ShareThere’s no great mystery to why this place is still so enduringly popular after all these years
This is by far one of the best Indian restaurants in Dubai.
Indian food at its very best, Gazebo impresses with authentic dishes packed with flavour. The elegantly clad staff are genuinely friendly and the service is top notch. Choosing from the vast menu is a challenge, but it has a fantastic selection of charcoal grilled specialities like the chunky chicken kebabs and marinated leg of lamb, masses of mouth-watering curries and stacks of biryanis.

Following are what we sunk oue teeth into :-)
Raan E Sikandari
The leg of a baby lamb marinated in the perfect blend of spices and slow cooked.Very very juicy.
The lamb tasted divine with the cheese naans.
Gosht Zafrani Biryani
Chunks of mutton marianted in saffron flavoured yoghurt and cooked with long grained rice and spices in sealed earthen pots on Dum.
The biryani is a key dish at the Gazebo. A must try !
This was perfectly spiced.Just right to suit my taste.Tasted great with curd raita and mint chutney.
The salads and side dishes are all bursting with freshness, the breads tasty and the lassis and fresh fruit kulfis deliciously sweet accompaniments. All in all it’s a great value Indian experience.
Fruit Kulfi


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Kiran from Sumadhura has shared with me these wonderful awards.She has very nice space with an amazing collection of recipes.Many of whick are really healthy.Do explore the space.Thanks Kiran,for sharing these awards with me.It keeps me going.

The SunShine Award comes with a set of rules------------


1) Use the logo within your post .
2) Pass on to atleast 12 other bloggers .
3)Add a link to the nominees in your post.
4) Let the nominees know of their award
5) Share the love and link to the friend, who has passed this award to

I would like to pass all these above awards to a few wonderful bloggers mentioned below as well as all my fellow bloggers

Divya
Fathima
Champa
Priya
Divya
Cool Lassie
Swathi
Bharathy
Faiza ali
Deepa & Tanu
Deeba Rajpal
Maya


ShareThis is a very simple dish which goes well with hot rice or rotis.
While picking drumsticks look for smooth greenish skin in the pods. Avoid the ones which look hard,as the flavor gets strong and bitter then.
Ingredients:
  • Fresh drumstick – 2 (cut into one inch long pieces)
  • Potato -1big
  • Sliced onion-1
  • green chillies- 3
  • Ginger garlic paste-1tsp
  • Red chilli powder-1tsp
  • Turmeric powder-1/4tsp
  • Corriander powder-1tsp
  • Chopped tomato-1
  • Kasoori methi leaves/Chopped methi leaves-1/2cup
  • Salt-to taste
  • Oil-2tbsp
Heat oil,add sliced onions,salt and slit green chillies and saute till golden brown.
Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.
Add chopped tomatoes,turmeric ,corriander powder and chilli powder and saute till tomatoes are mashed and the oil separates.
Add the drumsticks and chopped potato cubes and saute.
Add half a cup water and close lid and cook till almost done.
Add the kasoori methi and cook till the veggies get soft.
Dry out excess water.
Serve hot.


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As the temperature around you soars,nothing like cooling off with summer chillers!
This watermelon thirst-quencher is tasty and cooling.
Ingredients
  • Seedless watermelon cubes-4cups
  • Fresh lime juice -1/4cup
  • Sugar -1/4cup or to taste
  • Grated peeled fresh ginger -1tbsp
  • (1-inch) seedless watermelon balls-1 cup
  • Club soda/water, chilled -1cup
  • Cracked ice- optional

Put watermelon in a blender; process until smooth.
Strain through a sieve into a pitcher; discard solids. Repeat procedure with remaining watermelon cubes. Combine lime juice, sugar, and ginger in a bowl; stir with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Add lime juice mixture and watermelon balls to watermelon mixture; stir in sparkling soda/water just before serving. Serve over cracked ice, if desired.

 


ShareTandoori chicken is an easy and quick meal to prepare. Just marinate the meat overnight or at least for 4 hours and place in the oven. You can also use chicken breast but I think the thigh leg pieces are more tender, moist and flavorful.


Ingredients:
  • Whole chicken thighs(deskinned)-4nos
  • Ginger garlic paste -1tbs
  • Full fat thick yogurt-4tbsp
  • Lemon juice-1tsp
  • Red food colour(optional)-1/2tsp
  • Garam masala-1/2tsp
  • Oil-2tbsp
  • Salt-to taste
  • Red chilli powder-2tsp
Clean and skin the chicken of all fat. Make 3-4 deep diagonal incisions into the flesh of each piece using a sharp knife.
Add all ingredients of the marinade and mix together. Spread all the mixture over the chicken. Make sure all the marinade penetrates and coats the chicken. Don't forget to rub the marinade into the slits. Rub evenly.
Refrigerate overnight or for atleast 4 hours

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Remove the chicken 15 minutes before cooking to get it back to room temperature.
Transfer on to the oven grill. Bake for around 10 minutes on each side at 350 degrees F or  until both sides are well roasted. The marinade should totally be absorbed. Brush chicken with oil.
Cook for 2 more minutes.
Garnish with onion, lemon wedges, and cilantro. Accompany with raita and basmati rice.

Bon Appétit!



ShareMasala Vada is a  snack sold very frequently in Railway Platforms down south India.
As a kid, travelling many times by train I have seen and enjoyed this snack by sight and never really tasted it. We were never allowed to eat anything sold on the platforms. I can only vouch it tastes excellent by the attention this attracts, the moment it is brought through the platform. The aroma wading through the platform, the vendor bustling around the crowd, to get his stuff sold, the kids forcing their parents to buy them Masala Vada is sure a sight to watch.
I was reminded of all these when we made this at home. Masala Vada is very famous at my home. It disappears the moment it makes a presence. Well, I normally don't count how many I eat, being a typical lover of this. It is said Masala Vada goes with Chai, but I enjoy my vadas with Coffee! Yes, take a bite of vada and gulp a mouthful of coffee, nothing to beats this.

Serves : 15 medium sized Vadas
Ingredients:
  • Bengal Gram / Channa Dal - 1 cup
  • Chopped Onion - 1 big
  • Green Chillis - 4nos
  • Finely chopped Ginger - 1/2" (optional)
  • Coriander leaves - as desired
  • Salt to taste
  • Chopped Curry leaves- 2 strings
  • Oil for deep frying
Wash and soak channa dal for min 3 hrs.Reserve 2 tbsp of Channa dal and  grind the rest with Chillies coarsely without adding water.
Mix the whole channa dal to the coarsely ground dal.
Add chopped Onions, coriander and Ginger. Mix this with the dal to form a good mixture.
Heat Oil in a pan. Divide the dal mix into small lemon sized balls, flatten them into small patties, either using your palm or using a wet plastic cover.
If you like your vadas really crisp,flatten them well.If you wish softer vadas,keep them a little thick
Once the oil is hot, deep fry a few at a time on medium flame until its golden brown.
On pretext of sampling, I normally eat one or two, while frying them. Rest I either serve as such or else with Coconut Chutney. But even on its own Masala Vada is amazing.
Enjoy this snack anytime,anyday!


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Jal Jeera is similar to lemonade and is a very popular summer drink in India. It is generally served as an appetizer as it is intended to startle the taste buds.
The Cumin is a medicinal ingredient which aids digestion. The mint has a cooling effect on the consumer. One of the main ingredients is black salt or rock salt which acts as a digestive.
It is generally served with appetizers before a meal, but is also drunk between meals. It contains no sugar, which makes it rather healthy

Ingredients:
  • Cumin seed powder-2tbsp
  • Mint(pudina) leaves paste-11/2 tbsp
  • Corriander leaves paste-1/2 tbsp
  • Dry Mango(Amchur) powder-1 tbsp
  • Black Salt-1/2 tsp
  • Lemon Juice-2tbsp
  • Sugar-1/2tsp
  • Water(normal/chilled)-2 glasses
  • Salt-to taste
  • Salted Boondi for garnishing

 Mix all the ingredients well except water.
Add water.Check taste and add more water if required to suit yout taste.
Seive the mixture.
Fill glass and Garnish with boondi.



ShareI'm really fond of soups because it fills me up quickly which means less room for the main course.
One of my favourites is this Chinese restaurant standard - sweet corn soup. It can also have a variety of meat in it.
Ingredients:
  • Chicken/Vegetable stock cube-1 or 1 liter chicken stock
  • Sweet corn kernels-1cup
  • Spring onions-few strings
  • Cornstarch-2tbsp
  • Egg-1(optional)
  • Soy sauce-1tsp
  • Salt-to taste
  • Pepper powder-taste
Dissolve the chicken stock cube in a liter of water
Add the corn kernels to it and pressure cook till creamy and soft.
Heat the oil in a pan.
Chop spring onions and saute for a minute and add the cooked kernels with stock.
Add soy sauce,salt and pepper powder to taste.
Mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Set aside.
Whisk the egg until frothy.
Stir in the cornstarch mixture until smooth and bring to a boil.
Add water if required to get desired consistancy
Simmer for at least 5 minutes.
Slowly stir in the egg mixture in a thin stream to the soup until well blended.
Taste and adjust seasoning with extra salt and pepper if needed.
Serve garnished with chopped green onions on top.



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This is one of the widely known snacks of Karnataka and Andhrapradesh(known as chagodilu), perhaps also popular in other parts of South India. It is fairly easy to prepare, but needs some initial patience and effort. A trial on a week-end is suggested
The process is a little cumbersome, but if you have the patience, it is really worth it.
Ingredients:
  • Rice flour-1cup
  • Water-1cup
  • Roasted gram dal powder(bhuna chana)-1/4cup
  • Moong dal-2tbsp
  • Sesame seeds-1tsp
  • Cumin seeds-1tsp
  • Red chilli powder-1tsp
  • Ghee/Oil-1tbsp
  • Salt-to taste
  • Oil-to fry
Soak moong dal in water for an hour.
Heat water in a pan.When it gets to boil,add salt,ghee,moong dal and rice flour.Mix well and switch off flame.
Cover with a lid and let it rest.
When cool,add the remaining ingredients and knead well to form a smooth dough.
Make small balls of it and roll the balls on a plane flat surface one by one to make a long thread like structure.
Roll the thread to a bangle or any desired shape. Keep it aside.
Repeat the procedure for the rest of the balls.
Heat oil on high flame to deep fry.Add a few of the kodu bale and let it raise to the surface.
Now turn the flame to medium high and fry till the oil stops bubbling and the kodubale get a golden colour.
Remove the fried ones on a kitchen towel.Cool
Serve Kodubale with piping hot coffee.Keep Kodubale in a tight lid container for weeks so that it won`t lose its crispiness.


ShareMurukku / Chakli is a savoury snack, popular in every Indian Household. Ideally eaten with a cup of tea.The Chaklis are usually made with ural dal and rice flour.For a change,I decided to try it with Moong dal instead.
Trust me,these crunchy twirls were the best I have ever tasted.
Ingredients:
  • Moong dal-3/4th cup
  • Rice flour-1 cup(or more)
  • Sesame seeds-2tsp
  • Carrom seeds(ajwain)
  • Red chilli powder-1tsp
  • Ghee-2tbsp
  • Salt-to taste
Boil the moong dal with water in a presuure cooker until just cooked.
Drain in a colander.Transfer dal into a dish and mash it with a spoon until a smooth paste.
While the mashed dal is still warm,add the remaining ingredients to form a smooth dough.(a little softer than the dough for chapathis).Add a little warm water if it gets too hard.
Now,fill the dough into a chakli press or a piping bag and press the twirls into hot oil on medium heat.
Press the chaliks of desired shapes on to a greased plastic sheet first and then gently transfer it into the oil if you find trouble pressing them directly into the oil.
Fry a small batch first.If the chaklis soak up too much oil or break,add some more rice flour.If they turn out to be too hard,then add some warm water.Each brand of rice flour acts differently.So,make sure you fry a small batch and make adjustments if needed.
Enjoy these mouth watering twirls with a hot cup of Tea.


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