BM Review: Mandi

Last Friday, I visited this new vegetarian restaurant called Mandi (which is the Hindi word for market) in JP Nagar. The restaurant is quite impressive in terms of it's appearance, decor and all. The colours of the restaurant's interiors are positively bright, while the furniture contrasts the bright with darker shades. The full review can be read here.

Unfortunately, there are no photos of this review. The reason is quite interesting. The owner had mailed me asking me to visit the restaurant. He'd also visited my blog, and so he knew I reviewed restaurants, and had seen my snap. Of course, I had to review anonymously, so I had to take all precautions. I couldn't afford plastic surgery, and didn't fancy wearing a mask, so all I could do was avoid taking pictures to make sure nobody suspected anything.

I started with a spicy lentil shorba, and true to its name, it did have a kick to it. The rest of the starters were pretty spicy as well, although not in a very pleasant way. The paneer was a little hard, but I thought it tasted good, rustic with the typical flavours of a tandoori dish. The seekh kabab was a little too spicy, and so we weren't able to quite taste the flavours of the vegetables in the kabab. As for the tandori gobi, I thought it was ok, but my guests felt there was too much ghee happening in the dish.

For the mains, there was a veg biryani that we ordered. Again, more or less good, but there seemed to be quite a bit of ghee added to it, masking the flavours of the biryani. The roti basket was used to scoop up a few side dishes, most notable being the kofta Nargisi do pyaaza, a delectable mix of tomato and spinach gravies with kofta. The tawa paneer was again a little on the harder side, and was OK. The kaju masala was a wicked dish, simply kick-ass. And for a cashew fiend like me, it was pure delight.

Dessert was a mixed affair. The ghee jalebis were good, and although they weren't dripping in syrup, still felt good. The malpua-rabri was a big disappointment - firstly the malpua came covered with the rabri, completely eliminating the possibility of getting the malpua's taste, but also the malpua didn't taste good either (the owner has told me that the dish itself may be off the menu as they'd been meaning to take that combo off for a bit). The stuffed gulab jamun needn't more syrup, plain and simple.

Food: Few niggles, but good overall
$$$: Not too expensive, around 2000 for 5 people.
Service: Good
Verdict: Can visit if in the area.

Mandi, #949, 2nd Floor, Above Vivek’s Showroom, Next to Food World, 24th Main, JP Nagar 2nd Phase, Bangalore. Phone – 26581432

BM Review: Cholayil Sanjeevanam

Cholayil Sanjeevanam, a veg 'health' restaurant, the first of its kind in the city, opened it's doors in Bangalore. The Cholayil group is a large family that's given us the Medimix soap and a host of Ayurvedic products. The review can be read here.

My guests were a colleague of mine from work, as well as P and his parents (P's parents and my colleague were the official guests). We first went to dinner (which is when I learnt that the Rajakeeyam meals are served only for lunch). So we first had dinner (no pictures of that), and I came the next day and had lunch, which I must admit, althouh simple, was quite refreshing.

The dishes of the Rajakeeyam meals are to be had in a specific order, starting with slices of plantain with a sprinkling of grated coconut. This is followed by 5 juices - date juice, nut milk, veg clear soup, harita buttermilk, and bran rice water - to be had in that particular order itself. This is then followed by four raw veg dishes, then four semi-cooked veg dishes, and then four cooked veg dishes. The carbohydrates follow, with brown and white rice, along with avial, sambhar, rasam, murkuzhambu, and is finally wound up with buttermilk and payasa. Finally, a spoonful of honey is offered as the final ingredient to aid in the digestion process.

The apertifs

Raw vegetables

Semi-cooked vegetables

Cooked vegetables with brown rice

The card showing the order in which the dishes are to be consumed

The finishing touches to the meal

Food: Nice concept, simple and tasty.
$$$: Cheap. Rs 200 per person.
Service: Not very evident for a buffet, although the staff will answer your queries about the food.
Verdict: Worth a visit if you want to enjoy unlimited veg food according to the principles of naturopathy.
Extra info: The signature meal, Rajakeeyam meals, is only during lunch, and is a buffet. Dinner is also buffet, with a different spread.

Cholayil Sanjeevanam, #50, 100 Feet Road, Opp. Kendriya Sadana, Koramangala 2nd Block, Bangalore. Phone: 25631962