Hot and spicy! I guess that’s the number one trademark of Indian cuisine. And most of us will imagine a lot of chillies, a lot of herbs and spices. Well I guess I can’t blame anybody to think that way because we are very familiar to the fact that Indian cuisine is really different from the usual one that we know. To understand more, let us dig some facts about it.
Indian cuisine encompasses a wide variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the range of diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary significantly from each other and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Indian food is also heavily influenced by religious and cultural choices and traditions. Also, Middle Eastern and Central Asian influences have occurred on North Indian cuisine from the years of Mughal rule. Indian cuisine is still evolving, as a result of the nation’s cultural interactions with other societies. Historical incidents such as foreign invasions, trade relations, and colonialism have played a role in introducing certain foods to the country. For instance, the potato, a staple of the diet in some regions of India, was brought to India by the Portuguese, who also introduced chillies and breadfruit. Indian cuisine has shaped the history of international relations; the spice trade between India and Europe was the primary catalyst for Europe’s Age of Discovery. Spices were bought from India and traded around Europe and Asia. Indian cuisine has influenced other cuisines across the world, especially those from the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, the British Isles, Fiji, and the Caribbean. <source: Wikipedia>
So that’s a historical view of how Indians embraced their herbs and spices with so much love that they were able influence a lot of countries across the world. Since food is a basic need a lot of people are really doing their way to serve good food for the stomach. A food that will make you say heaven and imagine universe. A good food that will fuel your hunger so you are always on the go. There are so many excellent restaurant chef in the world that really struggled hard as well to reach fame and be known for their talent in cooking and one of them is restaurant owner and chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
Sanjeev Kapoor is an Indian celebrity chef, entrepreneur writer and television personality. Kapoor stars in the TV show Khana Khazana, which is the longest running show of its kind in Asia; it broadcasts in 120 countries and in 2010 had more than 500 million viewers. He also launched his own Food Food channel, in January 2011. Discovery Communications through its Indian organization, has acquired a majority stake in Kapoor’s channel. He was also a contestant on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. <source: Wikipedia>
Sanjeev Kapoor owns the food chain The Yellow Chilli which started to make its name in the major cities of India and today, Sanjeev invaded United Arab Emirates and finally introduced his signature dishes. The restaurant is very cozy, very modernly Indian type and the staff are very helpful and friendly. If you are looking for something you never tried like this Indian food, I am going to tell you now that you should visit this place and try something different and out of the ordinary.
The Yellow Chilli will offer you a wide variety of Indian dishes that are good. You can request the waiters to tell the chef to make your order less spicy if you are not that good in tolerating the heat and spice of Indian cuisine. The menu will entice you with curries, biryanis, bread, salad and more. This might not be a familiar one to you if you never heard of it in any way but this place is worth the visit and try.
There are chains of The Yellow Chilli in different emirates of UAE namely Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaima and Dubai. The one I will suggest to you now is the one I always visit which is the chain in Burjuman Centre Mall and I am going to tell you how to get there.
- If you have a private or rental car, all you need to do is get your phone, use your google maps or waze application and type on your search engine, Burjuman Centre and you are good to go. I prefer to use waze more than google maps because it is more accurate for some reasons.
- If you want to use a cab, just tell the driver you want to go to Burjuman Centre. Most cab drivers know this place so it is not a problem.
- If you are going to use the train, hop off in Burjuman Metro Station and take the exit that is near to UAE exchange and when you go out from the metro, you will see a sliding door that is near Dome Café and Tim Hortons, take that entrance and you need to walk straight ahead and you will see the yellow chilli on the opposite side of Carrefour before the GRK fresh greek restaurant.
I hope this Indian cuisine experience you are going to try will be very excellent. Remember, might it be sweet and sour, hot and spicy or just plain, trying a food that is something out of your comfort zone will give you the benefit of knowing yourself more. Be the culprit of who you really are and what you really like. Experience the extreme spice of life in The Yellow Chilli!