After a gruelling day or in the midst of it Indian Grill Room can be a soothing option. As I stepped in the restaurant, the aroma of spices swamped me. The seating arrangement provided privacy so I settled at a corner table.
The courteous staff greeted with a range of starters –– seven vegetarian and six non-vegetarian –– a rich start to the afternoon luncheon.
Being someone who is not very fond of the sweet and salty blend, dahi kababs proved me wrong. The dry fruit-laden crust was a little salty and the curd inside was sweet and smooth. The mushroom dish panch puran khumbh, on the contrary, was bland with the mushrooms tasting undercooked.
A bit dismayed, but the best was yet to come – the vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions of galawati kababs. Subz galawati was made of chana dal, raw bananas and gourd. A huge fan that I am of mutton galawati kababs, the flavour of the well-prepared vegetables was excellent. The meat in the non-vegetarian variety was finely minced with the right blend and balance of spices. The kababs were placed on tiny paranthas giving a twist to the presentation.
After a break meen varuthathu, the fish appetiser appeared on the table. The Tamil delicacy made with local spices was tender, and fresh fish a treat for the palate.
The assortment of starters was followed by the main course. Once again five non – vegetarian and seven vegetarian dishes made the choice difficult.
On chef's recommendation, I opted for masor tenga –– the fish curry with tomatoes as the base it was bursting with flavours of mustard and lemon juice making the tangy dish piquant.
I follow it with a small serving of gangura masala prepared with a special pickle from Andhra Pradesh. The potatoes were nicely cooked. A little sour because of the pickle, I relished it.
A paneer lover, I was unable to resist the paneer Chettinad which had a good quantity of grated coconut in it – an interesting variant of kadhai paneer.
The gosht dum biryani lacked flavour and was rather insipid even though the rice and mutton were well cooked.
For desserts, urad dal jalebi, malai cham cham, pineapple halwa and paan ice cream were offered and I chose the last two. The halwa was made of the finely grated fruit cooked with sugar and milk for long hours.
The paan had gulkand but tasted better than the usual one.
