Rendezvous at Gloria Jeans

Gloria Jeans, famous for it's coffee and breakfast, has now opened up a branch in Dolmen Mall, Clifton. A bloggers meet-up before it's official launch was organized by Food Connection Pakistan.The place offers a comfortable ambiance, a beautiful view of the Arabian Sea, and delicious food. Azfer Asharay, Business Director at Gloria Jeans Coffee, a foodie like many other cafe owners, says "Gloria Jeans here (Karachi) has done phenomenally well, with great results from all the coffee lovers". Azfer also said that "it was the view which was perfect for a lounge I wanted to create as Gloria Jeans, a comfortable place with outdoor dining and the view of the sea."

As grand as the place looked, I expected the food to be as good. Even though I am not a great fan of beef, but I tried the fillet mignon, which was moist and cooked just right, served with a perfect pepper sauce. The Chicken Piquant was a bit too sweet for my taste-buds, but it was well cooked and had an excellent smoky flavor to it -- succulent and juicy. The Beef Burgers, were average, the burger buns being a bit dry (maybe because the time taken to photograph the dishes made it cold) and not to forget the yummylicious baked Potato Skins with cheese and sour cream -- mouthwatering! I loved the concept of the menu, in the form of  a newspaper. I liked the fact that Gloria Jeans had a couple of bookshelves filled with amazing books, something very attractive for a bibliophile like me. The coffee, Cappuccino was amazing -- coffee and books, the two things which would definitely make me return. Hoping Gloria Jeans does well and serves scrumptious food as good as their coffees.

For coffee and dessert, minimum amount required would be Rs.500. For breakfast/lunch/dinner, minimum would be Rs.600-800 (of course, depending on what you order).

Quality of food: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Value for money: 8/10



Have you been to Gloria Jeans Coffee? How was your experience? Feedback is always welcome! Let us know by commenting below! :) The Crazy Chef now does restaurant reviews. If you want your food/restaurant/cafe/new menu reviewed or blogged, please contact me at tennythecrazychef@gmail.com or drop me a post on my facebook page.

Baked Nacho Salad

Ingredients:

Nachos (Doritos), 3 cups

Butter, 1 tbsp

Mushrooms, chopped, 1/2 cup

Capsicum, chopped, 1/2 cup

Olives, chopped, 1/2 cup

Red beans, (baked or boiled), 1/2 cup

Corn, (boiled/canned) 1/2 cup

Tomatoes, chopped, 1/2 cup

Mozzarella cheese, shredded, 1 cup

For Salsa:

Tomatoes, 2 chopped

Green chilies, small, 3-5 chopped

Coriander, chopped, 1 tbsp

Juice of one lemon

Red chili flakes, 1/2 tsp

Salt and pepper, to taste.

Method:

For salsa, chop two medium size, red tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. 1/2 tsp of red chili flakes, juice of one lemon, a tsp of chopped green chilies and a a tbsp of coriander. Mix well. Keep aside.

Heat a frying pan, add butter, let it melt then add mushrooms, capsicum, olives, red beans, corn and tomatoes and stir fry for two minutes on high flame. Keep aside. Take an oven proof glass dish (you could use the dish you use for making lasagna) and spread nachos on it. Now top it with the stir-fried mix of veggies, a cup of salsa and top it off with mozzarella cheese. Now bake it in a pre-heated oven, 200 C, and bake it till the cheese melts or if you want it to be brown, then bake it till brown. Take it out, and keep it aside for five minutes. Serve warm! :D

Chicken Boneless Malai Handi

(For more photos, click here.)

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken, cubed, 500 gms
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 tbsp
Onion, 1, medium sized
Tomatoes, 3, medium sized
Yogurt, 4 tbsp
Fenugreek leaves, dried, 1 1/2 tbsp (kasuri methi)
Cream, 100 gm
Black pepper, 3/4 tsp
Garam Masala, 1/2 tsp
Green chilies, 5-7
Red chili powder, 1 tsp
Red chili flakes, 1/2 tsp
Salt, to taste or 3/4 tsp
Chinese salt, 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds, 1 tbsp
Oil

Method:

Slice the onion and the tomatoes. Now heat oil in a pot and fry them till well mixed and the mixture leaves oil. Now blend the entire mixture with green chilies. Keep aside.
In the same pot, fry ginger-garlic paste and chicken for ten minutes. Now add the blended mixture, 1/4th cup water and the spices (red chili powder, red chili flakes, Chinese salt, salt, and cumin seeds).
Cook for two minutes and now add the fenugreek leaves and yogurt and cook for three more minutes. Right in the ends, two minutes before serving add the garam masala, black pepper and cream in the handi. Garnish with green chilies and coriander. Serve with naan!

*To get the distinct flavor, I cooked all of it in a clay pot. It can be cooked in a steel/aluminum pot as well, but the typical 'handi' flavor might be lacking.

Stuffed Chargha

(For more photos, click here.)

Ingredients:

Chicken, one whole, giblets removed
Yogurt, 250 gms
Salt, 2 tsp
Chinese salt, 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder, 1 tsp
Cumin seeds, 2 tsp
Chaat masala, 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 tbsp
Black pepper, 1/2 tsp
Garam masala, 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder, 1/2 tsp
Potato, 1 small, chopped into small cubes
Peas, a handful
Carrot, chopped, 1 cup
Capsicum, chopped, 1/2 cup
Spring onions, chopped, 1/2 cup
Corn, 1/2 cup
Juice of two lemons
Oil
Rice, 4 cups, washed and soaked
Water/chicken stock

Method:

Clean the chicken well and pat dry; score it with a knife. Now apply lemon juice all over the chicken, inside out. Keep aside.
In a bowl, mix all the spices, ginger-garlic paste together with yogurt and apply the marinade on the chicken leaving a few tablespoons behind. In the remainder marinade, add the chopped potato, 1/2 cup carrots, peas, and corn. Mix well, stuff the chicken with the veggies and tie the chicken's legs. Let it marinate for about an hour or two.

Now take a big pot, and heat about a cup of oil. Then place the chicken in the center and lower the flame to simmer. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 30-40 minutes or till the chicken is cooked through (do not turn sides as the stuffing might spill out). Now carefully take it out and keep aside in a warm place (or if you want it to have a golden color on the outside, brush it with oil and bake for five minutes till it gets a nice brown color). Now thicken the gravy left over in the pot you cooked the chicken in. Take it out and keep aside. In the same pot, heat some oil again and stir fry capsicum, left over carrot, and spring onions. Now add the rice, and add 6 cups of water or chicken stock. Make sure it's seasoned well, you might want to taste it for salt. If you want you can also add half of the gravy of the chicken to give a special flavor to the rice. Now cover the pot tightly with a lid and let the rice cook on low heat for  about 10-15 minutes; stir occasionally and turn off the heat once the rice has been cooked.

Now take a platter, or a dish, and fill it with rice, leaving the center empty. Now place the Stuffed Chargha in the middle, garnish with coriander and serve warm with it's gravy!

*The chicken will not burn from one side as long as you make sure the flame is very very low. You will cover it with a tight lid for a straight 30 minutes (do not open the lid). If you think the chicken is burning, you might add a cup of water. I cooked it the exact same way.

Chicken Tikka Pizza

(For more photos, click here.)

Ingredients:

For the pizza dough:

Flour, 2 cups
Instant yeast, 2 tbsp
Powdered milk, 1 tbsp
Salt and sugar, one pinch each
Oil 2 tbsp
Water, for kneading.

For the pizza sauce:

Tomatoes, 4
Garlic, 4 cloves
Dried oregano, 1/2 tsp
Salt, 1/2 tsp
Dried thyme, 1/2 tsp
Red chili flakes, 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder, 1/2 tsp
Oil

Toppings:

Chicken Tikka Chunks
Olives, 2 tbsp, sliced
Onion, 1, chopped finely
Capsicum, 1 small, julienne
Mushrooms, 2 tbsp, sliced
Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup, shredded
Mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup, shredded

Method:

Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil and water and knead for about 5-6 minutes or till the dough is smooth and stretchy. Keep aside in a greased bowl for an hour or two, in a warm place till the dough rises to twice it's size. Punch the dough and let the air out, divide into two and spread each ball of dough into a pizza tray, evenly. Keep the trays again in a warm place to let the dough rise, for about 30-40 minutes.

Make the sauce by blending tomatoes, garlic and the spices. Now heat oil in a pan, and let it simmer on low heat till the sauce leaves oil.

Now assemble the pizzas. Pour the sauce on the dough, then sprinkle a little cheese. Add your desired toppings and sprinkle cheese again. Repeat same with the second pizza. Now bake in a pre-heated oven, 180-200 C, for about ten minutes or till the base of the pizza is golden brown.

*You can use the frozen chicken tikka chunks available, or make them yourself by marinating chicken pieces in a commercially produced Tikka mix for 30 minutes then frying them.