As regional Indian cuisine is steadily
gaining popularity and coming out of home kitchens to fancy five-star
restaurants it’s time to celebrate one of its pioneering restaurants. Although
Chor Bizarre has been hugely famous for introducing Kashmiri cuisine in the
capital, the restaurant housed in Hotel Broadway at Asaf Ali Road has served an
array of regional Indian food for twenty-five years. Coinciding with this
milestone is yet another reason to rejoice - the opening of the second Chor
Bizarre in the heart of New Delhi.
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| The Famous Kashmiri Fare Top L-R: Seekh Kebab, Tabak Maaz, Gazab ka Tikka; Galouti Kebab. Centre: Tarami Bottom L-R: Aloo Bukhara Mirchi Korma; Haaq Saag; Chicken Rogan Josh; Phirni. |
At First Glance
The beautiful environ of Bikaner House located
at the India Gate round-about complements the delicious pan-Indian fare as well
as the eclectic décor. The restaurant is split into two dining areas - one has
a colonial appeal while the other is inspired by different regions of India,
including a Kashmiri corner complete with walnut wood carved panel, papier-mâché work and portraits of Kashmiri
people. The thread that gels the entire look together is that nothing matches.
Much like one is likely to find at a ‘chor bazaar’ or thieves’ market there is
a range of qwirky and antique furniture. A four-poster bed and a wrought iron
door have been used as decorative tabletops. Mismatched crockery and cutlery is
part of the design. The bric-à-brac includes miniature dressing table
sets, old radio systems, paintings from different parts of India and even old
lunchbox sets. Yet everything is put together very aesthetically, lending a
charm that is unique to Chor Bizarre.
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| The eclectic decor offers a mix of Imperial inclinations and regional Indian. |
Flavours: Old and New
With recipes collected from different parts of the
country the menu features a large repertoire of vegetarian dishes and chaats
besides the famous Kashmiri tarami as well as choice of
a la carte Waza dishes as well as Kashmiri Pandit cuisine.
You may start with chaats such as dahi batata puri, crispy palak patta chaat or keep it simple with a papad platter served with two dips and kachumber salad. From the new additions vegetarians have appetizing options such as kurkuri makkai, gobhi koliwada or dahi chironji ke kabab while non-vegetarians can tuck into chargrilled nimbu ka jheenga or fried prawn koliwada. Murgi Se Pehle has been reintroduced in this menu after many years and is essentially char grilled eggs with cheese. Gosht Ka Soola, or tender chunks of lamb marinated in red chilli paste and hot spices have been added in keeping with the Rajasthani affiliation of Bikaner House.
While the mains include the ubiquitous butter chicken, nihari gosht and dum ka murgh korma, three
types of dals and various paneer and vegetable dishes the Kashmiri fare
continues to shine on. The tarami, that is popular even with Kashmiri
clientele, is served in a traditional platter covered with a copper lid and is
accompanied with mooli akhrot chutney, tamatar mirch and laal pyaaz.
The platter itself includes seekh kabab, tabak maaz, goshtaba, chicken
roganjosh, aloo bukhara korma, nadru yakhni, haaq, nadru choorma and
vegetarians are also well taken care of with offerings including tamatar
chaaman, dum aloo, gobhi roganjosh, nadru yakhni, haaq, rajmah, nadroo choorma.
The meal is then rounded off with Kashmiri phirni and kahwa.
The new restaurant is managed by old hands
including Pratik Sinha, general manager, Hotel Broadway, who has been with the
company for over 24 years, while the kitchens are headed by corporate chef,
Rajiv Malhotra. While their experience ensures consistency of flavours and
service, they have researched extensively to add new dishes to complement and
enhance the original menu. The team will also cater for the banquet spaces of
Bikaner House that are available for private events.
Details
Chor Bizarre, Bikaner House, Pandara Road, New
Delhi.
Phone: 011 23071574.
This article first appeared on indiatoday.intoday.in on January
2, 2017. It has been modified by the author to fit the requirements of
AppetisingTales.com.
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