Plan ke Mutabik

The Himalayas have managed to find a permanent place in my heart and mind in the last two years. I have done two treks in the Garhwal Himalayas - The Valley of Flowers trek in July 2010 and Roopkund in September this year. These Himalayan odysseys have ensured that Uttarakhand and it's hills always remain at the back of my mind and that I return periodically. Even when a trek is not possible and I have only a few days to spare on a trip up north, I always try to fit Rishikesh and some nearby Shiva temple in the itinerary.

While the landscape, trekking opportunities and the associated folklore of Garhwal and Kumaon are unmatched, the same cannot be said about the food of the region. While I have never been disappointed with what I have eaten here - the dhabas are as good as anywhere else - the food tends to be the very simple and home-cooked type. Specialities that draw you to other parts of the country - like the Lucknowi kebabs or the Rajasthani Laal Maas - are not to be found here. Or at least I am yet to find one. No wonder then that the state of Uttarakhand has not been featured on this blog so far, despite my repeated visits/sojourns/excursions.

This year's trek to Roopkund was no exception. While the cook on the trek did an excellent job - he even made gulab jamuns in a trekkers hut at at altitude of almost 4000m!! - there was no food experience I could really blog about. There was one sight however, that set my mind racing and led to the 'plan' in the title. It's a peculiar one, I must admit and I don't know if anyone has ever thought of it or done it before. But if I manage to pull it off, it will be quite a coup.

Of the many and varied picture-perfect sights that the Himalayas have to offer, the Bugyal is one of particular touristic interest. Bugyals are vast alpine meadows located at altitudes greater than 3000 meters in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, where they are more commonly known as 'Thatch'. Bugyals are popular as camping sites during treks, but some are so picturesque that they end up being trekking destinations in themselves.

There are two such Bugyals on the Roopkund trekking route - the more picturesque Ali Bugyal and the more culturally significant Bedni Bugyal. Apart from being camping sites, they are also important pastures and are used for grazing sheep and cattle by the local shepherds. While passing through these meadows, you are sure to come across large flocks of sheep guarded by shepherd dogs. And this is where the idea hit me!

While I have been eating mutton since childhood at home and in restaurants and have also written about it on this blog, how much of it has been organic? The meat we eat in the city, probably comes from an animal raised in filthy conditions in some tiny enclosure it shares with tens of its kind. What they feed it you probably don't wanna know! Now compare that to the sheep grazing here in Ali/Bedni Bugyal. They lead far happier lives in a pollution-free part of the world, eat what is probably the best grass there is to find in unbelievably beautiful high-altitude meadows. Can you imagine what their meat will taste like? Maybe this picture will add weight to what I'm saying.

You know what? have a closer look!!

Now that I have made my point loud and clear, here's the plan. The shepherds take their flocks grazing in the meadows during the May to September season and spend the rest of the year in the villages at lower altitudes. So here is what we do.

Find a shepherd in Lohajang (base for the Roopkund trek) and strike a deal to buy one of his sheep.
Find a butcher to slaughter the sheep and do the gutting and initial preparation.
Book a suitable cottage in Almora with working kitchen and supplies.
Get the meat back from Lohajang and start cooking!! Kebabs, Raan, Mutton curry, Bheja Masala, Kaleji fry, Biryani...the works!! Even with a small sheep and a large group, it's three to four days of fabulous eating.

Sounds like a plan doesn't it? So, who's in?

Arigato Gozaimasu!!

Japanese restaurants in India rarely go beyond the usual Sushi and the Teppanyaki counter.The few that do cost a bomb. This did not bother me much, till exposure to travel television brought with it greater knowledge of Japanese cuisine. The Yatai stalls of Fukuoka grilling Yakitori skewers, the Ramen alley of Sapporo, and the precision of Soba cooks jumped out of the telly and went straight for my belly. Needless to say, Japanese cuisine was the next object of my wasteful use of high-speed internet at the workplace.

One aspect of the Japanese food scene that particularly caught my attention was the Izakaya. These are places where the Japanese get together for after-work drinks and they also serve some great food, mostly grilled stuff like Yakitori and Gyoza. A google search on the word 'Izakaya' threw up a surprise result. A Japanese restaurant in Delhi apparently went by the name. The website was still under construction, so on it was to 'burrp' and 'zomato'. The reviews were great and the place seemed authentic enough without being a rip-off a la Wasabi.

Trips to Delhi keep happening for some reason or the other - weddings, stopovers on trips to the north or just to eat (yes, that too has happened). Well, there are no prizes for guessing what I went to Delhi for in the last week of October 2011. And no, it wasn't the first Indian Grand Prix. It was the other thing, and that's all there is to say about that. Anyway, the day after the 'fiasco', it was time to salvage the trip with some (hopefully) great Japanese food. That plan almost got canned, thanks to an unusually long time spent at a spa (not me) and getting lost (twice) on the way to Vasant Kunj (again, not me).

3.30 pm is usually past closing time for most restaurants, but Izakaya was cool enough to make an exception for us. For that and the 'Irasshaimase' that greeted us at the entrance, I was already liking the place. The red and black interiors have a part-tradtional Japanese and part-conventional seating and the well stocked bar is also quite visible. I generally don't like restaurants in malls and thankfully, the decor at Izakaya does its best to take the being-in-a-mall feeling away.

Yakitori is what I wanted to start with and unlike other places which just served grilled chicken cubes dipped in tare sauce, at Izakaya there is variety. We went for Yakitori Hatsu, which is chicken heart yakitori. Liver, skin, chicken leg and chicken meatball were the other types. The pieces were tiny but the grilling and tare marination was perfect. And to top it, the waiter got a spice mix to season the Yakitori. As if the tare sauce wasn't enough.

Sushi came next and here too, Izakaya comes out all guns blazing. Maguro (Tuna), Tempura and Sake (Salmon) are the common varieties of Maki Sushi available at most Japanese restaurants. Izakaya offers more choice and we went for the Unagi (Eel) Maki. Nigiri Sushi was not on the menu, but on asking, the waiter said it could be prepared on request. We were mighty pleased with the Maki and so we got ourselves some Salmon Nigiri. Neat job with both the Maki and the Nigiri and it's worth a mention that the waiter was of great help in explaining the mixing of the wasabi and the soy sauce for taste to us novices.

To wrap up the meal we ordered Yaki Gyoza (fried meat dumplings) and Yaki Udon (stir fried wheat noodles).While the Yakitori and the Sushi were the stars of the meal, Izakaya managed to not disappoint with what came after.What deserves a special mention is the service at Izakaya. Ambience and service are two things I don't give much thought to, in my mind they're mostly hygiene factors. But the waiter at Izakaya has to get a 10/10 for his troubles during our time there. Not only was he prompt with suggestions from the menu and off it, he also helped out with seasonings and side dishes we were totally unfamiliar with.

Kudos to Izakaya for raising the bar as far as Japanese cuisine in India is concerned. Several new places have opened since then and how long it takes to top this one remains to be seen!

The website still doesn't say much but here it is: http://www.izakayaindia.com/
For menu (incomplete) ratings and reviews: http://www.zomato.com/ncr/restaurants/south-delhi/vasant-kunj/izakaya-2885