zafran pot Archives - Local Food Eater

New Indian Banana Leaf

December 26, 2021 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Banana Leaf officially taking over the site of beloved Zafran Pot changed the perfection of a restaurant closing. The small cafe continues the legacy of offering superlative Southern Indian dishes. New owner, Sridhar (Sri) Sambangi, a close friend of the previous owners, oversees the kitchen. Sri’s expanded menu includes variations of their biryani that he championed.

Banana Leaf’s fresh, healthy food includes the first-ever organic chicken tikka masala in LA. Other exclusive Southern Indian regional specialty dishes on the menu in the category of biryani are Paneer (Cottage Cheese), Chicken 65 and Dindigul (Chennai Style). The appetizer category lists Hyd Boneless fish fry; Pizza Samosa; Gobi 65, and Chicken Manchurian. The curry section features Lamb Tikka Masala, Mango Dal and Andhra Chicken Fry. Photos and descriptions are on (www.bananaleafla.com)

The menu is small and inviting, filled with the fresh, bold flavors that have made this regional cuisine so beloved in India for centuries. It is lively eating, filled with unusual combinations of home and street food. Standouts include fun, informal Dabba Box Lunches. A two-week rotation of new, exclusive regional items on the menu will introduce guests to as many dishes as possible.

Hospitality at Banana Leaf follows the philosophy of Atithi Devo Bhava, “the guest is equivalent to god.” Five full meals will be offered daily to customers unable to pay. Sri has also established a sponsoring affiliation with the UCLA hosted dinner project.

Sri’s Hyderabadi, India background is the starting base of the Banana Leaf menu. The area is famous for its Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, as well as the residents’ passion for it. Other Southern Indian dishes are based primarily around rice, lentils, and stews.

Sri is already an integral part of the close-knit ethnic food community on this stretch of Venice Blvd. that has earned the reputation of serving the best Indian food in the city, if not in the country. Sri’s passion and knowledge for authentic Indian cuisine in California are also shown in his restaurant video series on YouTube.

He has worked with close to 1000 chefs and owners in Southern California as founder-owner of Clorder, Inc. Using the latest cutting-edge technology from his two-decade long, successful career in the high-tech industry, he designed a white label restaurant branding platform that also acts as a liaison between restaurant and delivery systems.

10408 Venice Blvd Suite: B, Culver City, CA 90232 (650) 872-9304. Hours: 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, 5 PM to 9:30 PM. Closed Wednesday. (www.bananaleafla.com)

Zafran Pot Stirs Up Top Indian Biryani

September 11, 2021 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Modest little Zafran Pot has long outgrown its title of the “baby on the block of stars” (Venice Boulevard at Motor). The are has been celebrated for authentic regional Indian food for decades with Mayura and Annapurna Cuisine nearby . Owner-Chef Sneh Lata Gumidelli ‘s exceptional Hyderabad-style, savory biranyi ranks right up there with the best.

The name itself, Zafran (saffron) refers the spice that colors the rice in the famous dish. Nestled on the table next to it are Salan gravy and Raita sauce. This biranyi looks as if it is calming staring at the diners about to enjoy it.

Pumpkin seeds replace the more usual peanuts in Chef Sneh’s version, for example. After passing the rigorous Halal requirements, meats are marinated overnight in house-made masala. Unusual, enticing appetizers and dessert complete each authentic meal. Biranyi is to Indians what hamburger is to Americans or Lasagna is to Italians. Everyone has his favorite – “the best”- version of this stuff of legend. Yet Hyderabad-style comes up most often as arguably the best in all of the India. The key to the test of its unbroken, perfectly flavored long- grain rice is a historic slow-cooking dum technique in a completely sealed tub, plus the expertise in the seasoning and marination of the ingredients added to it.

The history of Biryani dates back to as early as the fifteenth century when Mughals invaded India. (It only takes knowing they were descendants of Genghis Khan to get an idea of their power). The word itself finds its origin in the Farsi word “Birian” which means “fried before cooking.” Improvised upon in various ways through the centuries, each region in India has its own distinct style of cooking, which often includes blending in local flavors.

Hyderabadi Biryani came to be so special due to a progressive ruler, Niaza-Ul-Mulk. He not only introduced the royal recipe to the public, but started spreading it to other parts of the country, which in turn prompted local variations.

It was during this period that the famous Kacchi (mutton) Biryani was fine-tuned, primarily by introducing the technique of separately marinating the meat in all the herbs and spices before cooking it with the moderately done rice.

Specialties are family recipes and popular dishes from different regions of India are on the menu. Owner-Chef Sneh also knows what pleases diners. When she cooked for a company that sold packaged dinners for families primarily in the discerning Indian community, her food became so popular she was invited to demonstrate her work in several online videos. She personally oversees every dish with one other cook in the kitchen.

Chef Sneh may be the star chef of this little place but the beaming smile of her proud husband partner, Santosh is as wide as the room. It is, in fact, Santosh who is from Hyderabad while Sneh is from Bangalore. The menu dutifully notes “it is cooked on dum for maximum flavor” for the Hyderabad Dum Specialty Plate menu. The list reads:Organic Chicken, Organic Lamb and Vegetable, all marinated in spices, yogurt, zafran (saffron). “We put out the Lamb Dum Biryani only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Santoosh told us. Word is spreading and already every table at Zafran Pot is fully booked on the week-ends.

The small menu mirrors the size of new Zafran Pot with new dishes debuted as they are perfected in the kitchen, such as Lamb Rogan Josh and Cauliflower because Chef Sneh understands the universal appeal of flavors and textures. Appetizers include crunchy Samosa and Pakoda. Onions and a variety of masalas fill the Vegetable and Egg Puffs. The decadent Vada Pav ($4.95) (shown below), deep-fried mashed potato fritters inside pillowy mini-burger buns, just about make a full meal. Add the snap of red onion, the tartness of lime and the bit of cilantro with it, and it also defines umami. Vada Pav hold deep-fried mashed potato fritters

Other Specialty Plates include non-vegetarian Curries served with White or Brown Rice or Naan ($10.95). Locally sourced Halal chicken marinated over night is featured in the more uncommon Chicken Chops with gravy made of spinach, cilantro, onion and spiced with cloves and cinnamon.

Khubani Ka Meetha with Ice Cream features Dried Apricots boiled in sugar syrup, served with ice cream ($4.95). This house specialty is rarely found in local Indian restaurants. The apricots are soaked overnight to remove traces of seeds.

Zafran Pot, 310-838-2130, 10408 Venice Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232.
//www.zafranpot.com/
//www.facebook.com/zafranpot

Authentic Indian restaurant Zafran Pot in Culver City

September 6, 2021 Comments Off

A ‘Biryani Hot-sPot’ with ratings above 4.5 and over 100,000 + biryanis sold to date! Zafran Pot is located on Venice Boulevard in Culver City, California, notable for its dining and busy nightlife scene. Keeping these in mind, the founder has curated everything from the location to the logo meticulously. Check their website to learn more about this.

Birth of Biryani at Zafran Pot

From the journey of a roller coaster ride to running a restaurant successfully, the owner shares her story of victory.

“I put my love, sweat, and energy to build this restaurant”, says Snehlata Gumidelli. Zafran Pot started in the year 2016 as a catering business and emerged as a restaurant. Following this, Sneh and her husband Santosh Gumidelli have been, as one can say, ‘Killing it!’. After two years of catering, Sneh got an opportunity to work at Mytable as a home chef. In addition, she was lauded for her performance by customers. Taking a big leap, Sneh and Santosh decided to open Zafran Pot for people to enjoy her exclusive home-style Indian cooking.

Santosh hails from Hyderabad in India, where a special type of biryani originated – The Hyderabadi Dum Biryani. Sneh says, “my husband introduced me to biryani”. She always loved food and cooking. But never imagined turning it into her career. A massive tragedy in her life inspired Sneh to start this business and proved to be a stepping stone. Today, she is fulfilling her sister’s dreams and succeeding with flying colors.

What goes into preparing the authentic biryani?

‘Biryani‘, derived from the Persian word ‘birian’ means to fry before cooking. So typically the ingredients used are fried, mixed with rice, meat/egg, and placed in a handi (metal pot used in Indian cookware). But let’s find out how Zafran Pot prepares its authentic biryani!

The chefs here follow a unique recipe. They marinate the meat for 12 hours, with onions, yogurt, mint, cilantro, and various spices. The basmati rice (long-grained aromatic rice) is soaked overnight and cooked on a low flame the next morning. Summing up, these ingredients are then placed in a gigantic utensil and cooked in the dum method. Originally, the dum method uses a dough to seal the container to cook biryani. Although Sneh uses her version to seal the container with aluminum foils.

Zafran Pot is the only restaurant in Culver City that prepares its dishes using organic chicken (halal only). They do not use additives such as MSG (monosodium glutamate), and colors.

Zafran Pot is not all about biryani

From appetizers to desserts, Zafran Pot has numerous dishes to try out. You can order your favorite meal at Zafran Pot now!

To celebrate their fifth anniversary, Sneh and the chefs are adding new dishes to the menu. If you’re planning to order food this weekend, you wouldn’t want to miss out on this authentic Indian restaurant!

Best Bites A-Z at Westside LA’s “Little India” Gem

February 27, 2018 Comments Off

Insiders know that the city’s finest Indian eateries, A-Z, can be found in a one-mile”block of stars” celebrated for authentic regional Indian food (Venice Boulevard at Motor in Culver City). An entire weekend of eating can be had from “A” –Annapurna (vegetarian) and their new sibling restaurant, Abhiruchi Grill (meat added to a vegetarian menu) – to “Z” for Zafran Pot, with Mayura snacks in between.

Stores and ethnic institutions featuring Indian sweets and products down the street to the east, with Middle Eastern markets within walking distance to burn off the calories in between meals and take-home goods.

Abhiruchi Grill, the newest “kid on the block” rightfully boasts “Authentic Indian Restaurant” on their sign, rare in LA. Their name very accurately translates into “delicious.” Try the Chicken 65, lamb lollipops, the hot and cold coffee drinks roasted in a very special and traditional way, and all the curries.

Abhiruchigrill, //www.abhiruchigrill.com, 10823 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034, (310) 204-2569. Contact.abhiruchigrill@gmail.com

Annapurna Indian Vegetarian has such good South Indian food that Indian families regularly travel from far away to eat their favorites. Over 20 Specialty Dosas, served with Chutney and Sambar, are as long as your arm, and as much fun to eat as they look.

Dosas

Other authentic specialties just as whimsical in appearance and also healthy, include Vada, a savory cousin of the American doughnut, and Puri, clouds of fried unleavened Indian bread that looks like a southern American popover. Dahi Vada, deep-fried lentil donuts, laced with cilantro, dipped in a special yogurt sauce are served with yogurt and spices, a telltale clue it will not be sweet.

Vada

Puri puffs out on a tray like a mountain “Annapurna”. On the tray with it are Channa masala, a spicy garbanzo bean stew filled with Serrano chilies usually topped with pomegranate molasses, and the Indochinese Paneer Chili, spiked with chilies in a sauce, onion and green pepper.

Puri

Annapurna Cuisine, 10200 Venice Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232, (310) 204-5500. Business Hours: Monday – Thursday : 11:30am – 3:00pm, 5:30pm – 10:00pm. Friday – Sunday : 11:30am – 10:00pm. annapurnacuisine@gmail.com

Mayura Restaurant kitchen specializes in dishes from the owners’ home area of Kerala on the southeastern border of the country right on the Arabian Sea. A 1500-year-old spice trade that evolved the region into one of the most cosmopolitan in India earned it the name, “Spice Coast”. Renowned for Malabar Black Pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and curry leaves, the cuisine also incorporates a lot of bananas and coconuts which grow in the area. Nayar Hindus, Muslims, Syrian Christians and even an ancient community of Jews all have an influence on the culture.

We are just partial to their snacks, straight from the kitchen. The cooks even hold cooking classes to share their secrets.

Mayura Restaurant, 10406 Venice Blvd (at Motor), Culver City, 310-559-9644, (//www.mayurala.com/

Modest little Zafran Pot now the two-year-old “baby on the block of stars” (corner of Venice Boulevard at Motor) celebrated for authentic regional Indian food. Owner-Chef Sneh Lata Gumidelli’s exceptional Hyderabad-style, savory biranyi ranks right up there with the best.

The name itself, Zafran (saffron) refers to the spice that colors the rice in the famous dish. Nestled on the table next to its Salan gravy and Raita sauce companions, this biryani looks as if it is calming staring at the diners about to enjoy it.

The basmati rice soaks overnight and then is cooked on a very low heat. Instead of the classic dough used to seal the pot, Chef Sneh uses aluminum foil. In addition to organic, locally sourced ingredients, the technique is key here. Pumpkin seeds replace the more usual peanuts in Chef Sneh’s version, for example. After passing the rigorous Halal requirements, meats are marinated overnight in house-made masala. Unusual, enticing appetizers and dessert complete each authentic meal.

Specialties are family recipes and popular dishes from different regions of India are on the menu. Catering company owner-Chef Sneh knows what pleases diners. She personally oversees every dish with one other cook in the kitchen.

Dishes to try: The Hyderabad Dum Specialty Plate that features. Organic Chicken, Organic Lamb and Vegetable, all marinated in spices, yogurt, zafran (saffron).

Available only on weekends, the Lamb Dum Biryani draws sell-out crowds at Zafran Pot is fully booked on the weekends.

Vegetable and Egg Puffs. The decadent Vada Pav ($4.95) (shown below), filling deep-fried mashed potato fritters inside pillowy mini-burger buns. Add the snap of red onion, tartness of lime and the bit of cilantro with it, and it also defines umami.

The specialty of the house rarely found in LA restaurants is the Khubani Ka Meetha with Ice Cream. Dried Apricots, soaked overnight to remove any trace of seeds, are boiled in sugar syrup served with ice cream ($4.95)

Khubani Ka Meetha

Zafran Pot, 310-838-2130, 10408 Venice Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232.
//www.zafranpot.com/
//www.facebook.com/zafranpot