When I read the menu of Kebabs and Curries, and found out that we were being served just that - kebabs and curries, I was a little apprehensive. I've always been a little wary of "luxe" Indian restaurants, especially because it's so easy to find delicious Indian food on the streets of Bombay! But nothing ventured, nothing gained - we decided to add Kebabs and Curries to our Restaurant Week repertoire, and today, I can safely say that it was one of the best decisions ever made!
The ITC is so swanky and stylish that you almost forget the hell of Parel that you have to drive through to get there. Starting from the doorman to the maitre d'hotel - superlative service is ingrained in the core culture of this hotel, and it certainly shows. We were ushered to our table, in an earthen walled, understated dining area, with muted gold lighting. Our server wasted no time in handing us our menus, and we ordered equally quickly. Waiting till 10 for dinner is no joke.
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| Kebabs and Curries, ITC Grand Central |
While we were awaiting our platters, we kept ourselves occupied with papad, kanda - limboo, achaar and chutney - the eternal saviours of famished Indians everywhere. They had served us an interesting spicy garlic pickle that was addictive. I didn't want to make the
same mistake I'd made at Botticino and fill up on condiments, though, so I took it slow.
Our food took a really long time to arrive, but when it did, we were so hungry that we didn't leave our mouths unoccupied for even a minute to complain. Each platter consisted of three varieties of kebab, a roti/naan of your choice, their signature dish, kaali dal, raita, and a curry. The non vegetarian curry was chicken, but upon our request, they very obligingly changed it to mutton. Carnivores everywhere, rejoice!
With the amount of permutations and combinations of kebabs being ordered, we got to taste pretty much everything. My personal favourites were the divinely tender and tasty Murg Angaara, and Tala Gosht. The Barrah kebab was satisfyingly charred, a little too thick on the palate to enjoy the succulent taste of the mutton though. The aloo could have been given a miss- it was too dry, but the Machchli Tikka and Murgh Malai more than made up for it.
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| Murgh Angaari, Barrah Kebab, Murgh Malai Tikka |
Though we were served only one type of each kebab, each piece was decently proportioned, and with the naan and lachcha parathas that accompanied them, the plates were decently filling. However, our meal did not end here. The crowning glory of the entire meal was their kaali dal, which was exquisitely flavoured, hot and tasty - total soul food that could make you go "aah" in a second. It was delicious, good enough to eat plain, and combined with the cold, fresh dahi that it was served with - it was absolute heaven.
The mutton curry they served along with this was also worth a mention. Gorgeously tender, with a hint of sweetness, the curry tasted like a little spicier version of sali boti (another one of my eternal favourites), and went deliciously with the rest. It really was an utterly satisfying meal.
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| Kaali Dal, Dahi, Mutton Curry |
There were only two things I could have complained about in this entire meal. One, the fact that it took a little too long to arrive. The second, that no decent Indian meal ends with a "fruit platter" - our dessert after such a fine meal was woefully disappointing. Hey ITC - we WANT our capillaries clogged, can you please oblige us with a gulab jamun platter next time? Finally replete, we were given the fanciest finger bowls EVER to wash our hands in. Ever tried washing your hands in green tea? Five star experiences, I tell you.
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| Fancy fingerbowl |
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| Failure at dessert :( |
Service - excellent. Food- excellent. I think that this was one of the best Restaurant Week outings I've had so far. I would highly recommend a trip down to the ITC either this time, or the next, to enjoy a true soul satisfying foodie experience!
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