Expensive tastes

Indigo is the champion stand alone phenomenon in Mumbai, with its quaint eateries (Indigo Cafe, Indigo Deli) and the ultimate fine dining experience (THE Indigo) topping the charts of most good food book guides.

The Restaurant is limited in scope: it's great for a fine dining experience but most of us don't have the inclination (read as money) for regular extravagance. When my boyfriend took me out to Indigo for my birthday, though I consider myself to be above gimmicks and the 'personal touch', I gurgled happily to find a menu headlined with "Dinner with ###" followed by the day's specials. Melt in your mouth gnocchi, perky scallops (though in my opinion, slightly overdone), the risotto, the fettucini... divine. It was fine dining at its best. But the finest hour was the dessert, a Chocolate Fondant with Jalepeno Ice Cream. The name speaks for itself. The bill was also mindblowing, just so you know.

The true charm of Indigo cuisine and what sets it apart is the array of flavours they pack into every bite. Sharply contradictory flavours literally blow your mind. Watch out for the spicy aftertaste of the ice cream.

The "pret" Indigo options are just as great, if not more. Having visited all of them, honestly, if you had to make me choose between the three (in the sense that I shall never eat at the other two ever again) I'd take Indigo Cafe without blinking, even if it means dealing with the Lokhandwala Link Road traffic. The must have is the pesto pizza. You're advised by smiling waiters to crunch it down as soon as it gets in, it's wafer thin (this is not a exaggeration) and topped with dollops of pesto, sundried tomatoes and mozarella. Also not to forget the souffle of the day. If there's ever the blue cheese and broccoli one available, don't think twice. It's sin in a ceramic cup.

Indigo Deli, opposite Tendulkar's, is a little too noisy for my liking. The set up is like a Deli in that you can buy cold cuts and cheese and other foodstuff, even, which is an overdone concept (Good Earth, Salt Water Cafe, Basillico) - what, have we run out of stores? The menus of the Deli and the Cafe are substantially similar, which include their desserts. The Chocolate Mud Cake is served after a pop in the MV with a generous swirl of blueberry sauce. Molten chocolate sneaks out upon contact with your trembling spoon. The creamy dark chocolate with the burst of sour berry is exactly what you think it is. Last night, we decided to move from the standard Mud Cake Order to the baked blueberry cheesecake. We mulled over the wiseness of our decision and wondered if anything could match up to the mudcake. Moral of the story: Don't doubt when Indigoing.

I stick to the daily specials as a confirmed fish lover and the catch is always fresh and indulgently cooked. The Ravas marinated in Cilantro, served with Ratatouille did not disappoint. The staff is well aware of the menu (which is rarer than you think) and are happy to customize your order.

The Cafe (and the Deli) are good with the drinks. The Cafe's outside seating is particularly pleasant to sip on some CnC (Curry and Cucumber, a Vodka cocktail with a marathi koshimbir aftertaste) or a Sangria or even a Indigo Mary (an Indian spin on the Bloody Mary). It also has a massive colelction of wines and spirits.

Indigo can't do much wrong, in my eyes, and it has a pretty awesome strike rate in that sense. Yes, the prices are high (375 onwards for mains) as are the expectations but they don't take their reputation lightly. A friend informs me that post 26/11 and recession the Indigo Restaurant is taking a serious beating, with expats and tourists shying away. Sigh.

I shall shut up for now, or at least until I make it to the Indigo Sunday Brunch...

Politics, and Piyush

I was in Shivaji Park for a meeting when my friend Jal, a pucca Parsi, surprised me by asking me if I would have lunch at Prakash,which he explained was a spartan vegetarian eatery in the heart of Shivaji Park. He wasn't sure if I'd like the food or not, but I was always eager to experiement.

His partner, Kishore, who grew up in Shivaji Park, rattled off a history of Prakash while we looked for parking in the bye lanes of the vicinity. Prakash actually has quite a controversial history, it was rumoured that the proprietors, hardcore Maharashtrian Chitpavan Brahmins, distributed pedas upon the assasination of Mahatma Gandhi at the hands of one of their caste brethren. The restaurant was torched in the ensuing riots. Quite like the pheonix, it rose from the ashes, the food compensating for the radical ideology of the patrons. As we entered the joint, I noticed that it was much like the typical Marathi "Khanaval" or eatery - sunmica benches and tables where you sat where you could and relaxing after lunch wasn't an option.

We started off with what he recommended - the sabudana wada. Sabudana is a typical "fast food" item in Maharashtra - not competing with burgers and fries, but one of the few permissible food items during a fast. Sabudana is the vernacular for the starch extracted from the Sago Palm which and made into the commercial product of sago pearls. There are two popular ways of making Sabudana during fasts - one is the khichadi, which is steaming the pearls after tempering them with mustard, curry leaves, groundnut powder and chillies. The other, is the wada, which like all wadas are deep fried. Mashed potato acts as the binding agent. Unlike the usual sabudana wada, which is flat and brown and crisp, this wada was round, almost white, not very oily and soft on the inside. Served with a lightly spiced coconut based chutney, it was good enough to make me want to fast more often.

It didn't take us long to debate over the main course - the menu is short and we were squished between enough patrons to peek at what they were eating and decide what looked good. One of our companions, Kishore, immediately said that he was having the "usal" which is any preparation made out of sprouts. He was referring to the "dalimbichi usal" which was a gravy, again coconut milk based, made out of sprouted field beans. They are also called "vaal". They have a slightly bitter taste, which is what makes them stand apart rather than jar on the senses. The gravy was creamy and the beans were just cooked right, just like home. I half expected them to be soggy from having been made many many hours ago. Though the beans were bitter, the gravy was sweet and eating it was pure fantasy for those with the acquired taste. We also ordered a batata bhaji which is a potato preparation without a gravy - tempering chopped potatoes with mustard, cumin, green chillies, curry leaves and garnishing it with freshly grated coconut and corriander, with a lemon wedge to suit your tastebuds. Enjoyable, but standard.

(Below: clockwise from top: dalimbi usal, batatachi bhaji and pooris made of 100% whole wheat flour)

To wash it down, we didn't have the option of cold drinks, but Kishore insisted that I try the Piyush, which he told me was a kind of Maharashtrian Lassi. Piyush is yoghurt based, like a lot of Indian drinks. The yellow tinge comes from the use of saffron, and the drink was cold and its sweetness and the flavours of jaiphal (nutmeg) and elaichi (cardamom) were a brilliant end to this meal. For dessert I had actually opted for Dudhi Halva which was slightly disappointing.

In conclusion - if you are in Mumbai and if you want to do the whole foodie binge, write Prakash in bold and make sure you get to Gokhale Road and have a meal there.

Don't let ideology stand in the way of fine cuisine!

She's a Mall Wonder

I'm not the biggest fan of the new food phenomenon of "food courts" in Malls, particularly because you get sub standard food at high altitude prices which you are forced to eat in the most cramped up and loud circumstances. Hunger and boredom, however, led me and few friends to the food court at the Orchid City Centre Mall, Bombay Central. Besides the usual food court suspects, Madras Cafe, some Shady Chinese etc. I had a pleasant surprise in store for me - Hakim's, which sells unabashedly non vegetarian mughlai food had a delectable menu as well as reasonable prices. As I was scanning the menu, I was shocked to find Chicken Sanju Baba as a starring member on the cast of the gravy items.

The Noor Mohammadi Hotel has been known for decades for its quality of food, though many a prospective patron would find the ambiance slightly lacking, especially when compared to its extravagant neighbour, Shalimar. Nevertheless, the Noor Mohammadi Hotel has its loyalists who make sure the highly divine Nalli Nihari (a rich gravy dish featuring tender mutton and loads of bone marrow) disappears by 9am every day. Celebrities including most of the Khan boys order from here with a vengeance and Sanjay Dutt struck up such a rapport with the owners that one of their signature dishes, Chicken Sanju Baba, is a result of some recipe sharing from the superstar's home cauldron.

(Courtesy the Noor Mohammadi Website)

What does this have to do with a mall food court? Well, if you want the good stuff but don't want to deal with the Bhendi Bazaar/LJ Road traffic, have no fear. Hakim's is "Haute Moghlai Cuisine" (oh yeah, baby) from the house of Noor Mohammedi, as I found out when I confronted the cashier.

"We get the food from there only, madam. We don't cook anything here except the kababs."

He obviously knew what I needed to hear.

So I packed up a Chicken Sanju Baba and a Roomali Roti for dinner. Bombay Foodies are obliged to have Chicken Sanju Baba on their "to do" list, and I needed to score a tick off.

Chicken Sanju Baba has earned its share of hype and prominence, particularly when the owners of Noor Mohammedi cooked and distributed vats of the dish to the poor every day during the pendency of Sanju Baba's bail application before the Supreme Court. However, it doesn't make for a mindblowing food experience, something which even the owners silently acknowledge by not mentioning the dish on their website. I excitedly unpacked the plastic container to find a gravy of a slightly waxy consistency. Puzzled, I popped it in the microwave, and one minute later I discovered why - there was a layer of pure desi ghee, now liquefied, on top of the gravy. Tough pieces of chicken swim in a thin gravy populated by sliced onion and a large number of red chillies, which is highly misleading, as the product is pretty bland. It does have an interesting tartness, but in the end it's a rather amateur piece of cookery which does no justice to the legend that is Hotel Noor Mohammadi.

One day, however, I am going to wake up early and take the Harbour Line to Dockyard Road and trudge over to Noor Mohammadi, and get me the grub that has tantalized patrons for 110 years. The description is on their website which I have no reason to disbelieve (except for the part about the Pepsi):

You can eat anywhere but for authentic "nalli-nahari"you have to visit Noor Mohammedi.It is very tender and just melts in your mouth.You'll have to go early, the nalli nihari finishes by 9 a.m., even earlier. Cooked on slow coal fire for 12 hours, till it becomes so tender that a toothless customer can eat it. That is the boast of Mr. Khalid Hakim, proprietor of the restaurant, and it is not an empty boast. It is just meat, boneless, one nice chunk of it. And it comes with a spicy gravy, quite sharp with garam masala and pepper. In the gravy, somewhat thick, you will spot bits of nalli, eat it fast, before it melts. Order a fresh roti, a tandoori, or a softer chapatti, 100 gms., weigh it in your hand, feel the weight. Dip the roti in the gravy, break the meat with a spoon, and eat. Yes, it is spicy, for your Bombay palate, that is. But if you are from Northern part of India, you will eat it with a sort of a pickle. A combination of thin strips of ginger and chopped green chillis. They call it nihari ka masala, and it is put on the table in front of you. Help yourself to it. One warning, if you find it too spicy, don't drink the water. Order a Pepsi instead. Who drinks Pepsi at breakfast? Those who eat nalli nihari and kheema roti at breakfast.Most of the food is available throughout the day, but for nalli nihari and paya it is early morning and late evening.

Ambiance may be one thing, but wolfing down a dish which celebrates the delicious bone marrow of mutton, is quite another. My sister and I still fight over who gets the 'soo soo bone', as it is refered to in my family, coined on account of the sound one is forced to make while extracting the tantalizing mass from the back of a highly unco-operative marrow bone.

While Noor Mohammadi is at Mahim and Bhendi Bazaar, Hakim's Haute Moghlai Cuisine can be found at the City Centre Mall, Bombay Central, and the Inorbit Mall, Malad.

China Garden, again

One of Bombay's newest hotspots, C.G. 83, is Nelson Wang's resurrection of his own famed China Garden of yesteryears, the hub of celebrities who loved their Chinese. Unfortuntely Chin Garden faced the wrath of illegal constructions. In its new avtaar, C.G. 83, located at Om Chambers on Kemp's Corner, is the new "in" place for Chinese.

At our quaint table for two, we get off to a bad start with an Ivy Zinfandel which tasted more like Vinegar. Once we were reassured with two glasses of Sula Chenin Blanc, we asked for a starter of Red Pepper Chicken. The delicately moist chicken was fiery and well marinated, but our head waiter was not amused. He admonished the steward attending to us: "Why have you got them full portions?"

To our surprise, the "half plate" concept was not limited only to oily biriyanis. C.G. 83 have recognized the importance of not inflicting singles or couples with the arduous task of getting through entire portions of meals. Being a single or even two diners means that your ability to sample different dishes goes down drastically, and any attempt to order a vast array often leads to a very big doggy bag accompanying you out of the restaurant. Yahoo!

Enthused, we ordered a "half portion" of ginger fried squid (thick slices of squid batter fried and lightly spiced) and some prawn wafers (which were very different than the white puffs with pink rims that you usually find in restaurants and/or big bazaar). The Kimchi on the table (we had eaten two plates in just-got-outta-office hunger) and the Chicken had stuffed us up (it was so good that we really didn't mind) and so we moved straight to a dessert of honey fried noodles with vanilla ice cream, which was perfect in every way, especially the size (the full portion is absolutely huge).

Reasonably priced by Mumbai (and Malabar Hill) standards and especially for the outstanding food, C.G. 83 is a must visit on the Mumbai foodie itinerary. Reservations are recommended.

PS: Sorry for the lack of photographs. My N72 has met an untimely end at the hands of opportunistic pickpocketers. :(

Wok and Roll

As far as VFM Food experiences go, All Stir Fry at the Gordon House Hotel, Colaba, takes the wok. Literally.

For under 400 rupees, you can eat to your heart's content at Colaba - and if the food's bad, you only have yourself to blame. Simple concept - choose your veggies, your meats, your sauces, your seasonings and let the Chefs work their magic. An arresting array of exotic oriental veggies awaits you
Along with some fresh beef, chicken, squid, and apologies to the purists - but even pork salami and sausages!

Never to miss an opportunity, I load my bowl with prawns and get going

Topped with some fresh veggies:

My bowl is ready to be wok-ed!

The Chefs listen patiently while you explain to them your choice of sauce, ranging from mild, spicy to extra spicy. You can ask for a dash of lemon juice, extra garlic, chili oil and crushed peanut for a special touch. And you can watch eagerly as your raw material gets transformed into an absolute delight.

And voila! I opted for a mix of Korean BBQ sauce and some peanut and fresh corriander. Its unlimited helpings, and so a friendly piece of advice is to take small helpings, dabble with the range of sauces and avoid the noodles/rice to keep more room for experimentation (and the carbs off!).

Besides the VFM factor, the location and the thrill of the whole process, ASF also has separate utensils and bowls for its vegetarian patrons, a highly recommended a la carte menu for the lazy ones, great drinks and cheekily worded fortune cookies to end your meal.

Puneites - there's a branch at E Square too! Rejoice!

Burger Battles

Quick reviews and comments on eating out experiences in the last fortnight:

1. McDonalds: Is the only place that can satisfy lunch pangs at 4PM near the Esplanade Court. I confess to eating a Chicken McBurger Meal. The Burgers are shrinking, in case regular eaters there haven't noticed. And when I'm talking about the Burger I mean the Chicken Patty. Personally I dislike McD's but you gotta love the fries there. Unfortunately for my efforts I was given a "Chak De India" Olympic Card, whereby if I subject myself to two more 4PM lunch attempts I will get a fourth meal free. All my loved ones are under strict instructions to not allow me to fall into the trap.

2. Mela (Worli): Was once upon a time a nice restaurant with a fantastic location. Now it just has a fantastic location. We sat in a newly painted room - the smell of the paint wasn't strong enough to mask the quality of the food, though.

3. Bembo's: More burgers, this time, South American. If you find yourself spoilt for choice between Bembo's and McD's, here's an easy comparison:

- At Bembo's, you get an option of cheese and a fried egg on your burger.

- At Bembo's, the bread bun has a yellow tinge. (At least I hope so)

- At Bembo's, there's unlimited mayo.

- At Bembo's, you have the option of a mutton burger.

- At Bembo's, the Veg Burger is made of Rajma, not Potato and friends like at McD.

- At Bembo's, there's no Olympic Card Collection.

- Most importantly, at Bembo's, there's life beyond the burger.

Bembo's is better than McDs in my final analysis, but the McD fries still win. Don't take the Bembo's cashier too seriously when he tells you that something is "spicy", though.

4. Hard Rock Cafe: I'm the sorriest that this wasn't even worth a seperate blog post. I don't care how much Aerosmith loves those Quesadillas, they have to change their menu. Especially since even the good items on the menu, like the Spicy Calamari, have suddenly deteriorated in quality. What's the point of playing great music in the fantastic ambience of a converted mill when everyone leaves of hunger pangs? Also, the watering down of the drinks is not going unnoticed. We are watching. And complaining.

5. Smokin Lee's: Freaked me out when they identified my name and address merely by giving them my phone number. That's when they told me that they got the register from the "Smokin' Joe's" franchise office. You see, they are affiliated. Smokin Lee's gives chinese food in boxes, like what you see on Seinfeld or Friends. The quality of the food is just about average, nothing exceptional and the usual suspects on the menu. What is extraordinary is the pricing - a meal for two is about 300 plus taxes, for a vegetarian starter, rice/noodles and main course. It's not "cheap chinese take out". Get stuff from your local udupi which dabbles in Chinese instead.

When it's Chinese, stick to the Mainland

"Are you SURE you don't mind going for Chinese?" I meekly asked.

"Yes sweetie, I'm sure..." he put his arm around my shoulder.

After a pause, he continued: "I must admit I don't like Chinese food as much as YOU like Chinese food..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Mainland China time!"

I kept avoiding Mainland China because Saki Naka is one of the worst traffic holes in Mumbai, but there was no excuse once it opened its Lokhandwala branch. And so my long suffering beau and I hopped over.

Mainland China, coming from the same makers as Oh! Calcutta (deserves a seperate blog post for sure) is big and beautiful, and packed. After a half hour wait, we settle in to tuck in.We sampled the dim sum menu, and in the spirit of the blog I later accosted the smiling Chef behind the live steaming counter - Chef Beeru. Chef Beeru indulges me by overcoming his shyness and giving me a step by step demonstration of the making of the Veg Hargow:

The dough of the "hargow" dumpling is made of a mix of rice and potato, rolled thin and stuffed - in our case, a vegetarian mix of corn, carrot and other vegetables.

Each dumpling is shaped by delicate hand movements.

The dumplings in their various forms

Ready to rock:

Steamy :)



Once emerged from the steamer:











The shy Chef with his delicious creations:











And finally, on our plates and ready to be devoured. It is served with a spicy mustard sauce, and a spring onion greens paste. We also had a glass of Sula Chenin Blanc to keep us company which went very well with the dumplings.

We were a little disappointed to be informed by our steward that each of the dumpling varieties had the same stuffing. So we moved on to some other appetizers - Crispy Vegetables in a chili and plum sauce - with batter fried carrots, aubergine, potato and brocolli in a tangy sauce. I was happy to note that the dish did not suffer the major problems involved in a dish like this - no use of "not so fresh" vegetables, and no overdose of batter. The vegetables were fresh, crispy and full of the robust flavours of the spice, the plum sauce and garlic. Very well done and highly recommended. We then had a soup interlude - veg noodle clear soup for the boy, who was taking a risque step by venturing away from his time and tested tomato soup, and he was disappointed with the bland taste of the very diluted stock. I chose the crab, to compensate for the vegetarian meal. It was very good and very full of crab.

After much deliberation we decided to go in for the "main course", which usually winds up being the biggest mistake in a chinese meal - some not so great sauce and not so great vegetables with some not so great rice. I spied something innovative on the Chef's Special - Braised okra in a mango sauce. Something on the rice list looked equally special - fried rice with chinese olives. So there it was.

Who ever thought the humble bhindi, okra, ladyfinger, whatever - could be this good? The Okra was tender, cooked just till done, and the thick orange gravy which the vegetables lay in was sweet, sour and a little spicy - nothing conventional - no cornflour, no soya sauce, no spring onion garnish - just a wonderful creation from a wonderful chinese restaurant. Kudos to Chef Ram on that one. It went perfectly with the rice which was flavoursome but not overwhelmingly so.

We would have avoided dessert but the smell of chocolate from the open counter was too tempting, and so the boy ordered the Hot Chocolate Rolls - small spring rolls, of sorts, with a gooey hot chocolate filling, served with a honey sauce and vanilla ice cream. I'm usually more of a date pancake/darsan dessert person in a chinese restaurant, but this was heavenly.

Verdict: Mainland China has to be applauded on many counts - one, serving excellent chinese food in an excellent ambience with excellent service without the five star price tag. Two, fantastic innovations. Read the Chef's Special section of the menu to get my drift. And three, giving a great food experience to a confirmed non vegetarian. Veggie Chinese food is usually all about Gobi Manchurian and Schezwan vegetables. Mainland China makes me at least consider the possibility that good food doesn't need meat. I'd love to see more dim sum varieties, more stuffings and certainly many more innovations.

Note: Mainland China offers a luxurious and varied buffet lunch - complete with soups, dim sums, stir frys, desserts - you name it. Priced at 295 (taxes extra) on weekdays and 395 (taxes extra) on weekends, it seems to be a great way to spend your day.

Gurgaonites rejoice! You too have a Mainland China in your vicinity (DLF Corporate Park or its whereabouts). What remains to be seen is whether it gives competition to the godly "The Monk" at 32nd milestone. Again, thats a place that deserves another blog post.

An ode to the Longest Island Iced Tea

Dome, at the Intercontinental, Marine Drive, Mumbai is expensive, has white sofas, repetitive lounge music and very bad food. So what makes it one of the most popular lounge bars in Mumbai?

Dome is home to the best, and more importantly, the Longest Long Island Iced Tea in Mumbai. For the uninitiated, the LIIT was allegedly an invention of the times of Prohibition in the United States, and was a cocktail of alcohols in the guise of Iced Tea. The cocktail is a mix of vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and triple sec, topped with cola and some sour agent. The glass is endless, and its good. Good enough to provide the inspiration for several hilarious stories. Good enough to be worth the 500 buck tag (taxes extra). For those who enjoy variety, the bartender replaces the cola with red bull and adds some blue curaco to create the "Bullfrog". It's tolerable only after you've already had an LIIT. It gives one an overwhelming sense of benedryll.

(Clockwise from top left corner: the"Dome" in the Dome, Candlelit decor, the Star of the Show, and the very talented bar)

Even if you're a teetotaller, Dome gives you the best view in Mumbai, so its worth a lounge. This is a food blog, but food's the last thing on my mind on a Saturday Night, and it should be the last thing on your mind at Dome. For the record, the cuisine is Oriental Grill. We had grilled chicken and prawns once, the chicken was coated in a caramelized sauce which tasted of nothing much else, and the prawns were, tsk tsk, stale. I should have returned it, but I didn't order it. Besides, I only return food when I'm sober. A better option would be to eat at Corleone, the IC's Italian restaurant which is currently the best in Mumbai, on your way up. If you want my advice, buy yourself another LIIT with the money. Stick to the complimentary Bingo chips (ITC, ITC) if you want a nibble.

At home in a five star?

Difficult to explain how I landed up at the Taj Mahal's Masala Kraft for lunch one day, but it was sheer lethargy that got me to agree with my companion and the waiter to opt for the vegetarian "Maharashtrian Tiffin" for a working lunch. I'm not Maharashtrian, but I've lived in the state for long enough to know what the food should taste like. So there we went.

I noticed the aesthetically done set up while I munched the complimentary papad assortment. Some time later, our meal was brought, little bowls hanging from a tree of sorts, and set up very painstakingly in front of us.

(Counterclockwise from bottom: rotis, varan, Bharili vangi, mix vegetably curry, batatachi bhaji)

The meal began with farsan (not in pic), which was actually part Gujarati - a piece each of dhokla (steamed cakes made with chickpea flour and tempered with mustard), aloowadi (layers of colocassia/arbi leaves alternated with a chickpea flour and spice paste, steamed, sliced and tempered) , Idada (similar to the dhokla, but white in colour, and made of urad dal), and kothimbir wadi (a cutlet made from chickpea flour, lots of spices and lots of corriander/kothimbir), which was the best of the lot.

The main course looked pretty small, but I was pretty full by the end of it. The Batatachi bhaji was simple, very similar to that which is found in maharashtrian households all over, and served usually with pooris. It's a simple enough dish to make - boiled potatoes tempered with turmeric powder and mustard seeds, and garnished with fresh coconut and corriander.

The mix vegetable curry (they had a name for it which is irrelevant) was quite odd, there was nothing maharashtrian about it, in fact, it tasted like a sour paneer butter masala with extra vegetables in it. Perhaps in another thali it would have been appealing (then again, maybe not), in a Maharashtrian tiffin, it was just an outsider. I could imagine a lot of Shiv Sainiks getting very upset about this inclusion.

The bharili vangi, one of my favourite dishes and made in several different ways all over Maharashtra, is a dish of little eggplants/brinjals which are slit till the stem and stuffed with a spice paste of corriander, cloves, chilli, and grated coconut or groundnut, and simmered in the same gravy. My companion, Lax, caught the goof up even though he's not an insider on Maharashtrian cuisine:

"Isn't there too much groundnut in this?"

Oh dear, yes. It tasted like an entire jar of Skippy's Chunky Peanut Butter had been emptied into the spice paste. I cringed.

My biggest grudge however was the bread accompaniment - we were served tandoori rotis, as opposed to the other options of a Maharashtrian meal - bhakris (rotis made of bajra/millet or jowar/sorghum flours), vade (pooris made of rice flour), or even poli (tava chapatis).

I ended my meal with the varan, which is toor dal cooked with very basic seasoning - cumin and asafoetida, and rice, and I was happy - the varan, topped with a teaspoon of ghee, was just the way it should be. A special mention also to the matka dahi which Lax insisted on.

For dessert, we were given the modak: a dumpling made from maida, which is filled with either chana dal or coconut and jaggery. The dumpling is then deep fried, or steamed. The modak came doused with ghee, but I was pained to find that the modak making had been obviously outsourced to the neighbouring chinese restaurant - the covering was thick and reminiscent of a steamed bun dim-sum. The coconut-jaggery stuffing was a little too dry. Lord Ganesha would not have been pleased at the Chef's interpretation of his favourite sweet dish.

At Rs. 1,100 plus taxes, it was certainly not worth it, except for learning that five star restaurants can really bungle up dishes which, ironically, a lot of staff members, and possibly the chef himself, must be eating at home every single day. I know a lot of people will ask me why the hell I went to a Taj Indian restaurant and not to the Chinese ones, which are much more preferred. Isn't there a reason why 5 star Indian cuisine, with the exception of maybe ITC's Bukhara, is looked down upon? Who exactly are we catering to?