In Delhi, one cuisine I can order with closed eyes and still enjoy is Punjabi cuisine. That’s the influence of the Punjabi community of Delhi in the food of the city. Both on the street food and in fine dining restaurants.
Talking of fine dining restaurants, Paatra, the Indian specialty restaurant in Jaypee Vasant Continental, has just launched its new menu. And no surprise here, it has a thrust on Punjabi cuisine. I find a large number of dishes from Amritsar and also Lahore, two hardcore Punjabi dominated areas. As I run my eyes through the menu card, the interesting dish names begin to work on my cravings and I quickly ask for a murgh shorba. It is served in minutes, tasty, nicely flavoured but is a bit spicy for my throat.
I decide to submit myself to the chef and he wisely serves me a non-vegetarian platter. The platter comes on a sizzler plate with all the smoke and sizzling sound. I taste the achari murgh tikka and find it well seasoned with pickled spices. The mahi tikka is yummy too, has a good ajwaini flavour. The jhinga kaali mirch is made in a creamy marinade which makes the prawns even more tender.
The platter has raunaq-e-seekh, juicy. They have the perfect hand prints which add to them a touch of the traditional look. Chapli kabab though is a letdown and no way near the authentic thin chapli.
The vegetarian platter here is worth a try too. The tandoori broccoli and stuffed potatoes in it are quite delicious. The Multani import, paneer tikka, has the perfect crust of being roasted in a bhatti.
In main course, try its murgh makhni, a dish every Punjabi would wish to have as the last meal of his life. It is served here in a copper vessel. The gravy is creamy though some of you may find it high on tanginess.
Kunna gosht, a Lahore specialty, is mouth-watering and has robust flavours. Goes well with the Amritsari naan. I also order a biryani but is a bit disheartened by it.
I round off my meal at Paatra with goli malai and phirni but they are not anything to write home about.
Meal for Two - Rs.4500
