After every few weeks to keep my faith alive I try to visit a Mughlai or an Awadhi restaurant. It solves two purposes — first it satisfies my cravings and second I explore new options of the cuisine close to my heart. But surprisingly none of the new set ups offering Awadhi cuisine were able to impress me, until I visited Kitchen of Awadh at Super Mart 1 Market, Phase IV in Gurgaon.
The food served here is akin to home-cooked fare and it is after ages that I have found something like that. Its owner Kamal Kumar Veer, himself learned the art of cooking from local khansamas of Awadh and passionately runs his kitchen. I always believe that it’s not just the recipes but also the intention of thechef to serve which makes the food taste it does. Attention to minute details like which part of meat should go in which dish makes a lot of difference but very few people like Kamal monitor everything.
There is nothing great about the ambience of the place as it is as simple as my living room but the food speaks volumes. That’s the reason that even though surrounded by competitors, Kitchen of Awadh is doing extremely well. Here I started with kababs straightaway. The restaurant doesn’t boast an extensive menu and offers only the food over which Kamal has mastery. Kakori kabab was as succulent and flavoursome as it should be. Same was the case with galawat ke kabab which went really well with the khasta ulte tawe ka paratha. What I liked was that kababs were not shaped to perfection which I find at every other restaurant serving galawati. Chefs tend to make each kabab look similar which gives the feel of a tikki but what I know from my experiences is that kababs differ in shape. Even the shami kabab had chopped onions which added to the texture of the kabab. Their chicken tikkas were also worth trying specially the special chicken tikka which was char grilled and was quite distinct. I was enjoying my kababs but had to finish my journey of Awadh with some main course delicacies. Though bhuna ghosht and murgh-e-Awadh were good enough to satisfy my cravings, it was the biryani which stood out. Nice, light and subtle biryani. I will definitely visit Kitchen of Awadh again.
Meal for two – Rs. 1000
