Club Mahindra Kandaghat, Himachali Thali and a cooking class

 

The Gorgeous Resort that welcomed us

I absolutely love travel and I love food and when an oppurtunity knocks at my door which can combine both how can I say no.  Sometime ago Club Mahindra invited a bunch of bloggers (about 5 of us – Lakshmi Sharath,  Deepak of magiceye, Vishal of the brilliant photography blog and Kishi Arora who runs Foodaholics in Delhi). I knew most of these people though I hadn’t met Deepak earlier and I realised it would be a great opportunity to connect with these bloggers to as an added advantage.

Club Mahindra works on a Vacation Ownership model i.e you pre buy your vacations for some number of years and then pick and choose the locations that company has resorts at. I think this model works beautifully for families especially considering how Club Mahindra has special kids activities and kids zone at most of their resorts (36 in total till and some which look absolutely fabulous)

The day we reached the resort we were treated to a evening of Himachali entertainment which had music and dance performances put together by the staff and it seems they do this once a week. The staff was so good that they could almost pass off as professionals and along with that we sipped locally brewed drink called “Santra” and it blew my mind, so smooth almost like Cognac, pity I couldn’t bring it back to bangalore and pity I don’t have a picture to show you but the next time you are in Shimla area ask the locals to get you some of that. Trust me you will not be disappointed.

And post the drinks and music (did I tell you all of us danced a bit too) we moved on to dinner. A typical Himachali thali with low seating is what awaited us. One look at the empty thali and I knew there is going to be a LOT of food but I still didn’t expect the amount that came, dish after dish but each dish so distinct from the other. Each dish had a character of of its own. The pahari channa is anyways my favorite, I have been cooking it from the Sood Family cookbook I own and everyone at home loves it but this one had a dimension to it may be because at home I don’t cook with mustard oil. All the dals and the veg dishes were spectacular but what really stole my heart that day was the Khatta chicken made with local spinach variety and malora, a super tangy leaf which was used as a souring agent, I brought back a sapling of malora with me all the way to bangalore and it was flourishing well till last week when Fluffy decided he likes the taste and ate off the whole thing (grrrr). Coming to mutton, it was so tender that it was literally falling off the bone. Yumm

We also ate the yumminess on my plate aka the pahadi trout. Trout is a fish I love and I think it blends so well with Indian as well as international flavours (coming soon : review of the Himalayan Trout House, Tirthan Valley)

We also did a cooking class with the chefs at the resort next morning and cooked the following dishes, I am sharing the pictures and recipes for your reference

 

Recipe Name – Patrodu

Ingredients

 Gram Flour                             :           1 cup

Chili Powder                           :           1/4 tsp

Ajwain seed                            :           1/4 tsp

Mustard Oil                            :           3-4 tsp

Turmeric Powder                    :           ¼ tsp

Coriander powder                   :           ¼ tsp

Salt                                          :           As per taste

Arbi Leaves                             :           3 no’s

Water                                      :           ½ cup

 

 Preparation:-

Mix all the ingredients with Gram Flour, Chili Powder, Ajwayan seed, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and salt as per taste, with a thick consistency. After this roll it with arbi leaves and steamed for 25 to 30 minute. Then cut in to small pieces, and roast in a pan, and serve with mint or radish chutney.

Making of Patradu or Patra

 

Recipe – Kalay Chaney Ka Khatha

Ingredients:-

 

Bengal gram                             :           100 gms

Green cardamom                     :           2 -3 pieces

Mace                                       :           ¼ tsp

Black cardamom                      :           2-3 pieces

Coriander whole                      :           ½ tsp

Cumin seed                             :           ½ tsp

Dry Mango powder    :           1tsp

Sugar                                       :           1tsp

Mustard oil                             :           2 tbsp

Asafoetida                               :           ¼ Tsp

Channa Masala                       :           1 Tsp

Spinach paste              :           50 gms

 

Preparation:-

 

Add on Mustard oil in a pan with green cardamom, black cardamom and cumin seed. When it starts cracking, add spinach paste. When the Spinach Paste starts boiling then add boiled Bengal Gram with its boiling stock. Heat for 5-7 minutes. In the end add all the ingredients and heat for 2-3 minutes. And Serve with Roti or Rice.

 

Recipe – Khatha Murg (made with malora)

Ingredients:-

 

Chicken chunks                       :           180 gms

Red chilly whole                     :           2 -3 pieces

Coriander seed                        :           ¼ tsp

Cumin seed                             :           ¼ spoon

Garlic chops                            :           ½ tsp

Onion chops               :           100gms

Tomato chops             :           50gms

Cumin seed powder    :           1tsp

Coriander powder                   :           1 tbsp

Salt                                          :           as per taste

Spinach paste              :           100 gms

Malora (local spinach)            :           25 gms

Oil                                           :           2 tbsp

 Preparation:-

 Add oil in a pan with coriander seed & cumin seed. When it starts cracking add garlic. When garlic starts getting brown, add onion and sauté for two three minutes. When it starts getting brown in colour add chopped tomatoes and sauté for another two three minutes. After this add chicken chunks & get it cooked. Add on regular spinach paste and local spinach paste (malora) and a cup of water also. Finally when everything is well cooked add garam masala powder and served with Roti or Rice.

The team that gave us the demo

 

I had a great time exploring the local cuisine at Club Mahindra and strongly reco it to everyone