterside Cafe, Guchhi and La Cucina. From a world cuisine to authentic Italian or a true taste of Indian delicacies, the hotel offers various choices for all kinds of guests. Few days back I was their Waterside Cafe on invitation to preview their ongoing Food Festival "Pan Asian Food Festival" representing my blogger group, "Kolkata Food Bloggers". This festival have strted from 22nd September and will go on till 2nd October. 

 The Waterside Café at Hyatt regency, Kolkata a spacious and stylish 24hours café located at the ground floor is famous for the beautifully landscaped gardens and water view of the property. Its high ceiling overlooks the atrium lobby, floor to ceiling window overlook the fountain and pool side. Relaxed sofa lounge seating along with regular comfortable and stylish sitting arrangements are available for guests to witness a classy world cuisine throughout the day. Waterside Café is considered as one of the famous restaurants in Kolkata by the foodies. Guests go gaga for the range and variety of the buffet lunch and buffet dinner in Kolkata. The breakfast layout is guest’s favorite. Overall with such an interesting food spread, Waterside Café is considered as one of the best buffet restaurants in Kolkata.

  Chef Bikram Das

I was amazed to see the elaborate spread Waterside Cafe has planned for the festival. House Chef Bikram Das, who has joined Hyatt Kolkata recently after serving in Hyatt Bangalore was very courteous and totally down-to-earth person. He has shared his experiences with us and how he have learnt Asian cuisines in details. Then he shared that the buffet will consist of soups, salads, starters, main coarse and dessert. In all categories there will be enough option for Veg as well as non-veg people. As the buffet is showcasing Pan Asian Cuisines, so the buffet spread will cover most of the Pan Asian country cuisines like, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indonesian and off course Indian cuisine. The buffet is for everyday lunch and dinner and also for Sunday brunch. The price is 1650 plus taxes per person.

Here are some of the snapshots of the food served :

*****Appetizer/Starter*****

In appetizer, we were served Chicken Gyozo and broccoli & Asparagus Dimsums and both tasted awesome.

*****Soups and Salads*****

Hyatt has a huge variety of salads for the event and all were better than the others. Okra salad was one of my favorites. In soups, there were Tom Yum Soup with vegetables and Chicken and cilantro broth, both were really appetizing.

*****Main Course*****

In main course they have huge array of dishes prepared for the event. Jasmine rice with tofu and vegetables, hakka noodles, Sesame BBQ Grilled lamb, Shower fried fish in black bean sauce, Saigon Beef, Stir fried Asian green, Wok tossed haricot dry chilli and Kaeng Phet Koongat or prawns in creamy and spicy gravy are some of the delicacies from allover Asia being served there and I'm sure you're already drooling seeing these delicacies. So, don't wait any more and Visit Hyatt Regency, Kolkata, just beside Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata.

***** Dessert*****

 

In desserts they have everything from cakes, mousse to Creme Brule.

Final Word :: I'll recommend everyone to visit Hyatt this week and savour these awesome delicacies prepared by chefs in Hyatt, Waterside Cafe for lunch and dinner buffet(from Mon-Sat) and for Sunday brunch. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Kolkatans to enjoy so many varieties of Asian dishes under one roof.

Here are some of links that will be useful to you :

Hyatt Regency Kolkata: https://kolkata.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html?src=kolka_prop_np_influencers

Waterside Café: https://kolkata.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/dining/WatersideCafe.html?src=kolka_prop_np_influencers

Pan Asian Food Festival : http://www.hyattrestaurants.com/event/pan-asian-food-festival-in-salt-lake-city-center-hyatt-regency-kolkata-waterside-cafe-event/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=Asian%20Food%20Festival

 

   I think this monsoon season I havn't posted one single Hilsa Fish recipe yet. If you're wondering why I'm associating Hilsa fish with monsoon, then I must tell you that In India, The safest period of eating Hilsa fish starts with the onset of Monsoon till the beginning of Autumn, i.e., around early October. During Durga Puja, Bengalis love to devour some Hilsa fish. Then again around February we can eat the fish again. 

    Durga Puja is just around the corner, so thought to post something special I have experimented with this fish and it came out quite tasty and my family liked it a lot. This is not a traditional recipe of making Sorshe Ilish but just a variation. I have tried adding coriander paste to the recipe as I tried with other fish like this as I love the flavour of coriander leaves with fish and even I tried with chicken too. But never did I try to experiment on Hilsa Fish. But one day, the experiment genie inside me pushed me hard to give it a try and I did finally this monsoon and with very steady hands and an open mind I did the cooking and it was so tasty and from then it has become staple in my home.

Ingredients :

Hilsa Fish/Ilish Mach : 4 pieces 

Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.[1/2 tsp. for coking and 1/2 tsp. to marinate the fish]

Salt to taste + salt to marinate the fish 

Ginger Paste : 1 tblsp.

Black Cumin seeds/kala jeera/Kalonji : 1/2 tsp.

Black Mustard seeds : 1 tblsp.+ yellow mustard seeds : 1 tblsp.

Coriander leaves : a big bunch

Green Chillies :  2-3 nos.

Oil : 1 tblsp. for frying the fish + 1 tblsp. for cooking

Sugar : a pinch

Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

Method :

• Preperation : 1. Marinate the fish pieces with 1/2 tsp. turmeric and 1/2 tsp. salt. 2. Soak both the mustard seeds for 1/2 an hour in little water. Then wet grind mustard seeds with 2-3 green chillies or as much you can tolerate and coriander leaves with a pinch of salt and few teaspoons of water. Add water to make a smooth paste. When the paste is ready, take it in a bowl and add ginger paste, 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder to the mix and mix well.
• Cooking : Heat oil, preferably mustard oil for frying the fish. Add the fish pieces in oil and in medium heat fry the fish till they have just changed the color on both sides. Take out and keep aside.
• Heat little more oil in the same pan, add kalajeera/kalonji/black cumin seeds, when the seeds start to splutter, lower the flame, add the mustard-coriander paste to the oil.   
• Add a pinch of sugar. Mix and let it cook in medium flame, when oil starts to separate, add the fish pieces and slowly cover them with the paste. Now add about 1/2 cup of warm water and add it to the pan. Season with salt and cook until gravy thickens a bit.  
• Remove from heat and garnish with some more of chopped coriander leaves.  
• Bengalis love this fish preparations with warm plain rice.  

 This recipe is going to take part in Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event, "Durga Puja with family signature recipes", the theme choosen by our Featured blogger of the group Debjani who blogs at Debjanir Rannaghar 

 

      Bengalis(Indians native to Eastern part of India) are known for their sweetness in allover India. I am a Bengali and yes I can vouch for this. We can be sweet in many ways, first of all we love sweets, secondly we speak the sweetest language of the earth, Bangla (I am not saying, all non-speaking bengalis say this) and we are the sweetest host if we have a planned or even a sudden guest visit. Bengalis offer their level best, even more to their capabilities to their guests. Outside Bengal, bengali cuisine is always summed up either by Aloo posto(potatoes cooked with poppy seeds or Misti Doi which literally means the sweet yogurt. And I am proud of that. Definitely, this chilled sweetened yogurt is just divine. The red hue from the caramelization of sugar makes it more attractive and irresistible. It is the most beloved sweet/dessert of bengal and no other regional cuisine of India has this sort of sweet yogurt in their cuisine. Yes, bengalis has experimented enough with this humble yogurt in many ways, during mango season Aam Doi or mango yogurt, chocolate yogurt and so on.

   The biggest festival of Bengalis, Durga Puja is just around the corner, in just 3 weeks. The preperation of this festival is going on in its full form everywhere in my state now. From making the idols, shopping for new clothes, building the pandals for the pujas in every nook and corner of the city, lighting up the roads, there is a festive atmosphere all around. As a blogger, while checking my recipe list, I found that I havn't posted the most beloved sweet of Bengal, Misti Doi yet in my blog. At the same time, my foodie group, Kolkata Food Bloggers has also announced an event, "Festive Desserts" for this week where we have to post a festive dessert and I took this opportunity to post my Misti Doi recipe for the event.

 
      The traditional way of making this dessert is a bit time-consuming. As I said before, the beautiful pinkish-red color of misti doi which we get by caramelizing the full-fat milk with sugar. Full-fat milk is first thickened and cooled. Then the milk is set to ferment overnight in an earthen pot along with some fresh non-sweetened yogurt added to it which works as culture for fermenting. Earthen pots are traditionally used to set this yogurt as it brings the right temperature for fermentation.

       While growing up in the Bengal, I never tried to make this at home, as we could get it anytime we wanted from nearby sweet-shop. But during my living outside India, I had to make this at home whenever we had cravings for this. But there is always a short-cut method of every recipe for busy people and there is a baked version of Misti Doi also available which brings out the perfect color, taste and texture of this superbly delicious dessert. So whenever my family demanded some misti doi I opted for this recipe and it never disappointed me and I served chilled perfectly sweetened misti doi to my family. Today I'm sharing this easy-pesey baked version of making Misti Doi with you all too. Try it at home and let me know the result. 

You Need :
Non-fat/Low-fat Normal Yoghurt : 1 litre
Evaporated milk : 1 tin (14 oz./~200 ml.)
Condensed milk : 1 tin (14 oz./~200 ml.)

Method :

• In a bowl, mix everything and give a good stir. Then in an oven-safe bowl, pour the mixture. Condensed milk is added here for the sweetness. You can use the whole tin of condensed milk or add as much according to your taste, how much sweet you want. I usually use 3/4 of 1 tin. By using condensed milk, you will also get the light reddish color, what bengali Misti Doi has.
• If you don't get evaporated milk, then just thicken some milk to half of its original quantity, similar to the quantity mentioned in the ingredients list and add in there.
• Pre-heat oven in 170 degree C/ 340 degreeF. Cover the bowl with an aluminium foil and put the bowl inside oven in lower level of your oven. I like to make it in low heat for longer time, it sets very good. It will take about 1 and 1/2 hour or so. When yogurt is set well, remove from oven.
• Take out and let it cool in room temperature. Then refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving. It well set some more after chilling.
• Your Misti-Doi is ready. 

As I mentioned before, this is a post specially for Kolkata food Bloggers' 

ongoing Event, "Festive Dessert", the theme is the brainchild of my fellow group member and blogger, Sarani Tarafder who blogs from "Back to Basics.." and she is our featured blogger of the week. Visit her blog for very innovative and healthy recipes and also visit our Facebook page for more such Festive Dessert.

 

    The newest and the most happening culinary destination of Kolkata has nestled down in the heart of the city, in Mani Square mall, along the Eastern Bypass by the name of Chapter 2. Two brothers, Mr. Shiladitya Chaudhury and Mr. Debaditya Chaudhury, are behind this newest and happening restaurant who has also opened Oudh 1590, a fine dining restaurant with two outlets one in Salt Lake and one in Deshapriya Park.

   Chapter 2, is made on the theme of old time Park Street night club culture with Anglo-Indian food and live music shows. A side-stage full of musical instruments, life size Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, also a life size drum on the wall depicts the night club atmosphere in a very artistic way. Another attraction of this place is a classic red color Cadillac which brings a feel of old times to this place. Every little decoration of this place showcases the great sense of taste of the owners and their love for cars, bikes and music. Chapter 2 is a 70-cover restaurant with a Private Dining Area for hosting 20 pax. Apart from the food, the major attraction of Chapter 2 is the retro live music that is being performed every evening by some of the oldest bands of Kolkata.

    On an invitation from Chapter 2, I went there with my co-group member Urmi Ghosh to represent Kolkata Food Bloggers on the occasion of their launching of LUNCH BUFFET. Their 21 course lunch buffet will be available from Monday to Friday, every week. Renowned actor, Mr Soham Chakraborty was also present to launch the menu. The elaborate menu consists of Chapter2's speciality Continental cuisine and also Kolkata's favorite Chinese Cuisine.

   The owner Mr. Shiladitya Chaudhury stated, " We have noticed that there is a dearth of continental items in the buffets that are served in standalone restaurants of the city. Thus, keeping in mind the peoples love for gourmet continental cuisine we are introducing this one of a kind 21 course buffet and have even kept the price very economical."

  Co-owner Mr. Debaditya Chaudhury stated," Though continental cuisine is the speciality of Chapter 2, we have recently introduced Kolkata's quintessential favorite Chinese cuisine in our a-la-carte menu. Hence, we decided to include some of our signature Chinese preparations in the menu."

      The buffet menu comprises of 2 soups, 4 salads, 3 starters, 4 main dishes, 3 staples including rice and noodles, 2 types of breads and 3 desserts. Some of the items which will be part of lunch buffets are Chicken Talumein Soup, Chicken lemon coriander soup, Cream of tomato soup, cream of Mushroom Soup, Kimchi salad, Cold Chicken Salad, Egg Potato salad, Daikon Salad, Chicken Ceasar Salad, Drums of heaven, Kung pao Chicken, Chilli Shrimp, Pan Fried chilli fish, Fish pepper salt, Nachos tomato salsa, Corn mushroom toast, Chicken stroganoff, Chicken Tetrazzini, Chicken in red bell pepper, Prawn in sweet chilli sauce, Garlic prawn, Grilled fish lemon butter, Vegetable Cannelloni, Chilli tofu, vegetable lasagne, Babycorn Florentine, Egg chicken fried rice, Vegetable Hakka noodles, Burnt garlic fried rice, Spaghetti tomato sauce, buttered rice, Darsaan, Brownie, fruit custard and last but not the least, Ice Cream. 

These are the few things we were served and got to taste :: 

MAIN COURSE : : 

DESSERTS ::

      The buffet is priced at Rs. 399 plus taxes per person. The good thing about this buffet is that the menu is not fixed and will be changed everyday to add a wide variety to the food lover's palate. Another plus point, a glass of Four Seasons wine will be given complimentary to each adult with the buffet. 

Buffet Timing :: 12-3.30 pm (from Monday-Friday)

      The food :: The food we tasted were all very delicious and some of them were really very appetizing, like, Prawn on the toast, veg cannelloni, Pan fried Chilli fish, Kung Pao chicken and even the salads were quite delectable.

My recommendation :: 

If you love to devour Continental and Chinese Cuisine along with some music then don't think twice. The price is also very economical, as for such a lavish spread, the price is quite less comparing other such fine-dining restaurants. 

    In Bengali cooking dictionary, "Korma" means any curry, cooked with mostly non-veg., meat or chicken or egg, in a mild yogurt based gravy with ghee instead of oil. Korma has its urdu origin, influenced from Bangladeshi cuisine, is not so much exploited in Bengali cuisine. Though many non-veg dishes like Chicken or Mutton Korma, Dimer Korma(egg korma) are few which are beloved among bengalis. 

    Originally, in korma recipe a large amount of nuts, poppy seeds are used along with yogurt to make a rich gravy. But this recipe I am sharing today, got from a recipe page(Senskitchen), is not so rich and spicy but extremely flavourful and delicious. It is good for everyday cooking which really goes well with plain warm rice or even with pulao.

 You Need :

Chicken - 750 g, cut into medium chunks
Potato : 2-3, cut into halves/quarters
Onions - 2-3 medium (about 300 g), sliced
Ginger paste - 1tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp, grated
Green chillies : 2-3, sliced thinly
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Plain Yoghurt/Doi - 2 tbsp, heaped
Coconut - 1/2 cup, grated
Salt - To taste
Oil - 2-3 tbsp 
Fresh Coriander leaves - a bunch, finely chopped
Fresh mint leaves - a little, finely chopped(optional but recommended)

To temper :
Bay leaves : 2
Cardamom : 3, Cinnamon- 2 sticks, Cloves : 3-4

How To :

• Marinate the chicken pieces with ginger, garlic, coriander powder, turmeric and salt for 20 minutes. Cut potatoes in medium size chunks and marinate with salt for sometime.
• Heat oil in a pan. Fry the potato pieces in the oil and keep aside. Temper the oil with bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Add the onions and sliced green chillies immediately after that and fry with constant stirring on medium-high heat till they are golden brown. Add marinated chicken and fry on medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
• Mix 2 tbsp water into yogurt and add to the chicken. Cook for couple of minutes on medium heat. Then add chilli powder, grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add fried potatoes.
• Add 1 cup warm water. Season with salt. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or till potatoes and chicken are done. Adjust gravy consistency as desired.
• Serve hot with plain rice or pulao.  

Try this and let me know how you have liked it. I served it with hot plain rice and it was a heavenly, leisurely Sunday lunch.

    With the onset of monsoon, India specially in Northern part of India, get to see properly ripened Palm fruit. Because of its heavenly smell, this palm fruit is quite popular among bengalis and bengalis are famous for making sweet delicacies out of anything. This fruit is also associated with a festival which is very dear to bengalis, i.e., Janmastami, the birthday of Lord Krishna.

    This festival is celebrated throughout India in various manners. In my state, West Bengal, devotees celebrate Janmastami by fasting and staying up until midnight, the time when Krishna is believed to have born. Images of Krishna's infancy are placed in swings and cradles in temples and homes. The next day is called "Nanda Utsav" or the joyous celebration of Krishna's foster parents Nanda and Yashoda. On this day, people break their fast and offer various cooked sweets to Lord Krishna during the early hours, as he was very fond of sweets. It is said that Lord Krishna loves to eat the sweet delicacies made of palm fruit. So at every homes in Bengal, these delicacies are made and offered to Lord Krishna on his birthday and also enjoyed by all in the family.

   The most important sweet without which Janmashtami is not complete in Bengal is "Tal-er bora", where tal is Asian Palm and Bora means fritters. This Asian Palm fritters are made from fresh ripe and juicy palm fruit. I love this fruit and its aroma and obviously the delicacies made with it. Last year I posted Tal'er bora or a fried fritter made with the palm fruit pulp. This year I already made a batch of these taler bora and another sweet made with the pulp, tal kheer or thickened palm fruit pulp. I am going to post the recipe of tal kheer today.

You Need :
Palm fruit pulp : of one whole fruit
Milk : approx. 1 cup or little less than 1 cup
Sugar : 1 cup (add less or more as per your taste)
Grated Coconut : 3/4 cup

How To : 

• Process of taking out the pulp ::
  At first, you take out the outer skin, then you can see two to three fibrous palm kernels inside it. On a hand grater, rub the kernels until all the pulp has come out. Collect it in a bowl. Follow the pics to better understand the process. For this recipe, the process is same, just add little water while grating it, so the pulp will be thin this time. 

• Take a deep pan and heat. After removing the pulp, pour the pulp into the pan and in medium heat let it boil for 2 minutes. Then add sugar in it and mix well. Add coconut and let it boil again for 5 minutes. Don't forget to stir the whole thing continuously.
• Now add milk slowly and mix well into the thickened pulp. Let it boil again for about 5-6 minutes or until you get your desired consistency of pulp. Check the sweetness level and add sugar if needed. 
• Remove from fire and cool. Serve a room temperature or chilled.