Breakfast at the Square - The Menu Review

The Square brings you a refreshingly new Rise and Shine menu. The menu has options from waffles to eggs of your choice and some neat muffins, not to mention, the Square specialty – the Single brewed coffee.

Single Brewed coffee is traceable to the area the coffee bean is grown and picked up from. Thus characterizing the coffee bean to a sensory experience. The Square estate hosts 7 such single malts of coffee from around the globe (Priced at INR167 + local taxes extra).

The quintessential Rise and Shine menu is designed to have your day power packed with all the goodness and spreads from the world (Priced at INR139 - INR 219 plus local taxes). We (my husband, son and myself) were promptly greeted by Mr. Ramachander Raman, head of Food and Beverages CCD. Mr.Raman graciously  took us through the menu, as well suggested at what we should have, along with the coffee to compliment. I promptly ordered the 'Wealth in Health' which is an egg white cooked to my choice, served with a bowl of fresh fruits and a choice of flavored yogurt and a cup coffee. My coffee to go was the Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold, indeed a wakeup Java served with a curlicue of whipped cream on chocolate chip cookie as a dainty accompaniment. We also had a try at  the Spicy potatoes, a dish which is saucy and spiced not leaving you sweltering, but spiced to a palatable perfection.

My son and husband had the 'Good Morning America - which is a choice of eggs and potatoes, a side of sausages and a coffee to go. My son and husband polished their plates clean - leaving my mind to decipher their contentedness?!!

Mr. Raman then showed me around the Square and what the Square has is this rather stylishly set conference room called the 'Huddle Room'.  Available for business meetings, interviews or even a brain storming session open to all with prior bookings, and endless cups of coffee and snacks whilst the meetings are in progress.

The Tariffs: 1 hour -  INR999 plus taxes.

The INR2499 plan offers the room for 3hrs with 9 Cappuccinos and cookies along with 9 Internet cards (each card is limited to 60minutes of internet browsing).

Want to share your experience of the Square by gifting a CCD merchandise to a friend or someone special? 'Cafe Exclusiva' has it all from Coffee Powders, to exquisite mugs, Coffee Filters and much more.

My Verdict: You would want to go to this Mecca of Coffee for a conversation that never ended, a catch up with your friends, or I'd go there for a good solitary time of coffee and a good book in hand. The Breakfast menu is worth it, if your not calorie counting and wouldn't mind being indulgent for a meal. Our meals were pleasantly nice, I would prefer more seasoning but hey I'm not complaining.

The Square - Vittal Malya Road, Diagonally Opp to UB City.

Tel: 080- 40012101

Working hours - 8:30am to 11:30pm (breakfast menu available on weekdays from 8am to 12pm, weekends - 8am -2pm)

Car Park Available

Spicy Potatoes

The Huddle Room - Conference Room

Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold

Beef Ball Curry in Coconut Milk

You could have this served hot with rice, chapathy or any variety of bread. It's rather different from the usual kerala dish one is used to eating. An ingredient list which I find long has a rather shorter method of cooking. So don't get panicked on seeing the ingredient list, and not have a go at this meaty dish.

Recipe Courtesy: From the book 'Sadya' by Remani
Ingredients:
Chilly Powder - 1tsp
Coriander Powder - 3tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp
Anise seeds - 1tsp
Cumin seed powder - 1/2tsp
Cloves - 6
Cinnamon sticks - 2
Cardamom pods - 4
Garlic paste or grated garlic - 1/4tsp

For the beef masala balls:
Minced beef - 375gms
Onion - 1tbsp finely minced
Ginger - 1/4tsp finely minced
Green chiilli - 1/4tsp finely chopped
Salt to tatse

To temper and saute
Mustard seeds - 1/2tsp
Curry leaves - two whole sprigs
Onion - 1cup finely sliced
Sliced ginger - 2tsp
Green chilies - 2 finely chopped
Coconut Milk - 3cups thin and 1cup thick
Vinegar - 1tsp
Salt to taste

Finely powder all the masala ingredients except the garlic paste and water in a dry grinder. Then mix with garlic paste and water. Take two teaspoons of masala and mix with beef onion, ginger, chilly and salt and form 12 beef balls.
Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds and fry the curry leaves. Saute the onion, ginger and the chillies till soft. Reduce the flame and fry the remaining masla unto the oil starts to separate. Pour the thin coconut milk into the pan along with the vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil and immerse the beef balls in it. Cover and simmer for 25minutes. Finally add the thick coconut milk and stir until heated through. Serve hot.

Mutton Cutlet

A mutton cutlet from Indian Coffee House with your choice of eggs is a must-try dish. It simply compliments your eggs, or rather goes with simple buttered toast and a strong cup of freshly brewed Kaapi. Mine is no attempt of the restaurant version, but my thoughts are rested at Indian Coffee House for the moment...

Ingredients:
Mutton (you could use beef mince too) - 1/2kg
Pepper - 1/2tsp
Salt - to taste
Potatoes - 1/4kg
Big Onion - 1, finely chopped
Green Chillies - 4, finely chopped
Minced Ginger - 1tsp
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1
Cardamom - 1
Aniseeds - 1tsp
Poppy seeds - 1tsp
Garlic - 8
Egg - 1
Bread crumbs - 1cup
Oil - 1cup

Cook the meat pieces with salt and pepper and then mince. Pressure cook the potatoes. Peel and mash them well. Grind all the ingredients from cloves to garlic into a smooth paste. In a frying pan, heat 2tbs oil and saute the onion, chillies and ginger. Add the ground paste and fry till the oil separates from the spices. Switch off the flame, then add the minced meat and mashed potatoes. Knead this into a smooth dough and shape into cutlets. Beat the egg. Dip each cutlet in the egg and roll over breadcrumbs. Deep frying hot oil until golden brown.

Lemon Pound Cake

It had been long since a cake had been baked, and since it was long overdue this truly divine delicacy with hints of lime pleasantly satiated our tea time today. A tight crumb indeed as promised by Rose, following the traditional path of cake making.

Perfect Pound Cake Recipe
[Recipe courtesy: The Cake Bible]

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Milk
3 large Eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups sifted cake flour (150gm) -  recipe for cake flour below
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
13 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (184 gms)
Zest of a lemon - 1tbs
Lemon Juice - 2tbs

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Butter an 8 inch by 4 by 2.5 inch loaf pan, or any six cup loaf or fluted tube pan. Lightly whisk together milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl.  Using your fingertips, mix together the zest of the lemon and sugar till fragrant. Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, until blended. Add the butter and half the egg mixture, and mix until dry ingredients are moistened. On medium speed, beat for one minute. This will aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down sides. Add the lemon juice. Add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds between each addition. Scrape down sides. Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth surface with a spatula. Bake for 35-45 minutes if baking in a fluted tube pan, until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minuets before inverting onto a greased wire rack. If using a loaf pan, flip the cake over so the top is up.

For making cake flour at home - Take 1 cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 tbsp from it. Replace the 2 tbsp flour with custard powder/ cornflour and sift together 2-3 times. Your Cake flour is ready to be used.

Amma's Mango Chutney

Mum has arrived on holidays and is here with me, so I'm enjoying every bit if her as long as stays. It's awesome to have her stay, because she is in charge of the kitchen, and then people in the house can now ratify themselves with her cooking, than give their valuable opinions on mine. So while she is here, she taught me a mango chutney, slightly different from the regular I know. It goes well with a biriyani.

Ingredients:
Grated coconut - 1/2cup, generous
Raw green mango - 1 medium sized
Dry red chillies - 3
Curry leaves - 1 stalk
Onion - 1 medium, finely sliced
Salt to taste

Heat a pan over low fire. Add the coconut, curry leaves, dry red chillies, onion, salt and continuously stirring, simply roast till the coconut turns evenly brown. Once the coconut is browned evenly, into a food processor, add the mango and pulse till the mango is well chopped. Then add the coconut and blitz till the mango and coconut are well combined. Do not add water to the chutney. Scrape the sides of the bowl timely to well incorporate the ingredients. And there you have it, a chutney ready, to be served with rice or biriyani.