Ishaara is a newly launched modern Indian family restaurant at Palladium Mall Lower Parel started by Prashant Issar and Anuj Shah. As you enter the restaurant, the cheerful staff welcomes you with a beautiful smile on their faces and leads you to your table. The name of the restaurant says it all ‘Ishaara’. It’s a restaurant with a difference. Most of the service staff here communicates in sign languages with the customers. The restaurant hires differently able people and trains them in restaurant hospitality and provides them jobs at this restaurant. Though they have speech and impairment problems, they are people with great performance, wonderful gesture, always passionate and happy. Over all it’s was fun and a new level of experience interacting with the staff.
The teak furnitures and the lovely interiors makes the place looks very pleasant and lively. It’s an environmentally friendly place as you see lots of plants around. This place uplifts your mood.
The restaurant serves experimental, traditional Indian comforting and delicious food from across the regions with a contemporary look.
Chef’s Tasting Menu - Non Vegetarian
This Tasting review was arranged by the The Nomad Foodie...
To being with, we were served some Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian starters.
Sweet Potato Brûlée - The Sweet Potato were roasted and served with yogurt - the Chaat style which enhanced the flavours of the dish.
Chole Keema Samosa - This combination dish was to die for. It’s was amazing. The chole was well cooked with flavours of the Khada masala.
Tandoori Broccoli - The broccoli was well cooked and it was well accompanied with Creme Fraiche.
Dungar Chicken Tikka - The chicken was soft and it went well with the garlic yogurt and the sesame and curry patta powder chutney.
Sago Tikki - The sago tikki was stuffed with red cabbage. It was delicious, but the previous dishes over powered this dish.
The starters were followed by the main course.
Calicut King Fish Curry - The fish curry was delicious and a bowl of steamed rice is the perfect combination with the fish.
Goan Green Chicken Curry - The chicken was well cooked and delicious.
Dal Havile - Out of the world. It was well cooked and the texture was creamy. The flavours of the masala was well blended in the dal. You can see the ghee on the dal that enhanced the taste more.
Kashmiri Tehari - The dish was flavourful and delicious.
The main dishes were accompanied with Naan and Rogani Roti.
After all the good food, it has to be dessert..
Lemon and Pistachio Tart - The dessert was absolutely refreshing and delicious.
Gajar Halwa Crumbs was served complimentary. It was delicious and less sweet.
The best part is that you can parcel the leftovers. So zero wastage on food.
To enjoy some good things in life, you must visit this restaurant to experience the pleasant ambience and delicious food.
We had one Gandhoraj Lemon growing at our place. So used it to make this rustic simple delicious cake for my sweet little doggie, to celebrate her 6th birthday. It’s a simple recipe without using an oven. Made this cake in a wok / Kadai.
Ingredients
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
3/4 tsp Soda Bicarbonate
1/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Butter
1 cup + 1/2 Milk
Juice of 1 Gondharaj Lebu
1/4 tsp Zest of Gondharaj Lemon
1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
Method
Take a cup of milk and add butter into it and microwave it for 30 seconds. Remove the milk from the microwave. Add the lime juice and vanilla essence. Stir and mix the liquid. Take a medium size mixer jar. Add the sugar and grind the sugar into a powder. Now gradually add the milk and churn the mixer until all the liquid and sugar have incorporated well.
Take a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lime zest and mix the ingredients together. Grease the cake tin and keep it aside. Take a wok, add a stand to the base. Cover the wok with a lid and on a low flame let it pre heat. Now pour the churned milk gradually in the flour mix and mix the ingredients together. Add the oil and mix the batter. Now gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup milk and form a thick batter. Pour the batter into the greased pan and tap the cake tin 3 times. Place the baking tin into the wok, cover the lid and bake for 1 hour or until the cake is brown from top. To check insert a toothpick in the center of the cake, the toothpick should come out clean.
Remove the cake tin from the wok and place it on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the cake tin and cool the cake completely. This cake can be kept for 2 days outside.
This dish is ideal for breakfast or evening snacks. Upma is a common dish made in South India and Maharashtra. There are many ingredients that can be used to make Upma like Semolina, Vermicelli, Broken Wheat etc. Bread is another ingredient that can also be used to make Upma. If you have leftover bread pieces, you can use them.
Ingredients
5 to 6 pieces of Bread cut into small square pieces
1 small Onion chopped
1/4 of the Green Capsicum chopped
1/4 of the Carrot chopped
1/2 Tomato chopped
Handful of Green Peas - I didn’t have
1 Green Chilli chopped
1 small piece of Ginger grated (optional) - I didn’t use
Few Coriander Leaves chopped
Few Curry Leaves
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Handful of Peanuts or broken Cashews - I didn’t use
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
Pinch of Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tbsp Fresh Coconut grated or Desiccated Coconut
1 tbsp Oil
Method
Take oil in a Kadai. Let it heat. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilli and asafoetida. Sauté it for few seconds. If you are adding peanuts or broken cashews, then add it now and sauté it for another few seconds. Add the chopped vegetables and ginger. Continue to sauté the vegetables for a minute. Add the Salt, Sugar, Turmeric powder and Chilli powder. Stir and add 1/4 cup of water. Let it simmer for few seconds. Add the bread pieces and gently stir all the ingredients together. Switch off the flame. Drizzle the lime juice and stir it once. Garnish the dish with coriander leaves and coconut. Serve the dish immediately.
Shinwari Chicken Karahi is a popular dish belonging to the Shinwari Pashtun tribe residing in some parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It’s a very easy dish cooked with very less spices, yet it’s very delicious in taste. This dish is served with naan and salad and also can be eaten with roti, chapati or paratha.
Ingredients
500 grams Chicken cut in to pieces
1/2 tsp Ginger paste
1/2 tbsp Garlic paste
2 big Tomatoes cut into small cubes 3 Green Chillies cut into halves lengthwise Salt to taste 1/2 tsp Pepper powder
Few Coriander Leaves chopped
Few Ginger Juliennes
1 Green Chilli cut lengthwise into thin strips
1/4 cup Oil
Method
Heat oil in a kadai. Add the chicken and stir fry for 5 to 7 minutes. Now add tomatoes, 3 green chillies, ginger paste, garlic paste, salt and pepper. Stir and cover the karahi and cook on low flame stirring it occasionally. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes or until it’s done and the oil separates from the chicken.
Garnish with coriander leaves, green chilli and ginger. Serve with hot Naans / Roti / Paratha.
This recipe takes me back to my childhood days. Every year as a little kid, religiously every summer my mother and myself would visit my Uncle’s place (Mamar Bari) in Kolkata. Across my Uncle’s house there was a big Kalo Jam tree that use to be loaded with Kalo Jam which belonged to a family staying there. Every afternoon after our lunch affair was over, I use to visit their house to play with their 3 girls and eat Kalo Jam Makha. It was fun collecting the Kalo Jams. It’s a rustic dish but so delicious and mouthwatering. We also make this similar dish with raw mangoes. Peel the raw mango, cut it into cubes, add all the same ingredients give below, also add red chilli powder, sugar and Kashundi. Crush the mango in a mortar. I really feel sad that these simple rustic recipes are getting extinct with our new generation.I am sure all of us will have some stories to share of such dishes.
Ingredients
15 to 20 Kalo Jam / Jambun / Black plums
2 or more Green Chillies chopped
Salt to taste or black salt and salt mix
1/2 tsp Mustard oil
Method
Take all the above ingredients and mash it well. You can mash it with a help of a spoon, but best to use your fingers.
It’s simply divine.
Mustard oil is optional, but I love it with mustard oil as it enhances the taste.
