gulshanliverpool

2011-09-21T00:20:00.001+01:00

What a great evening! I have posted a few pictures, video is currently being edited and will list it as soon as it is done. Thankyou all who managed to attend, with your help we also managed to raise £500 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Keep checking back for more pictures and videos.

BBC Radio Merseyside

2011-09-14T12:33:00.003+01:00

Just finished an interview for a piece on BBC Radio Merseyside on the Sean Styles show. A pleasant chat about the past, present and future of the restaurant as well as a look forward to our 25 year anniversary celebrations on Thursday.

You can listen for a week on BBC Iplayer.

Reeeeeead all about it!

2011-09-01T17:15:00.001+01:00

Nice article in the Liverpool echo today about our anniversary dinner later this month. preparations are now well underway. The evening will start with a champagne cocktail reception and canapes, followed by a 4 course meal with matching drinks along with live music throughout the night. Will keep you posted.

http://issuu.com/liverpool/docs/best_of_liverpool_-_september_2011

May Wine & Spice evening hosted by Scatchards

2011-05-14T00:53:00.000+01:00

Photos courtesy of Glen Pearson

Going the Distance!

2011-03-21T23:05:00.013Z

This month we were paid a visit from the lovely Mike and Alanna. They are a couple who have decided to embark on a quest to discover 'what makes a successful relationship?' They have been on a 20,000 mile motor-cycle and sidecar ride from the tip of Alaska to Argentina interviewing various couples along the way. They are now set to cover another 1,500 miles as they travel the length and breadth of the country followed and filmed on their journey by Jamie Oliver's television production company to make what will eventually be a one-hour documentary commissioned for TV next year. Mike and Alanna are also being supported by matchaffinity.com who are currently running their new TV adverts around the adventurous couple.

Their visit to Liverpool brought them to the Gulshan were they interviewed Mustafa and Selina about how and what has made their relationship so successfull over the years. After the interviews were over Mustafa and Selina gave Mike and Alanna a bit of a cookery lesson consisting of a chicken bhuna, bhindi bhaji, chapaties and some aloo chops, after which they all sat down along with the film crew for dinner in the restaurant. Below are some of the pictures from the visit -

Whisky, spice and all things nice!

2011-02-20T14:33:00.008Z

WHISKY, SPICE AND ALL THINGS NICE!

Thursday night saw us hold our first ever whisky tasting dinner with David Kelly of Whyte and Mackay. The night was a huge success with great food, drink and a few surprises along the way. The night started off with a welcome whisky cocktail and a talk from David about the origins of whisky and how popular it has become in India, he then moved on to tasting notes and techniques allowing four lucky volunteers to try the rare 40 year old Dalmore at £1500 a bottle. After Davids enlightening presentation we then moved onto the meal...

Whisky notes courtesy of David Kelly.

Appetiser - Aloo Channa Bhaji

Whisky - Isle of Jura 16 Years Old

Aloo Channa Bhajie is an Indian steet food consisting of chickpeas and potatoes, ligtly spiced with hints of chiilli and coriander. This whisky has spent sixteen years in Bourbon casks, and with the Jura distillery located on the seafront, the casks literally breathe in the salty Hebridean sea-air that surrounds them, and this permeates into the whisky, coming through in the form of light, fresh grassy notes, balanced by the sweet honey flavours imparted by the Bourbon casks. The sweetness worked well with the starchy chickpeas and potatoes, and the fresh, herbal aromas of the whisky were beautifully matched by the dominating coriander and chilli aromas of the dish. The Jura 16YO was the great success of the night - it was lauded unanimously throughout the evening.

Chital Kofta

Whisky - The Dalmore 12 Years Old

This was the highlight of the night for a lot of people. Chital is a Bangldeshi river fish commonly eaten in Asia but rarely round in the UK. It was served with a fresh and punchy tamarind based sauce to compliment the spices. We intially expected a lighter style of whisky to suit this dish better but as this fish isn't a delicate, light, flaky thing - it is a real chunky monkey, we needed a whisky with more structure and depth to suit it. Also, the tamarind sauce had so much natural zestiness, that the well-rounded, fruity, spicy style of The Dalmore hit the mark perfectly.

Main Course - Shahi Chicken Rezalla

Whisky - Fettercairn Fior

’The King Kenny of Curries!’ This is a real celebration dish cooked on special occasions. On the bone Chicken marinated in its own special blend of spices cooked in a caramelized onion based sauce. This pairing split opinions in the room, with some really enjoying the match, while others found the hints of peat smoke slightly too powerful for the dish. But we couldn't have it all our own way, could we? This new Fettercairn bottling, 'Fior' has real depth of character - medium to full-bodied, with a spicy assertiveness mellowed by nut and fruit notes, offset by a whisper of peat smoke - there's lots going on here, just like there was in the dish - pistachio, apricot, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, rosewater, all fighting to assert their influence. The fruitiness of the Fior hit all of the right notes with the sweet caramelised onion and apricot, and the hints of peat-smoke added a charred barbecue effect to the meaty, tender chicken. Not everyone's favourite, but it had everyone talking!

Dessert – Laddoo

Whisky - Whyte & Mackay 19 Years Old

The key after three stunning courses was to keep the dessert light, so Salina had prepared Laddoo, a traditional Bengal street snack made from chickpeas, gram flour, milk and sugar. Indian desserts are generally overly sweet so we decided to tone this one down and it worked very well with the tartness of the strawberries on the side. The gooey, syrupy texture was fantastic, and the small portions just hit the sweet spot without sinking us! We needed a similarly rich whisky to go alongside this, so chose an aged blend. The 19 is superb - silky, malty, rich and fruity, with mouth-filling flavours of highland toffee that enveloped the caramel flavours of the dessert, and provided another great match.

For a first-attempt, highly experimental evening, 3 out of 4 complete successes is not a bad result at all!

Gourmet evenings

2011-01-20T12:21:00.000Z

The idea of these gourmet evenings is to intorduce dishes and flavours different to what we usually have on our menu. It allows us to have fun and be creative coming up with new and exciting dishes. It is also great to have Mustafa and Salina back in the kitchen cooking together!

We are hoping to do many more themed events like these in the future to showcase different cooking techniques and ideas. The menus are devised by myself along with Mustafa and Salina who cook on the night. We have a wealth of new dishes, modern recipes such as tamarind glazed black cod and more traditional dishes such as Dum-pukht kaachi biriani, an extravagent rice dish, cooked and sealed with dough.

Keep checking back for details!

Sunday Telegraph - Gulshan in Stella Magazines hot picks

2010-12-24T14:00:00.003Z

Nice mention in Stella magazine today, the Sunday Telegraphs weekly fashion and lifestyle supplement. One of food writer Zoe Williams "sub-continental stars"

"Plenty of choice at this veteran of the suburbs, from biryanis to thalis and tandooris, plus a small-bites menu upstairs. Try the vibrant green balti with prawns"

Whisky and Spice

2010-11-19T12:02:00.003Z

After the success of our wine and spice evening we are now in the midst of planning a menu for a potential whisky and spice evening to showcase our now 50 strong selection of whisky in our cocktail lounge. We will be working closely with Davd Kelly of Whyte and McKay, the challenge of combining spicy dishes without overpowering the whisky will be an interesting one and one that we are am looking forward to!

Wine & Spice evening

2010-10-16T16:34:00.018+01:00

Tuesday was our second Wine and Spice evening and it once again turned out to be a huge success. We feel we have an excellent wine list in the restaurant, so with that in mind the evening was designed to encourage customers to look beyond the house wines and try and explore what else we have to offer such as the gewurztraminer and the carmenere. As challenging as it is to pair Indian flavours with wine, if done right it can bring the food up to a whole new dimension. Our sommelier on the night was Daniel from Vinea who attempted to successfully match the flavours. Notes below.

Spicy lamb Nehari soup

A real delicacy popular in Hyderabad. Requires about 5-6 hours of cooking time. It is cooked with a rare blend of ayurvedic herbs, a little turmeric and onion, then seasoned with cardamon, cinnamon and cloves giving the dish flavour aswell as spice. Served with bite size rooti.

Paired with La Agricola Villa Vieja Viognier, Mendoza, Argentina 2009

A good match overall. The round mouth of the fruity wine worked well with the rich flavour of the soup whilst the acidity provided balance.

Pan fried tilapia marinated in Bengal spices

One of our most popular dishes from our restaurant menu, a gently pan-fried delicate fish in a light marinade with a spiced onion garnish to complement

Paired with Domaine de la Plaigne Beaujolais Villages, Burgundy, France 2008

A less successful pairing. Although the food and wine didn’t necessarily distract the palate they didn’t really complement each other and provide new flavours.

green banana tikki with spicy apple chutney (above)

This one was an original dish created by Salina. Green bananas mixed in with various spices, tamarind and herbs giving an almost meaty consistency and coated in breadcrumbs to hold it together. There are a variety of flavours that come one after the next. Served on the side was a slightly tangy apple chutney to complement the spicy aftertaste.

Paired with Vignobles Andre Scherer Gewurztraminer Reserve, Alsace, France 2008

An excellent combination. The tropical flavours in both the food and wine provided a wonderful taste experience and the subtle sweetness of the wine mellowed the heat and carried a long aftertaste.

Lucknow style braised lamb shank (above)

The ultimate slow-cooked aromatic dish from Lucknow. Lucknow is famous for it’s slow cooking, here the lamb was sealed in a dish and slow-cooked in it’s own juices for hours retaining all its natural aromas and flavours, along with a complex blend of spices. This dish was lovingly cooked by Mustafa.

Paired with Bodegas Navajas Tinto, Rioja, Spain 2009

A good compliment. The classic pairing of lamb and rioja did not disappoint on this occasion. The wonderfully fragrant rice matched the sweet vanilla aroma of a newly oaked youthful wine.

Lemon sorbet paired with Azienda Agricola Bellenda Prosecco, Veneto, Italy 2009

The aim of each was to offer a palate cleansing and refreshing experience following an amazingly flavour packed meal and this was achieved simply and precisely. A resounding success.

Daniel (above) of Vinea wines, our sommelier for the evening

Thankyou to Mustafa and Salina in the kitchen tonight, also to Daniel for his notes and for hosting what was a very enjoyable evening of food and drink.

Liverpool Cookbook out now!

2010-09-20T17:35:00.006+01:00

The Liverpool Cookbook has all the ingredients of a modern recipe book, but serves up so much more, whetting the appetite with a real taste of the vibrancy that has shaped the city as a diverse multi-cultural hotpot of flavours.

Recipes from the Gulshan as well as over 100 others from Liverpool’s top restaurants are included plus information on how readers can get their hands on the delicious home grown produce that feeds the top restaurants, to use in their own dishes.
Also drawing inspiration from the latest delis and the trendiest foodies in town, it celebrates a world in one city, and is a must for anyone who loves food, and loves Liverpool.

I'm a Blogger!

2010-09-10T22:40:00.001+01:00

We have finally taken the plunge into the world of online blogging! With our 25th anniversary fast approaching we thought it be a good idea to keep a record of any goings on throughout the year. Here we will be hoping to keep you up to date with events, news, menu changes and well anything and everything gulshan related.

So with tentative steps and no further a do.......

'hi everyone and welcome to the Gulshan blog!'