A
Recipe for Success
Imran H. Khan
A
range of new items is but a start for Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana.
The 'Master Chef' as he is called, has laid a feast of traditional
and exotic Indian recipes for the whole world to enjoy. His
latest venture is Khazana, one of the latest additions to the
bon-vivant outlets at Gulshan 2.
In
the realm of Indian food, Sanjeev Kapoor is a true knight in
shining armour. Making his fame through his sensational cookery
show on Zee TV Khana Khazana, Kapoor has become not only popular
throughout India, but a renowned figure world wide. Born in
April 1964, his thirst for gastronomic greatness began at the
age of 20. He always had an ambition to bring Indian cuisine
to a global audience and his dreams are becoming a reality with
each coming day. One of Kapoor's exceptional talent is to present
each of his mouth-watering recipe in a fun, easy-to-follow way.
After
completing a three-year diploma course from New Delhi's Institute
of Hotel Management, Kapoor started his venture into the culinary
world working for renowned hotels, both inside and outside India.
Sanjeev Kapoor has worked with a large number of prestigious
restaurants and hotels in India and abroad, carving a niche
for himself in the hearts of most lovers of Indian-food. Winning
a multitude of awards, his story has been an inspiration for
thousands. Sanjeev Kapoor and his team are responsible for "opening
up various fields of hotel consultancy, research on diabetics,
research on ancient Indian food and various dot coms."
With his goal staring at him straight in the eye, Kapoor has
lent his expertise and franchise to restaurants all over and
it is through such a venture that Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana in
Gulshan 2 came into being. Not only can we learn Kapoor's mouth-watering
recipes, at Khazana we get a first hand taste of what this gourmet
chef intends his dishes to really taste like. Starting from
a grand three-course meal to something-for-the-road, it's all
here at Khazana.
"We
plan to introduce new items into our menu whenever there is
a special occasion," says Shital J. Bhatt, the Restaurant
Manager of Khazana. "We hope that this will attract a new
pool of customers all the time. The new items will, of course,
be available all throughout and we will introduce more new items,
depending upon occasions and taste. This month is the 'Independence
Month Festival' to commemorate our glorious Independence,"
he continues. Next, they are planning some new platters for
Pahela Boisakh that is just around the corner. We also try out
interesting new combinations of dishes to add a little flavour
and spice to them. It is fun to try out something new and see
the conclusion of the creation first hand from our clientele's
point of view. “As the Bangladeshi spices and taste-buds are
similar to those in India,” adds Bhatt, “introduction of new
items is always successful. The new items consist of deliciously
spicy non-vegetarian recipes, filling vegetarian dishes and
desserts. We call Sanjeev everyday and give him reports of all
the day's happenings as well as suggestions from our customers.
He carefully listens to each one and suggests changes,"
ends Bhatt.
This
month, Khazana has introduced fourteen new items. To name a
few there is Saag gosht', which is quite a famous and mouth-watering
dish from Punjab, 'Machli ke sule', a fish tikka shaslik
on a bed of raw papaya salad, a must for all fish lovers, 'Aachari
murg tikka', which as the name suggests, is pickled chicken
skewered and cooked in tandoor and ‘Murg pasanda',
which is chicken cooked in yogurt based gravy. Among the vegetarian
items, is 'Kumbh galouti', that's mushrooms cooked with Indian
spices and pan-fried, served with tomato chutney, 'Khatta miths
paneer tikka', a sweet and sour tandoori paneer served
with mint and yogurt chutney and 'Kadai choley', chickpeas cooked
with whole spices garnished with raw mango.
The restaurant
itself has a simple, yet elegant look about it. Most of the
lighting and decorations are antiques that have been restored
to their present state. With a seating capacity of about two
hundred people and ample lighting, Khazana caters to a number
of needs including buffet lunch, take-away, banquets, out-door
catering, birthday parties, anniversary dinners and even home
delivery services.
If we are
looking for a real recipe for success, Sanjeev Kapoor would
have to be one man who has gone through many milestones to be
what he is today: one of the finest chefs in the world. His
franchise Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana will continue to bring his
mouth-watering and exotic recipes to the people of Bangladesh.