Dosa Masala Brioche: Traditional Food Gets A Makeover

McDonald’s India (West& South), always known to introduce exciting new items in its menu, had jumped on to the fusion foods bandwagon even before the trend became so huge across the world. The first foray was the McAloo Tikki burger. Today, it has launched the Dosa Masala Brioche in an avant garde version.

It is surely proving to be a hit because the world over, people are blending with other cultures and other lifestyle choices, which includes the food they are eating. So East is no longer East but has imitated West, and vice versa. That also holds true for North-South blending or Continental and Oriental fusion. Yes, the more exotic it gets, the better it is for food lovers across the world. No wonder, ethnic fusion has been voted as the trend for 2017.

Despite the success of the McAloo Tikki burger, the arrival of the Dosa Masala Brioche surprised a section of the fans. But only till they had tasted it. Once they reaosed how authentic ws the flavor and aroma of the dosa masala  - mashed potatoes sprinkled with mustard seeds, with a dash of turmeric, green peas, aroma of curry leaves, and their craving for a south indian breakfast was met inside a French patty – unbelievable but true.

The Dosa Masala Brioche is not only reminiscent of the popular south Indian dish, it is also accompanied by the molagapodi chutney mayo, known to the general dosa-loving public as “gunpowder”.

Although the parent dish , the Masala Dosa, hails from South India, the Dosa Masala Brioche itself has been launched in the heart of west India – Mumbai. This is not surprising as Mumbai is a melting pot of diverse cultures as well as a cosmopolitan city that likes to try out new dishes.

Since Mumbaikars rise and shine early, the interesting new menu for breakfast comes at the right time for a city that has no time to “cook-and-carry”. Remember the famous dabba system born out of this predicament. Now they can just walk into a McDonald’s anywhere around the city and have a long list to choose from, which includes the Dosa Masala Brioche for those who crave something south Indian in their breakfast.

It’s all about “breakfast convenience on the go”, says Amit Jatia, Vice-Chairman, Westlife Development.

As of 13th January 2017, the Dosa Masala Brioche is available at not one but 44 McDonald’s outlets across Mumbai. It is available through McDelivery and Takeaway options as well.

But don’t fret. Soon after Mumbai, the Dosa Masala Brioche will also be available in other cities and towns in west and south India.

Explaining the reason why the new fusion-cuisine was launched, Amit Jatia had this to say: “We continue to look at inspiration from Indian cuisine and bring it in McDonald’s format. This gives you flavours from the west with the familiarity of Indian.”

The Dosa Masala Brioche, priced at Rs 42, is available from 7 AM to 11 AM at McDonald’s outlets. Enough to make one forget “breakfast at Tiffany’s”

Source :

http://www.sooperarticles.com/food-drinks-articles/low-calorie-articles/dosa-masala-brioche-fusion-food-its-best-1558052.html

Mcdonald’s Ads Send Across The ‘I’m Lovin It’ Message

McDonald’s ads down the years have been about great advertising as much as they have been about the awesome food served by everyone’s favourite quick service restaurant.  But they also have been about the theme of love, and since Valentine’s day just got over, let’s revisit some of those ads.

In this ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmNrvlQ73pU),  a little boy and girl are sitting on a park bench. The girl asks, “Are we boyfriend-girlfriend?” The boy replies, “No, girlfriends are too demanding! They say, I want this, I want that.” To which, the girl replies, “But I only want a Mc Aloo Tikki burger.” The boy is delighted and feels the money in his pocket, realising that he can afford to buy her one with his pocket money. He says, “Okay, you can be my girlfriend.”

The fact that two seven-year-olds become boyfriend-girlfriend over a McAloo Tikki burger, makes for a so-sweet moment.

In a second ad, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hryEm7m5QAo),  a girl comes looking for a seat at a McDonald’s, and here’s this guy who gives up his chair for the girl. The ad concludes, SharingMakesFriends, introducing the new “Sharing” Packs from McDonald’s. One can see the sparks flying between the two and hope it blossoms into a beautiful relationship.

The third ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqWhBD-TLfE)  has an Arranged Marriage as its theme. As we all know, arranged marriages are full of unpredictability, and sometimes turn out for the best. The ad shows a husband and wife bonding over a soft serve ice-cream at McDonald’s. The newlyweds who obviously have had an arranged marriage, are sitting at McDonald’s, eating the Soft Serve icecream. But what should be a deliciously enjoyable experience, is marred by the husband being on a business call, which leaves his wife visibly bored.

However, he soon realizes his mistake, and offers a spoonful of his own icecream to his wife, thus making the “ice” between them melt as well. Can anything be more romantic?

This ad (https://youtu.be/uinj0JXQ8oI) sends across the message what most of us are already aware of. That it is the little gestures that matter the most. This ad was launched to celebrate 20 years of McDonald’s in India, with love as the underlying theme. Here’s to all the beautiful couples who met at McDonald’s.

Veg Maharaja Mac A Delight For Vegetarian Customers

The Big Mac is a world-famous hamburger sold by McDonald’s, the international fast-food restaurant chain. Introduced first in Pittsburgh, United States, in 1967, it was such a huge hit that it was sold in the rest of the US by the following year. Today, it has become one of the signature products of the company and is sold across the world.

The burger originally consisted of two 100 per cent beef patties, a special sauce which is a variant of the Thousand Island dressing, iceberg lettuce, American cheese, pickles, and onions, served in a three-part sesame seed bun. To this day, the recipe remains the same in the US.

The first Indian version of the legendary American burger was the Chicken Maharaja Mac. It was a combination of grilled double-chicken patty, flavoured with smokey sauce and a slice of cheese, with slivered onion, crisp, shredded iceberg lettuce, and juicy tomatoes.

After years of the Indian Big Mac experience being reserved for non-vegetarians, McDonald’s surprised its vegetarian patrons with a Veg Maharaja this year. Now, vegetarians can also enjoy the delicious concoction of double patties with fine cheese slices, fiery jalapenos and crunchy onions, placed on a bed of fresh lettuce patty with cheese and corn, with a topping of smooth, exotic sauces.

Explaining the reason for the launch, Smita Jatia, Managing Director, Hardcastle Restaurants, the master franchisee of McDonald’s India(West & South) said, “Seeing a lot of demand for food that is filling and indulgent, made us launch the Maharaja Mac some years ago. But we did not want to exclude our vegetarian customers.”

“We did surveys among our customers, which revealed that vegetarians liked the corn-and-cheese combination. Taking a cue from that, we took the Maharaja Mac and launched its vegetarian version in the form of the Veg Maharaja Mac.”

She added that a lot of vegetables - like lettuce, jalapenos, tomatoes and onions – had been added to the new Maharaja burgers so that the vegetarian customers get to taste the freshness of the ingredients when they bite into their burger.

The Veg Maharaja Mac is surely a vegetarian's ultimate food. Huge in size and high on taste, everyone will take longer to finish the burger.

From India’s own version, let’s find out what the Big Mac looks like in other countires. Australia, a country always known to like things big, has the Mega Mac or Double Big Mac – four-ounce beef patties with an extra slice of cheese. It is the biggest regular hamburger produced by the chain and has 680 calories.

In Europe, it is known as the “Big Big Mac”, which is a quarter-pounder-like product, while Alaska, US, has its exclusive burger named after its mountain, Mt. McKinley - The McKinley-Mac. It’s made of two quarter-pound patties.

In West Asia, the Chicken Big Mac - with two breaded chicken patties – is sold.  Ther countries are Pakistan, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar. The Giga Big Mac is a larger version, with three times the meat of a Big Mac. This belongs to Japan.

Piri Piri: When French Fries Went On An African Safari

When McDonald’s launched its Piri Piri fries, the restaurant’s loyal clientale immediately took to the new taste of their favourite fries. Although they couldn’t believe that the well-known fries could get any better, they hadf to admit that the Piri Piri spice and the McDonald’s french fries made for an irresistible combination.

One could see people waiting patiently in long queues to get their pack of French fries along with a sachet of Piri Piri spice, which they tore open and poured its contents into the pack. Then, you could see them shaking the packs as they walked back to their seats, in a bid to evenly coat the fries with the special spice.

What makes the spice perfect for the French fries is it being used coarsely grounded, allowing it to coat the fries better than a finely ground spice.

McDonald’s French fries themselves are thankfully always bright golden brown, thin, and crisp, made of wholesome potatoes of a very special variety. Their tender exterior and moist interior make these fries a hit with most people. Once they get coated with the Piri Piri spice, they turn a deep brown colour.

Of course, if you’re not sure of how much of the spice you need to lather your fries with, the very first time round, you might pour the spice slowly, taste the fries, and then add more if you want. This is just so the fries don’t get too pungent or spicy by pouring the entire spice sachet into the fries. Especially as the spice in India has large amounts of garlic. You might wish for a dipping sauce to take away the overwhelming taste of garlic.

McDonald’s Piri Piri is a simple mix of spices, not too elaborate, and all the ingredients are natural. There’s tamarind of course, adding a much needed sour flavour to the seasoning. 

The ad for these fries called them “periperilicous”! Undoubtedly, once you tasted these fries, you knew you had to have more. Seeing the popularity of this dish, McDonald’s changed this temporary promotional offer and made it a permanent one.

Just pay Rs 15 extra on your regular McDonald’s french fries to upgrade to the Piri Piri French fries.

So what exactly is this Piri Piri? Let’s find out!

My heart goes Piri Piri

“Piri piri” is a tweak of the African word peri peri, in Swahili language. It literally means, “pepper, pepper”, as if one was exclaiming after finding it too spicy or else, one was going into raptures at the mere taste of it.

Piri Piri is made using a combination of various spices, much like the garam masala in the Indian spice cabinet. It blends many grounded spices such as salt, chilli powder, black pepper, garlic, tamarind, onion, sugar, citric acid and various herbs.

In Africa, they know the spice as “bird's eye chili”. It belongs to the family of capsicum frutescens, one of the sources of chili pepper. On that continent, the chili grows both in the wild as well as grown at home. A member of the capsicum genus, and a native of Angola, Uganda, Malawi, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sudan and Ethiopia, it was the Portuguese who brought the special spice to India via Goa.

The Oxford Dictionary itself describes piri piri as "a very hot sauce made with red chilli peppers".

The piri piri grows as a bush, its fruits turning from green to bright red or even purple.

Though Piri Piri is African, Piri Piri sauce is Portuguese in origin, made using crushed chillies, citrus peel, onion, pepper, salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano and tarragon.

Burgers Are Incomplete Without A Bun

It is a taste-dominated world. What is found appealing to the taste-buds is often recognized and celebrated while what is merely hygienic or ‘healthy’ does not get the credit it deserves. In the world of burgers, this statement holds true for nearly all types of sandwiches, as long as there is a patty enclosed within a bun, the bun will be overlooked. The patty is the star of the burger, just like Amitabh Bachchan who even in a cameo steals the show, so does the patty always end up on top even though it rests ‘inside’ the bun.

Buns are the unsung heroes of the burger world, especially at McDonald’s. Most of you would not know it but McDonald’s buns are not merely found on trees: they are baked to perfection by Mrs. Bector’s –one of India’s finest bakeries. The buns are baked in all of three locations in India and are then transported all over our immense nation.

Every morning, as the workers enter Mrs. Bector’s baking factory, they are given an air shower and their hands are sanitized. Then they don masks on their faces and heads to minimize the possibility of unwanted particles finding their way into the bun-mix. Equipped with Gum boots, the workers then proceed to prepare the flour which the machinery automatically turns into bun-shaped balls, which are then baked in large ovens until the signature color and texture as expected of McDonald’s is achieved.

Finally, after another test with a metal-detector, the buns are packed in vacuumed plastic bags, placed in cartons, put in temperature-controlled trucks and sent off on a long journey which inevitably ends in someone’s tummy.

I’m McDelivering it

The delivery base of McDonald’s India, McDelivery was introduced in 2004, and from 2011 to 2015, its sales have grown at 22 per cent CAGR. In the last two years its business has grown by over 60% seeing that the average check for delivery is generally much higher compared to in-store business.

The success of McDelivery clearly indicates an exciting new trend in the Indian Food Services market – consumer preference for convenience of enjoying fresh and tasty food in the comfort of their own homes.

“Convenience is the key to McDonald’s business models and formats. Home delivery in India is driven by many factors, such as poor infrastructure, increasing road traffic, favorable demographics, changing food habits, urbanization, more working professionals with hectic schedules and rising disposable incomes are helping to fuel the growth.” – Says Mr. Ranjith Paliath, Vice President - Business Operations, McDonald's India (West & South).

McDelivery has definitely been able to tap into the growing demand for home delivery effectively. The boom in home delivery in India has not only been enjoyed by McDonald’s but facilitated at each point in its evolution. By targeting the youth and working professionals with their range of pocket-friendly items, McDonald’s has reinvented itself in India in the last decade by introducing regional menus with items such as McAlooTikki burgers, Chicken Maharaja Mac and others which are prepared from locally procured products to maintain a sustainable business model. Also, with the rise of digital platforms and e-commerce options, it has never been easier to receive your favorite McDonald’s item at your doorstep.