Our first dinner here in Mumbai. Amith made a reservation at this restaurant in the ITC Maratha hotel where Jeff and I would be staying at the very end of our trip. Amith also brought along his parents who live in Mumbai. It was great to meet them and to have dinner together.
We had a 7:45 reservation, and we were one of the first ones there. This restaurant, Peshawri, features more rustic Northwest “frontier” food. The is reflected in the decor (roughly hewn tables), the gingham plaid napkins, the wooden tablet menu and the food. All food is cooked in the tandoor and meats are not served with any sauce or gravy, but are only marinated before cooking Amith took care of the ordering.
I had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc from Sula Vineyards, a local wine producer (it was decent enough). We were expected to eat with our hands (fun!) and no cutlery is provided for eating. The napkins were actually bibs and so we all put them on assuming we might drop a bit of food on ourselves. Of course, we probably looked like n00bs since I don’t think anyone else in the restaurant used their bibs that way, lol.
The meal started with the papadum and the raw onion. The raw onion though was seasoned with just a sprinkle of garam masala which really enhanced the onions.
Amith had ordered us a variety of dishes including leg of lamb (Sikandari Raan), chicken (Murgh Malai Kabab), and fish (Tandoori Pomfret). For sides, we also had lentils (Dal Bukhara) and a couple different breads. It was hard to say what was best because it really all was fantastic. The chicken and fish were so tender and moist. The lamb was of course falling off the bone. All was well seasoned, but not hot at all (I would have enjoyed some heat though). The fish was also delicious, moist, flaky, and well seasoned also. All was cooked in the tandoor and no doubt that enhanced the flavors as well. Even the dal was incredibly rich and flavorful. The dal is slow cooked for 18 hours which no doubt helped develop the flavors.
Amith also orderd a variety of desserts for us – Gulab Jamun, Kulfi, Phirini, and Rasmalai. My favorites were the Gulab Jamun which I’ve always liked. The Rasmalai was also quite good with the saffron flavored milk. The weakest was the Kulfi which wasn’t particularly flavorful, but also off texturally. Amith had mentioned it to the waitperson who took it back to investigate. He later came back and said that the dessert seemed to have come ice crystals in it and they apologized and also removed that charge from the menu.
On our way out of the restaurant, in addition to packets of mukhwas to freshener our breath, there were also Meetha and Sada Paan. These two are both betel leaf with a filling. I’ve never seen either of these at restaurants in the US, so it was a pleasant surprise. The paan definitely provided a bit of zing that also served the same purpose as the mukhwas.
All in all, it was a fantastic meal with great food and great company.
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