Bukhara @ ITC Maurya Sheraton; Peshawari @ ITC Grand Maratha

I am not trying to kill two birds with one stone here, certainly not the bird popularly believed to be a North-West Frontier invention, the Tandoori chicken. In fact I believe most people in the region, present day Afghanistan most likely haven’t ever heard of or tasted the crown jewel in the world famous Indian cuisine which in fact was a local old Delhi invention and a hot selling item at the Moti Mahal in those busy streets. Having busted the myth the idea behind writing about both these restaurants together was the fact that both share the same menu, ambience and even the chef. That is the obvious next step after you create perfection – clone it! Peshawari tends to those in Mumbai missing or deprived of the heavenly ‘Dal Bukhara’ or the cooked to perfection ‘Sikandari Raan’ that us Delhi-ites often take for granted.

If it is a nice home cooked meal or if you’ve been craving the ‘ghar ki dal’ this is not the place for you. This is perhaps the most decadent meal, so rich that some might call it a heart attack on a plate. The menu offers a limited selection of non-vegetarian and vegetarian kababs, curries and breads but each item is clearly a dish perfected over many generations. And the most important ingredient is the one that is added last, at the table after serving, your hopefully clean hands with which the members of the staff insist you enjoy the great delicacies. My favourites are the previously mentioned a. ‘Dal Bukhara’ which comes from a pot that has been simmering away for days endlessly replenished constantly with boiled lentils and a healthy doze of butter and b. ‘Sikandari Raan’ or a whole leg of baby lamb, apart from the visual appeal the dish offers an aroma and distinct taste of the marinate with meat so tender that it easily falls of the bone. I would also recommend the ‘Barra Kabab’ which is basically lamb chops that take you back in time when it would seem that these kababs were slowly cooked on a hot slab of stone.

The service and ambience is excellent despite the fact I am sometimes reminded of the disturbing past of the people from this region who have faced life as refugees for several years including my own family members. The food once served quickly distracts you from the short uncomfortable looking furniture and no matter who orders the ‘Peshawari Naan’ whether it arrives at your table or another, the table-size bread never fails to hog the spotlight. Finally, if you have any room left after the meal don’t hesitate to try the kulfi or the gulab jamun for dessert, they are both worth the guilt. I don’t recommend frequent visits to the restaurant for heart patients but you can be sure that for a special moment in life the restaurant will certainly leave you with special memories. Most of the times I see locals hosting their friends or business partners from abroad at the restaurant and if they ever come back to the country they will ask their hosts to take them back there! Why not? If the restaurant is good enough for Bill and Hillary Clinton’s list of favourites, it’s good enough for me.