Pages

Friday 24 June 2016

Nawab Asia – Indeed, a feast fit for Nawabs!


A sultry Tuesday afternoon found four friends, one visiting from Texas and three Punekars, at Nawab Asia. We honed in on Nawab Asia because our visiting friend had requested Indian food. What better place to take her to?
We gave our server our order for drinks: we ordered three fresh lime sodas and a daiquiri. All well made. No complaints at all.

For starters we ordered the Karari Roti, Chowk Ki Tikki, Lazeez Tandoori Jhinga, Murg Lepeta and Kakori Kabab. 



Karari Roti: Our guest was amazed at the Karari Roti when it was placed on the table. I remember I had the same amazed look when I had seen it for the first time, years ago. It is a crisp roti in the shape of a large shallow bowl, sprinkled with spices and slathered with ample clarified butter (ghee). As always, it was done to perfection!

Chowk Ki Tikki: This is a potato-green pea tikki that sounds so drab and ordinary. It is anything but that! The Tikki is a melt in the mouth delight and I would happily eat dozens of these all by myself. *note to self: stop penning gluttonous stuff* :D

Lazeez Tandoori Jhinga: Very well spiced and cooked to perfection. I’d give it a 10 on 10 for texture and taste.



Murg Lepeta: These too were on the well spiced side. They were soft, succulent chicken kababs.

Kakori Kabab: We had ordered Galouti Kabab but were told they were, unfortunately, not available that afternoon, hence opted for these babies. Kakori kababs are kababs that one barely needs to chew on. They simple melt on the tongue in a riotous burst of flavour. A 10 on 10 just isn’t the right rating for this dish. A 11/10 sounds much better!

For the mains we ordered Kache Gosht Ki Biryani, Lalla Mussa Dal, Paneer Kali Mirch Masala, Methi Muttar Malai, Murgh Makhani and Garlic Butter Naan.


Kache Gosht Ki Biryani: Succulent, perfectly marinated, falling-off-the-bone mutton pieces gently nestled in long grained, fragrant Basmati rice. It was a dish that ignited the taste buds. Damn! The dish has me salivating as I pen this! Sigh! 


Murgh Makhani: Boneless tandoori chicken pieces in rich, creamy gravy. This one at Nawab Asia is made the traditional way. It was perfectly balanced in flavour; not overly oily, sweet or spicy. 



Paneer Kali Mirch Masala and Methi Muttar Malai, both, were white gravy dishes. What all four of us collectively realized was that both dishes were very different and distinctive in taste. It’s no wonder that the restaurant gets nominated and wins Food awards ever so often. 


Lalla Mussa Dal: It’s just a fancy-schmancy name for what is commonly known as Maa ki Dal, Dal Makhani or Kali Dal. I have had great dal makhani at a couple of restaurants, which have set the bar for taste and texture quite high. This one, too, was totally on par with the Dal Makhani I’ve had at those restaurants. 


Nimboo Murgh: This is a new dish that Nawab Asia has introduced into their menu. This chicken was served in tangy-spicy gravy. The chicken was succulent. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers tap danced in perfect harmony.. ooppsss I mean lime and ginger danced in perfect harmony on the palate. 


The Butter Garlic Naan was soft and buttery, garlicky and the perfect accompaniment to the mains we had ordered. 


We were contemplating our order for desserts when a server set down two bowls of Malai Kulfi and a glass of four Gulab Jamuns-Rabri. He told us this was sent compliments of Nawab Asia. We were stunned with the kindness and generosity shown to us. Needless to say they both were excellent!

At the end of the meal two of our friends happily took back doggy bags because Nawab Asia is not stingy with the quantity of food served and also because we had ordered for so many dishes as we wanted our visiting friend to try a greater selection. Point being: Great food – great quantity!

Whenever I pen reviews about a place I try my best to look into the tiniest of details. I don’t necessarily do this to find faults. I do this to seek out tiny positives. I don’t deny that sometimes tiny negatives also crop up when I venture this route. No matter how hard I tried, there was absolutely nothing about this meal that I could find the tiniest of fault with. Nawab Asia ensured that the meal, service and ambiance were spot on! Very rarely do I get a write a review where I find no faults with anything. Nawab Asia, take a bow and imagine my friends and I giving you a standing ovation! You rightly deserve it!

Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Ambiance: 5/5


Address: Bund Garden Road, Opp Poona Club, Pune
Tel: 020 65202475 / +91 9860640419

No comments:

Post a Comment