Indian Kitchen

September 2009

Late for a lunch appointment, I arrived only to be greeted with the words, ‘Order the mango lassi, it’s good’. These words would ring true throughout the meal, with dish after dish eliciting nods and sufficiently silencing us as we ate.

We ordered the mango lassi, which was very good, nicely creamy and not too sweet and also tried the ice lemon tea, in which the lemon was blended into the tea rather than mixed in, giving it a stronger, more refreshing flavour; going nicely with the strong flavours of the food.

For appetizers we ordered the Mushroom 65 and Chicken Tikka. The mushroom dish arrived first, little slivers of oyster mushrooms covered in a slightly spicy batter and fried, like a South Asian version of popcorn. The chicken tikka was richly marinated and perfectly cooked through; tender yet firm. It was rich but did not overwhelm the senses with its spicyness. Definitely a must try.

For the main meal, we ordered vegetarian briyani, which was probably the only low point of the meal as it was rather bland, and barely registered on the Richter scale of spiciness. This however was evened out after mixing in the dishes, which each had distinct signature tastes which did not overwhelm each other. The palak paneer was rich and creamy with small cubes of cottage cheese stirred into the dish. The aloo gobi masala was tangy but the cauliflower had been slightly skimped on. And the mutton rohan josh was spicy and had a good amount of tender chunks of mutton throughout. But the standout was the mutton bunna; with shredded mutton infused with delicate spice blends, giving it a rich, hearty stew-like consistency.

And the best thing about the whole meal? The surprise etched on our faces when the bill came and we were expecting it to be much more than it was. Definitely a pleasant surprise, one that will ensure our return. Rosheen Fatima