India At Home. Thanks to The Glass Curtain

 India At Home Thanks to The Glass Curtain

So what are Bombay Potatoes. Aloo is the word for spuds there. But Aloo is different to ours and indeed there are many variations, usually involving some form of spice (including the likes of ginger, turmeric, even curry, not necessarily all together!). 

Both Jamie Oliver and BBC Good Food suggest ginger in their recipes. Not too sure what the Glass Curtain used but they certainly used ginger in the butter in which the greens were cooked. Perhaps that’s why my tall glass of gin (the Christmas Cake version by Blackwater Distillery) and ginger ale went so unexpectedly well with the Glass Curtain main course, part of a splendid "At Home" meal at the weekend. 

By the way, Bombay Aloo or Bombay Potatoes turn up, in various versions, regularly enough locally. Enjoyed them as part of a tasting evening in Richy’s (you might come across them  in the Blue Haven as that is where Chef Meeran, Richy’s former chef, is now operating) and, with Crowe's Farm Pork in Nash 19, with lamb in Market Lane and as part of a Nepalese dish in Thali (where they were served as fritters).

Irish greens, oriental sheen

Anyhow, back to our Glass Curtain At Home meal. Each week they offer a new menu which is available Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. There is one dinner option each night which they prepare in the restaurant for collection and you finish at home in a few simple steps. They give some instructions on how to finish everything and some tutorials via their social media channels "hoping to create a fun interactive service". They also offer their wine list and craft beers at retail prices.

We liked the look of the Friday menu last week and ordered it early in the week. The two courses for two people costs fifty euro and this is what we got when we collected from MacCurtain Street:

Mains: Tandoori Monkfish tail, coconut dal, Bombay potatoes, garlic and ginger buttered greens, roti flatbreads

Dessert: Poached rhubarb, cardamom custard, crack pie.

Crack Pie? I hear you ask. Okay, I’ll try and keep it short. Many of you will know Chef David Chang from TV cookery shows and his Momofuku chain, part of which is The Milk Bar where Christina Tosi leads the way. The Milk Bar is famous for desserts and one of the most popular, from day one, was the crack bar. It was advertised on the basis of its addictive qualities and the name became a problem and eventually Tosi decided that it should be known as the Milk Bar Pie.

Sweet!

The Milk Bar Pie might sound innocent but it is not! Here’s a link to a recipe. If you haven’t time to switch over, I’ll let you know that the filling, under the granola type crust, contains sugars (brown, white), salt, milk, butter, cream, vanilla extract and egg yolks. Put it all together though and it’s yum! And that rhubarb and custard was pretty cool too!

But we spent most of the evening in India! There were a few pieces of finishing to be done but the Blog Chef displayed faultless coordination and timing and all elements were ready together, the microwave being the unsung hero, as is often the case with these At Home meals. On the plate, the monkfish (which had been cooked on the bone), the Dahl, the potatoes, the garlic and ginger buttered greens, along with the wafer thin Roti breads, looking promising and that promise was certainly fulfilled. 

Monkfish, plus a squeeze of lime

The first bite transported us east and our stay was pleasant, an amazing feast of colour, spice, flavour, textures. Reckon we’ll have to travel east again sometime soon. 

We’re really not travelling very far at all these days of course and our recent meals, all click and collect, came from nearby restaurants such as Mirco, Greenes and the Glass Curtain. I notice that Greenes have announced a delivery service on Fridays and Saturdays, joining the likes of Liberty Grill and Good Day Deli on the road.

The Glass Curtain, 

Unit A, Thompson House, 

MacCurtain Street, Cork

Check out their At Home offers here.

Latest from The Glass Curtain:

"Thank you all for a great first week back doing 'The Glass Curtain @ Home'.

We are overwhelmed by how quickly this past weekend sold out, sorry to any one who missed out! We are back with three more meals this coming weekend, available to order from midday, on Tuesday 2nd February... set your reminders now to avoid disappointment."

Vienna Woods Hotel, Strikingly Lit For Christmas, Serves Up Quite An Excellent "At Home" Meal.

Vienna Woods Hotel, Strikingly Lit For Christmas, Serves Up Quite An Excellent "At Home" Meal.

Must say I absolutely enjoyed my Saturday evening with the local Vienna Woods Hotel playing a key role. Not alone did we enjoy their "At Home" menu but the visit to the hotel itself was a bonus as the avenue up from the river was splendidly lit and decorated as was the exterior of the hotel itself. 

Once inside, and having sanitised the hands (their unit here is operated by a foot pedal), we took in the terrific indoor decorations and while there was an eye-catching Christmas tree by the desk, it wasn't just all Christmas, and we could see the hotel is well maintained and loved on n ongoing basis.

A lovely warm welcome too and soon we were off on the short journey home where we tucked into the meal. And then something different. A call from the hotel checking if everything was okay! Haven't come across that after-sales service before! And, yes, everything was okay!

I had spotted their offering on social media on Friday and each course has quite a few choices, so there is something for everyone. And you may add  a bottle of wine if you wish. All items are individually priced but you may also choose a 2-course offer for €21.95, 3-course for €25.95.

No need to do any "finishing" here as the dishes were just cooked (they match it with your collection time) and warm enough to eat after the short trip, though the mains did get to stay in a warm oven for a spell. 

One of our starters was the McCarthy's spicy chicken wings (in-house hot sauce, celery sticks, blue cheese dip sauce.). No shortage of wings and that in-house sauce was spot on. As good and tasty as any chicken wings I've come across recently. This is also available as a main course.

The other starter was Ardsallagh goats cheese (candied walnuts, beetroot spirals, sour dough, organic mixed leaves.) and this too was as good as expected, those raw beetroot spirals added a matching flavour and a nice little bit of crunchiness.

Quite a lot of talk as we picked our main courses a day earlier before we settled on our choices. Roast half farmyard duckling (apricot & coriander stuffing, glazed chateau potato, sweet & sour sauce) was one. No shortage of quantity here nor of quality either, that stuffing and the sauce each playing key roles.

Equally satisfactory was the Supreme of chicken (caramelised apple and wild mushroom duxelle, toasted pine-nuts, tender stem broccoli, parma ham, fresh thyme, wholegrain mustard sauce), full of flavour and texture and again no shortage.

Indeed, there was an unexpected side of Gratin of potato and roast vegetable (peppers, onions, carrots, turnip etc.). I certainly enjoyed those particular vegetables also. I've mentioned quantity once or twice and that seems to be common in quite a few of the "At Home" meals that we've enjoyed recently. There has been, if anything, a little too much on the plates!

Delightful dessert - you could taste the Baileys.

So much in fact in this case, that we held the dessert (just the one!) for the following day. Then we found the Bailey's & chocolate cheese cake (biscuit crumb, chocolate shaving, wild berry coulis) of a better standard than most, really outstanding, the flavours reflecting exactly the detail in the description. 

Well done indeed to the kitchen at the Vienna Woods. Next time, we'll have to visit the restaurant itself and again enjoy the wonderful lighting and decoration both inside and outside.