Friday, March 2, 2018

Sindh Kitchen Restaurant Review

Very rarely does one have the chance to interact with the owner of a restaurant and his family, and recently I had the opportunity to meet Akshay Luthria and his elegant mother Ms. Vandana and vivacious sister Ankita. It was so wonderful to meet Akshay, who cooks from the heart and his team of chefs who are trained in the kitchens of 5*star hotels deftly combine flavors from his childhood, his heritage, and the bountiful produce from Namma Bengaluru to create wonderful Sindhi and North West Frontier cuisine which are absolutely delectable.

Mixed Appetizers
Sindhi cuisine is not very famous as there are very few restaurants pan India that serve it, but its here.... ready to rule the hearts of all and give the regular North Indian restaurants a run for their money! 

Since I am a vegetarian and this blog is about Vegetarian cuisine, the dishes I will focus on the Vegetarian menu, but they have an extensive non-vegetarian menu as well.

We started off with a mint drink that were refreshing and cleansed our palate as we moved onto a mind boggling variety of appetizers, and the winners without a doubt were Dal tikri ~ chana dal served on crisp puris and topped with sweet and spicy chutneys and chopped onions. Palak Papri chaat ~ crisp deep fried palak leaves served with spiced yoghurt, then came Crispy Coriander Paneer, cubes of paneer stuffed with spinach, cheese, nuts and coated with coriander and deep fried ~ the dish just melted in the mouth as the paneer was so succulent and moist, this dish was a clear winner for me. Other equally awesome dishes were the famous Soya chap, a dish made with sheets of soya to mimic chicken, Stuffed Karela ~ large pieces of bitter gourd stuffed paneer and afghani style spices. The stuffed Mushrooms were filled with fenugreek cheese and cooked in the tandoor and had that wonderful smoky flavour too it. Served with the appetizers were onions soaking in curd and spices and a variety of Chutney's including one made with tomatoes and green chillies that is Akshay's mother special recipe/blend.

Mushroom stuffed with cheese and tandoori spices
Moving to the Mains, we tasted the traditional Sindhi Sai Bhaji and Bhugga/Wari chawal, then to Sindhi kadhi, steamed rice and Aloo Tuk. Next came an onslaught of gravy dishes like Paneer Peshawari, Dal Bhukara, Sabzi Lazeez ~ a melange of vegetables cooked in a saffron infused yoghurt sauce and another unique dish Sunheri Kofta Makhan palak ~ succulent koftas in a creamed palak gravy, truly delicious and these were served with Balochi Naan, Kadak Mirch ka parotha, soft Khameeri roti, and Kashmiri Naan which was studded with assorted dry fruits. I wish I could describe in detail about each dish.....but the bottom line is that everything was delicious and well worth a visit. It might just become a family favourite and your go to place in Malleshwaram.

Bhugga/Wari Chawal, Sindhi Kadhi, Sai Bhaji

Satpura/Kadak Mirch roti, Naan, Khameeri Roti

Kashmiri Pulao

Top row: Paneer Peshawari, Moong Dal, Dal Bukhara
Bottom Row: Mushroom corn, Sabzi Lazeez, Sunheri kofta Palak makhan 

Finally, while I had no place left for dessert...I squeezed in Angoori rasmalai (the most softest melt in the mouth Ras Malai I've ever had) served on a bed of Gajar ka halwa and studded with a piece of Pragree, deep fried pastry stuffed with khoa and dunked in a sugar syrup (a seasonal Sindhi dish served for Holi festival).

Angoori Ras malai on Gajar ka halwa and served with Pragree
Photo Credit: Nameesh Rajamane
COE: I was invited for the preview by the restaurant and am posting voluntarily this unbiased recommendation of their amazing Menu.

So to wrap up the post: My recommendation is pretty self evident, please do give it a try and I'm sure you will not regret it. Unique dishes prepared with seasonal produce, cooked without excessive use of cream, oil, ghee and cooking soda. The restaurant is located inside Bloom Boutique hotel and are open for Breakfast, Lunch, High Tea/Snack/Chaat and dinner. They also have a catering arm and can customize our party/needs and also do Boxed lunches for offices, etc.

Taste: 4
Ambiance: 3.5
Value for Money: 4

Sindh Kitchen
Location: 8 Sampinge Road, opposite GRT jewellers Malleshwaram (Inside Bloom Boutique Hotel)
Phone: 91-7760260406 / 91-9650616707

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