As the weather in Delhi-NCR is turning pleasant, the invitation to try out the new menu of Rooftop, the bar-be-que restaurant in Country Inn, Sector 12, Gurgaon, seems an ideal thing to do. Rooftop has al fresco setup just next to the pool, the ambience is beautifully played with lights.
The menu is influenced by the North West Frontier cuisine. It is dominated by grilled and roasted starters. Executive Chef Vincent Joseph, someone who has travelled across the globe and claims to have served royalty and diplomats alike, has crafted some yummy dishes for the new menu. Meeting him turns out to be a delight. I listen to his food experiences and how food has evolved in the recent times. As he can converse in Arabic, seeing me with a long beard, he greets me a warm ‘As salam alai kum.” Over a great conversation, we try out some interesting starters beginning with a vegetable platter having reshmi tandoori seekh, khumb nazakat bharwa and Kabuli galautiyan. Seekh is made of finely minced cottage cheese finished in the tandoor. It has nice North Indian flavours, goes pretty well with the mint chutney. Mushrooms come well stuffed with a delectable light crispy crust. The galauti is an Afghan import made of chick peas and is quite tender.
Then comes a non-vegetarian platter too. Chef Vincent requests me to taste the zaffrani murgh malai tikka first. The good part about the tikka is, it is not dipped in malai as most chefs do, rather it is first finished in the tandoor and then topped with malai. It is beautifully served and tastes delicious. Chicken chunks on the platter are tender. The mutton seekh kababs on the platter are tasty too
Rooftop also offers lamb raan which they marinate overnight and then slowly roast in a tandoor. In breads, apart from the missi roti and lacha paratha, Rooftop also serves sheermal and bakarkhani.
Before ordering the sweets, I taste a dum gosht biryani made in a copper pot. The basmati rice used in the biryani has the subtle flavours of whole spices used in it.
From the section, Sweet Memories, I select kesar badam kulfi and Lahori moong dal halwa.
