Secret Recipe Bangladesh

Been ages since I indulged in a chocolate cake that had densely rich chocolate with soft sponge. Ever since Belagio shut down, I missed their amazingly rich chocolate cake, that was chocolaty without being too sweet. The Chocolate Indulgence came very close to it. The sponge was slightly dry, because of the absence of sugar syrup, but the chocolate layers were just sublime. This is literally a chocolate indulgence. The thin layer of cheese is masked by the strength of milk chocolate though.

Cooking Oil! Which one is the healthiest for cooking?

Now not too long ago I saw a chef posting with a bottle of oil calling it to be healthiest oil on Facebook (No! Not the one in the photo here). He was probably saying that because he was getting paid for it. 

However, do these chefs really know if the oils they vouch for are really healthy? Do the chefs here in this part of the world particularly know how to pick an oil for the preparation? Are the commercial ads on healthy oils really giving the correct message? Well, the labels could be misleading and may not have clear suggestive guides either.

If you thought extra virgin olive oil is the only healthiest out there, you couldn’t have been more wrong!

As it appears, cooking oil should be picked based on its smoke point and the ratio of fatty acids.

Smoke point of oil is the temperature at which the oil burns and chemically breaks down in heat, releasing dangerous free radicals. What are free radicals? These are chemicals you do not want inside your body because they destroy cells and cause aging.

The smoke point of cooking oils varies widely. In general, the more refined oil, the higher its smoke point, because refining removes impurities and free fatty acids that can cause the oil to smoke. The smoke point of the oil, therefore, depends on the levels of free fatty acids in it. Free fatty acids are dangerous for the circulation and can lead to heart diseases and in some cases insulin resistance (diabetes) too. Free fatty acids are a bigger culprit than dietary cholesterol for heart diseases. The lower the content of free fatty acids, the higher is the smoke point of the oil. Oil with high very high smoke point is the best for cooking on high heat. The saying that extra virgin olive oil burns quickly is a myth and you can use it to cook on high heat produced by domestic stoves. Sunflower oil has even a higher smoke point and stability. 

Safflower oil: Smoke point: 450-500 degrees F. Use for searing, deep-frying, pan-frying, sautéeing, roasting, grilling, baking and salad dressings (mild flavour). An excellent source of vitamin E (one tablespoon supplies 30 per cent of a day’s requirement).

Sunflower oil: Smoke point: 400-450 degrees F (refined). Use for deep-frying, pan-frying, sautéing, roasting, grilling, baking and salad dressings (mild flavour). High in vitamin E, delivering 5.6 mg per tablespoon.

Extra virgin olive oil: Smoke point: 350-410 degrees F. Use for sautéeing and frying over medium-high heat, and salad dressings. A good source of vitamin E and antioxidants called polyphenols.

Coconut oil: Smoke point: 350 degrees F. Use for sautéeing and baking. It’s high in saturated fat (86 per cent). The saturated fat in coconut oil raises LDL (bad) blood cholesterol.

By Vesanto Melina, MS, RD www.nutrispeak.com

Standard Cooking Temperatures at homes:

Pan frying (sauté) on stove top heat: 120 °C (248 °F)

Deep frying: 160 - 180 °C (320 °F - 356 °F)

Oven baking: Average of 180 °C (356 °F)

However, it seems like smoke point alone cannot decide for all types of oils. Butter has high smoke point and stability too, but you cannot use them in salad dressings for a healthy diet.

For low temperature cooking, or adding to dishes and salad dressings, choose oils with a higher Omega-3 fatty acids since they promote healthy cells and decrease stroke and heart attack risk.  They are also known for their anti-inflammatory action.  Although you need Omega-6 fatty acids to maintain cell wall integrity and provide energy for the heart, too much Omega-6 fatty acids can increase inflammation in the body.  Also, cooking oils high in Omega 9 is a good way to go. Omega-9 fatty acids are considered to be "conditionally essential," which means that although your body produces them, they aren't produced in meaningful quantities. Consuming omega-9 fatty acids such as oleic acid lowers the risk of heart attacks, arteriosclerosis, and aids in cancer prevention.

So next time you are out there to get oil from the store, you could think about the points mentioned to pick the right oil for taste and health.

Paan Kulfi at The Great Kebab Factory

Amazing Paan Kulfi. It has the creamy cardamon character of a kulfi with a refreshing twist of betel leaf. A wonderful delight after a meal to cool things down inside in a tasty way. And the only place in Dhaka that serves this is The Great Kebab Factory.

Manakish

There is a new dish in the city. And it is called 'Manakish'!

 Manakish is a fragrant bread based dish, that is generously topped with herbs. The moment it pops out of the oven being baked, makes its presence felt with the aroma that just makes one tempted to dig in. 
The only place in the city that serves Manakish right now is the Yellow Flames in Metro Kitchens.

Ramen at Peking Kitchen from Metro Kitchens Food Court

Chicken Ramen from Peking Kitchen at Metro Kitchen, Abdus Sobhan Dhali Bari.

This is a Ramen that gives wrong impression of the actual dish. Unmatched by what is displayed in the photo, this dish lacks all the essence of ramen, and would correctly be just a noodle soup. Quite disappointing for a Tk270 worth dish that is called Chicken Ramen, but has sparingly added pop chicken sized pieces, which were peppered, crumbed and fried before making it to the ramen.

CiGusta Bangladesh

CiGusta Bangladesh is another Pizza franchise. They originate in Italy.

Their pizzas are quite different from any other pizza in the city, and what makes them different is the sauce. The sauce has the tartness of the tomatoes and quite garlicy, while there is very little note of herbs used. You can see those herbs, but the sharpness of the tomatoes and overpowering garlic masked their flavour. This is very much an Italian style sauce except that it lacks the felt presence of oregano and basil. What I got to know is that they modified the original recipe here believing they have made it tastier, but I kind of doubt that.

The base was just perfect. It was thin and authentically Italian. It is a little crunchy without becoming a biscuity base like another Italian restaurant here that serves wood oven pizzas. It tastes much like a salted cracker and forms a good balance with the generous topping of the cheese.
However, this pizza which is called the Meat Supreme probably is full of tasty chicken chunks, but very few pepperonis, which are tucked under the cheese here. 



The strawberry gelato was strongly sour and sweet, but in a good way. However, the texture disappoints me. It could also have been because I was served in the last hour of service. So they probably started freezing the gelatos by then to store them for the next day. This gelato in my cup was stiff instead of being smooth. 

If you love chocolate, the dark and milk chocolate gelatos are truly amazing here.

It might seem like a good place to hangout, but the light intensity on the table and the wavelengths make it quite uncomfortable to sit, and the greenish stint does no good. Otherwise, the servers were very humble and gracious.

Puran Dhaka Lalbagh

This is at Royal Restaurant in Lalbagh. There is half grilled chicken kebab, chicken hariyali kebab and the drink everyone talks about here, the PISTA BADAM ER SHERBET.
The hariyali kebab was smoky, and mild in terms of being spicy. It was wonderfully tender and nicely complemented the butter naan. However, this isn't the best chicken hariyali I had in the city, because it is a little dry. Yet the hariyali was very pleasing to the palates and stomach.
The grilled kebab was definitely put on coal for a couple of minutes and you can tell that once you dig into it. The smoky flavour is mild, and to be fair, this was not that great a kebab here. Apart from the smoky taste, there was nothing to tell about it.
The PISTA BADAM ER SHERBET certainly is the hero in this place. The chilled fragrant thick milky drink is very delightful as it courses down. You can detect the aroma of rose, and as you sip through, the milk coats your palates and soothes everything in. This is a drink for the Royals, and if you want to feel royal, this is a drink to surely make you feel that way.
Royal these days has become over-hyped. They are not that great, but not bad in my books either. If I am in Lalbagh Urdu Road, probably this is the place I will keep going to for meals, but not make an effort to travel that far for grilled chicken and hariyali kebab when I know places who serve them better.