Daawat – A Feast that’s cooking

Posted on by Karthic Vaidyanathan

Address: 2070 Rymal Rd E, Hannon, ON L0R 1P0

Mysore Masala Dosa: Dosai is a fermented Indian pancake made from rice and lentil dough. Masala Dosai is usually crisp with a filling of masala gravy inside. Mysore Masala Dosa usually has a paste of chilli and garlic paste spread on the inside of the dosa with masala potato filling. The dosa was quite big and crispy just as we had requested. I usually order the masala on the side for the dosa to retain the crispiness. The dosa was served along with a couple of chutneys and sambhar. The sambhar could have been thicker as it should be for a accompaniment of dosa. Verdict: Good to try.

Vegetable Pakora: A popular street food and snack from the Indian sub-continent. Pakoras are crispy fritters made from dough of gram flour, vegetables like onions, carrots, potatoes, carrots, cabagge, native spices and herbs. This usually goes very well with Indian Masala Chai. The pakoras were crispy and tasty. A good starter to try but go for their cut mirchi if you like it spicy. Verdict: Good try, but must try for cut mirchi.

Chilli Idli:  Idly is a savoury rice cake prepared by baking fermented rice and lentil batter and is very popular in South India. For chilli Idly, the idly is cut into pieces and tossed with chilli sauce and vegetables like onions and green pepper. This was not really spicy and does not affect your taste pallette. For idly lovers this is not a starter for sure and a safe option. Verdict: Must Try

Channa Bhatura: Bhatura, a very popular dish from Northern India, a deep fried bread made of all purpose flour. It is also known as Chole Bhatura. Chole or Channa is made from cooking white channa along with spices, tomato and onion sauce, herbs, onions, garlic and ginger. The quantity of Channa Bhatura is quite large and would definitely fit a meal for one person. The taste was really good and I would recommend to have this hot. Verdict: Must try

Average Price: $10-$15 per person

Restaurant Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall Verdict: A good and improving Indian restaurant in Hamilton with both North and South Indian cuisines in their menu.

The food is tasty and flavorful. This place is known for Biryani and I have tried their Vegetable Dum Biryani and Daawat special dum biryani which according to me is a Must Try. The restaurant is a take out place for now and the owner has started to add some tables based on feedback from customers. I also spotted some picnic/patio tables at the spot, so dining during summer should be an option. The owner was open to accept feedback from customers and improve their standards. They have some good combos and weekly/monthly offers. The restaurant and grocery store is relatively new so they have room for improvement like adding more variety to their Dosa menu, sambhar and chutneys and some native Andhra special cuisine.

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Holy Shakes: Falling in love…with Milkshakes & Fusion

Posted on by Karthic Vaidyanathan
Burger with Masala Fries
FREAKSHAKE
Steamed Chilli Momo

Ferrero Cheesecake Freakshake: As the name suggests this was indeed freaky- a milkshake that was unusual and out of the ordinary. The highlight of this drink is the Cheesecake Factory Bakery® Cheesecakes are added either on top or by the side of the drink. The drink burst with an abundance of Ferrero rocher flavour. I am a big fan of the cheesecake factory cheesecakes and this one is right on top of my list of favourites for sure. Make sure to take the jar with you, bring it back to get a 5% discount which was confirmed by the staffs. Verdict: Must Try.

Steamed and Pan-Seared Chilli Momos: Momos are a popular street food in northern parts of India and are quite popular now even in Southern India. These are also known as Dim Sum or dumplings and made from flour with some flavourful filling. This was a spicy flavour-filled momos which had less oil as it was pan-seared rather than pan fried. The filling was well cooked and the out layer was a little bit more thick than the usual. The chilli sauce on top added a touch of spice to the otherwise bland food. Verdict: Hit or Miss. Can Skip.

Roadside Burger (Chowmein): Chow mein means fried noodles. This burger consisted of mix-veg patty, chowmein and holy eatery signature sauces stacked inside sliced Brioche buns. The touch of fusion was fantastic and innovative. For someone who does not like burgers, this was something that I enjoyed eating. The patty inside the burger and the chow-mein was well cooked and juicy. The side of masala fries topped with spicy habanero sauce was a class apart.I would not mind buying them on the side. Verdict: Very Good Try

Average Price per person: $20-$25.

Address: 1299 Barton St E Unit K04, Hamilton, ON L8H 2V4

Restaurant Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The place was well-maintained and clean. The staff were courteous and welcoming. The only issue would be the number of seats in the location. Not a place for a group to sit and hang out. Special shoutout to Rajat for diligently preparing the delicious milkshake. I would have given them 5 ⭐️s had they fulfilled the offer that was displayed but they let us down by stating that the promotion is now closed.

Our Instagram Handle: Vyasonkeys

Mahal Tanjore Ottawa: Staying Rooted to its Name

Posted on by Karthic Vaidyanathan

Masala Vadai: Masala means a mixture of spices and Vadai is a fried lentil snack. So, masala vadai is a fried snack made of masala lentil dough. The lentil dough is prepared from a soaked Channa gram or Bengal gram. The dough must be coarse to ensure that the vadai is crisp. The vadai here stayed true to the description above. One of the best Masala Vadai I have had in years. I would rate it close to the vadai I have had back in Chennai. This is neither that spicy nor hot. Verdict: Must Try for an appetizer.

Kancheepuram Masala Dosai: Dosai is a fermented Indian pancake made from rice and lentil dough. Masala Dosai is usually crisp with a filling of masala gravy inside. This one was stuffed with spicy red chilli paste, bell peppers/capsicum, cabbage, herbs and spices. The cabbage was a bit of a surprise and was unusually big which did not make it a great combination. I would have personally preferred the masala to be finely chopped making it easier to blend with the dosai and not stand as the odd man out. The spicy level I tried was medium. Verdict: Out of the box but not for everyone.

Podi Idly: I call Idly the friend of a lazy man. Idly is a savoury rice cake prepared by baking fermented rice and lentil batter and is very popular in South India. I am not a big fan of Idlis but I would have this podi Idly any day. The idly is cut into small pieces and tossed with spicy ground lentil condiment called Podi. This podi was well done and you can taste the flavour of coarsely grounded podi in every bite of the idly. Verdict: Good Try.

Chilli Parotta: Chilli Parotta is an Indo-Chinese cuisine and is usually a spicy, and delicious dish made by frying parotta cutting into usually square pieces and cooking it with various spices, onion & capsicum. Chilli Parotta is a fast food that I love having in restaurants and love to make it at home as well. The chilli parotta was crisp and tasted very good. Verdict: Go for it.

Kothu Parotta: This is a famous South Indian cuisine I have enjoyed in shops/restaurants along the highways in Tamil Nadu. Kothu means shredded and parotta is a flatbread made from all-purpose flour or wheat flour. The kothu parotta is tossed with either vegetables or egg usually. The taste was very similar to what I would have had on the highway dhabas back home. The crunchiness of the parotta and the vegetables make the dish even more enjoyable. Verdict: Good Try.

Podi Idly: I call Idly the friend of a lazy man. Idly is a savoury rice cake prepared by baking fermented rice and lentil batter and is very popular in South India. I am not a big fan of Idlis but I would have this podi Idly any day. The idly is cut into small pieces and tossed with spicy ground lentil condiment called Podi. This podi was well done and you can taste the flavour of coarsely grounded podi in every bite of the idly. Verdict: Good Try.

Chettinad Masala Dosai: Chettinad masala dosai is another variety of masala dosai. The stuffing has potato masala along with special masala paste applied over the dosai. The uniqueness of the paste is the black pepper as the ingredient which makes it a touch spicy. Verdict: Out of the box but not for everyone. Verdict: Out of the box but not for everyone.

I also tried their Mango ginger and Virgin Coconut Mojito which was really good.

Final Verdict: Good South Indian spread in Ottawa. You might feel that this is a touch more expensive if you travel from the GTA region. But worth it.

Average Price: $20-$25/person

Restaurant Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2 Considering the previous bad experience I would rate this place a 3.5. The staff were pleasant and served us with courtesy. The food tasted awesome but if you are in a hurry, this is not your place.

Location: 108 Third Ave, Ottawa, ON K1S 2J8.

Twisted Indian Wraps: Indo-Mex with an Awesome Twist

Posted on by Karthic Vaidyanathan

Location: 1508 Upper James St Unit 245, Hamilton, ON L9B 1K3

Verdict: Good Value for money, must try.

Average Price: $12-$15/person

What did we try?

Super Bowl: Indian version of Mexican burrito bowl. You can choose basmati or brown rice with 3 vegetable curries. I chose Rajma, Masala Paneer and Channa. We chose to top the bowl with Salad(kachumber), Pickled Onion, Jalapeno, Coriander, carrots, purple cabbage and their custom sauces. Verdict: Must try.

Aloo Tikki Burger: Two potato patties smashed and served on a pretzel bun with, kachumber choice of specialty sauce & served with chutney. I did add-on other toppings to the burger. I am not a big fan of burgers but this one tasted really good. I will definitely give it a try again. Verdict: Good pick.

Naan-wich: We tried the paneer naan-wich. It is probably a new item on their menu and we loved it. As the name says, it is a sandwich made with naan. We filled the inside with paneer masala, spicy sauce and kachumber. As per the staff, this was one of the best items on their list and was indeed worth it. Verdict: Must Try.

Masala fries: Wanted to try this as a side to our bowl. I would rate it not so high. Verdict: Skip

Dessert: We tried their Gulab Jamun and Mango Kulfi. They had the offer to go review them on google and Facebook check in to get a free dessert. Verdict: Gulab Jamun – Good pick, Mango Kulfi – Skip

Restaurant Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 The restaurant was clean and well-maintained. The staff were very courteous and helped us pick a good option with patience and care.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2