When it comes to innovation and giving regional cuisines of India the attention they deserve, one restaurant which needs a mention is Zune, the Indian restaurant at Hilton Janakpuri.
After the ‘Dhuan and Dum’ promotion, where the focus was on Rajputana food, Chef Irfan has come up with ‘Khamma Ghani Sa’, a Rajasthani food festival. The staff was dressed in traditional attire. A live ghazal group was also performing, but I would have preferred something more traditional.
I started with a murgh yakhni shorba to ready my palate for the royal meal. The soup was good and flavourful. Within minutes my starters were served, one by one. Although I am not a veg kabab lover, I tried the sangri ki shammi, a bean-based dish blended with dried mango and green chillies. Choley mirch ki seekh was delicious and had a perfect texture. It was not at all dry which most vegetarian seekhs are.
After a few of them I requested chef Irfan to serve some spicy and tangy non-vegetarian starters. Maas ke soole came in first and satisfied my carnivorous instinct. They were spicy and melted in my mouth. Rae tawa macchi had a perfect mustard flavour but I doubt its place of origin is Rajasthan.
My favourite was the khad murgh. It is a traditional delicacy which the Rajputs used to make after a hunt but I quite liked the chef’s innovation in wrapping the whole chicken in a roomali roti. Every piece of chicken was tender and had absorbed the marinade to its core.
After the khad, it was time to taste lal maans and one of my favourite vegetarian delicacies — gatta curry. Both were decent enough. The lal maans went well with missi roti. Lamb was tender and nicely seasoned. But my love for dal bati ensured my meal didn’t end there. Dal was hot and the batis absorbed the desi ghee perfectly. I had it the traditional way – by breaking the bati and crushing it with my hand to put in the dal.
Ghewar was the perfect option to sign off with.
Meal for Two: Rs. 2000 plus taxes
Festival ends July 7, 2013
Time: 7.30 pm – 11.30 pm
