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It's a royal fare
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Khayal takes you back to the culinary traditions of the Nawabi era
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PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.
SPOILT FOR CHOICE Nearly 150 dishes are available in the menu at Khayal
Did you know that tangdi gulmohar was one of the dishes that Emperor Akbar loved? Flip through the menu card of the new Nawabi Restaurant, Khayal, of the Chancery Group on Lavelle Road and you may not just see a description of the dishes, but some trivia on them too. So, Akbari tangdi gulmohar is also served the way the Emperor liked, with stuffed chicken legs and chicken mince, saffron and pistachio. If that sounds too grandiose, try their ingenious, more down-to-earth, thirst quencher, thandai, which is a blend of almonds, rose petals, and poppy and melon seeds.
The theme continues in the mixed vegetarian sizzlers such as assorted paneer, stuffed aloo, stuffed mushroom and gajar and methi kebab while the non-vegetarians can choose from tangdi kebab, mutton chops, tandoori jhinga and fish tikka.
With soft ghazals in the background, the restaurant can seat nearly 100 people. The Nawabi ambience is present in cast iron legs for the table with wooden tops, black velvet tablecloth adorned with semi-precious stones in the embroidery, bead work on the menu card, typical arched windows with jali work, rough textured wall lined with swords, rifles and other characteristic wall motifs, cylindrical glass lampshades and the hard earthy tiles for the floor.
Very Indian
"We wanted Khayal to be an Indian restaurant due to the demand and we already serve global cuisine at Chancery's South Parade," says Taposh Chakraborty, President, The Chancery Hotels. "We went a step further and brought in the rare North Indian dishes from the 16th Century — Lucknowi, Mughlai, Punjabi — and also a set of signature dishes from Baltistan (near Afghanistan), which is quite famous in northern Punjab."
The balti cuisine, served literally in small gleaming steel buckets, is an age-old practice brought alive to capture an era. It has both the non-vegetarian and vegetarian assortments that can be served to suit mild, medium or spicy tastes.
"Be it dishes in fish, prawn, chicken, mutton or a spread of hara bhara vegetables, balti dishes are freshly cooked in the balti itself, smeared with aromatic spices in a combination of Lucknowi-style dum cooking that adds another expression to the Khayal gastronomic fare," says Chakraborty.
The dishes have been named after careful planning. A few examples are jhinga malmali (bay fresh prawns in cashew gravy), dora-e-aloo tilnaaz (stuffed potato coated with sesame seeds, cooked in tandoor, was the Dora Nabab's favourite) and silbat kebab (fritters made of white lentil and spices).
The Executive Chef, A.N. Biswal, brought down from Awadh says: "The striking feature is our focus on sourcing the spices from the original places. Did you know that the hottest chilli with an overpowering tang is from Sikkim and the Kashmiri ones are added to certain dishes for colour? All spices come from these respective places are for our Khayal-aroma."
But the chef agrees that preparations are clinically altered a wee bit to balance them with the contemporary "no-intense-roast or no-oily taste".
"Nevertheless we bring newness to the staid old recipes, like our stuffed jamoon," he says.
"We want to pamper the veggies, let alone with specials like arbi masala (colocasia cooked with herbs) or tadke wali dahi (hung curd with exotic tempering), a separate menu card for the shakhaharis is a gesture that they will enjoy," says Chakraborty, while flipping through the nearly 150 dishes available in the menu.
While starters range from Rs. 120 to Rs. 175, curry dishes go up to Rs. 350 (vegetarian) and Rs. 450 (non-vegetarian) and balti subzi's are priced between Rs. 195 and Rs. 275.
Khayal is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. For a quick bite try their Express Menu for Rs. 175 (plus taxes). For reservations, call 2227 6767.
RANJANI GOVIND
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