Saffron, North West Frontier cuisine, fine dine restaurant at Park Plaza Bengaluru launches the new Curry & Kebabs menu today and I was invited to enjoy their delectable selection of curry and kebab. Executive chef Ishtiyak took us through the menu along with Director of Culinary, Park Plaza, Narender Singh who spoke in length about the different menu available and the ancient recipe picked for the same. The cuisine is inspired from the delicacies of an ancient route which ran between Old Delhi and Lahore. Roasted in tandoor or on sighri, shallow-fried in a tava, deep-fried in a kadhai, even steamed on pots, the menu looks like a memorable gastronomical experience.
They have 3 different types of menu - Maharaja, Sultan and Nawab's priced at Rs. 2200+, Rs.1700+ and Rs. 1400+ respectively. I chose to enjoy the non veg Sultan menu. Started the meal with Kharoday - Paya ras which had lamb trotters simmered in aromatic broth. I am not a paya fan, in fact I avoid it the most but the aroma of the soup made sure that I slurpped.
Then came the kebab's. 5 kebab's were on offer. Jhinga kali mirch ka sarson, which had tiger prawns marinated with yogurt, crushed peppercorn and homemade Indian spices cooked in clay oven. Shami kebab, pan-fried shoulder meat of kid lamb, simmered with lentils and whole spices, stuffed with pomegranate and hung curd. 3 different types of chicken kebab's were there - Sufiyana murgh tikka, char grilled succulent chicken pieces marinated with fresh fennel leaves, cooked in clay pot. Murgh angar bedgi, boneless chicken legs marinated with fresh ground masala and broiled in tandoor. Murgh moongfali ka tikka, Chicken pieces marinated with cream, cheese, peanut and ground spices which is cooked in clay pot and topped with cracked mustard seed and curry leaves.
The kebab's were cooked extremely well. Murgh moongfali ka tikka was my favorite from chicken apart from jhinga kali mirch ka sarson. The kebab's were served with Missi roti, but I would have preferred rumali roti or nothing with kebab's. Nevertheless, I hardly ate 1 roti as I was busy relishing the kebab's.
Next course was Tariyan Te Sukhe Vyanjan. 4 curries, 1 dal and 1 Biryani was served along with Kulcha/roti or naan. I had my tummy partially full with kebab's so it was time to fill my appetite with the curries. Bhatti chowk da nalli ghost, lamb shanks cooked in onion and yogurt gravy flavored with saffron and mint. lamb shanks have always been my favorite and this was delish which was stright from the streets of Lahore. Anarkali bazaar de bater which are quails cooked in punjabi style. I did not enjoy this much. Safed Makhan ka chooza makhani, chicken cooked in homemade white butter with satin smooth tomato gravy, this was delectable with naan and kulcha.
Sarson da saag has always been my winter favorite, signature dish from the state of Punjab, mustard leaves and spices topped with generous amount of white butter. Maah ki dal or Dal Makhani as some name it, it is a delicacy of whole urad dal, tomato puree and garlic simmered overnight on tandoor, enriched with cream and served with dollop of butter. Dal Makhani has been my favorite and having the dal alone is what I always prefer. Lastly, Saffron Murgh Biryani was served which had long grain basmati rice cooked in dum with marinated chicken and flavored with saffron.
The variety for curries was good with lamb, chicken, Quail, Veg, Dal and Biryani. Biryani has a strong flavor of saffron which is evident in every morsel. I mixed with lam curry and chicken curry with biryani for an added taste.
I also enjoyed 2 mocktails which is not part of the menu during my meal.
After a filling main course, it was time for the dessert platter which had Kulfi Falooda, Kesar rasmalai and Gajar ka halwa with ice-cream. The gajar ka halwa was very tasty, similar to what my Mom makes but ice-cream was missing with it, but I did not mind as the halwa was good. Rasmalai has been my favorite dessert, these were small rasmalai dumplings but it lacked enough saffron. Kulfi falooda, pistachio-almond flavor was a highlight. To end the night, I tried the paan shot which was made from water and sweet paan.
Overall, the dinner was fabulous and rich. As the hotel is placed on the outer ring road, which has many offices and apartments around, one can savor the menu over family lunches or dinner or even team outings. The Maharaja menu has little more variety on the menu while the Nawab menu has a little less. The seating is neatly arranged using the entire space and giving privacy to every table. The yellow lighting in the restaurant is nice but not good at all for picture so bear the poor quality pics on the blog. This was my first visit to Saffron and I had a good meal which will bring me here again for the kebab's and curries
They have 3 different types of menu - Maharaja, Sultan and Nawab's priced at Rs. 2200+, Rs.1700+ and Rs. 1400+ respectively. I chose to enjoy the non veg Sultan menu. Started the meal with Kharoday - Paya ras which had lamb trotters simmered in aromatic broth. I am not a paya fan, in fact I avoid it the most but the aroma of the soup made sure that I slurpped.
Then came the kebab's. 5 kebab's were on offer. Jhinga kali mirch ka sarson, which had tiger prawns marinated with yogurt, crushed peppercorn and homemade Indian spices cooked in clay oven. Shami kebab, pan-fried shoulder meat of kid lamb, simmered with lentils and whole spices, stuffed with pomegranate and hung curd. 3 different types of chicken kebab's were there - Sufiyana murgh tikka, char grilled succulent chicken pieces marinated with fresh fennel leaves, cooked in clay pot. Murgh angar bedgi, boneless chicken legs marinated with fresh ground masala and broiled in tandoor. Murgh moongfali ka tikka, Chicken pieces marinated with cream, cheese, peanut and ground spices which is cooked in clay pot and topped with cracked mustard seed and curry leaves.
The kebab's were cooked extremely well. Murgh moongfali ka tikka was my favorite from chicken apart from jhinga kali mirch ka sarson. The kebab's were served with Missi roti, but I would have preferred rumali roti or nothing with kebab's. Nevertheless, I hardly ate 1 roti as I was busy relishing the kebab's.
Next course was Tariyan Te Sukhe Vyanjan. 4 curries, 1 dal and 1 Biryani was served along with Kulcha/roti or naan. I had my tummy partially full with kebab's so it was time to fill my appetite with the curries. Bhatti chowk da nalli ghost, lamb shanks cooked in onion and yogurt gravy flavored with saffron and mint. lamb shanks have always been my favorite and this was delish which was stright from the streets of Lahore. Anarkali bazaar de bater which are quails cooked in punjabi style. I did not enjoy this much. Safed Makhan ka chooza makhani, chicken cooked in homemade white butter with satin smooth tomato gravy, this was delectable with naan and kulcha.
Sarson da saag has always been my winter favorite, signature dish from the state of Punjab, mustard leaves and spices topped with generous amount of white butter. Maah ki dal or Dal Makhani as some name it, it is a delicacy of whole urad dal, tomato puree and garlic simmered overnight on tandoor, enriched with cream and served with dollop of butter. Dal Makhani has been my favorite and having the dal alone is what I always prefer. Lastly, Saffron Murgh Biryani was served which had long grain basmati rice cooked in dum with marinated chicken and flavored with saffron.
The variety for curries was good with lamb, chicken, Quail, Veg, Dal and Biryani. Biryani has a strong flavor of saffron which is evident in every morsel. I mixed with lam curry and chicken curry with biryani for an added taste.
I also enjoyed 2 mocktails which is not part of the menu during my meal.
After a filling main course, it was time for the dessert platter which had Kulfi Falooda, Kesar rasmalai and Gajar ka halwa with ice-cream. The gajar ka halwa was very tasty, similar to what my Mom makes but ice-cream was missing with it, but I did not mind as the halwa was good. Rasmalai has been my favorite dessert, these were small rasmalai dumplings but it lacked enough saffron. Kulfi falooda, pistachio-almond flavor was a highlight. To end the night, I tried the paan shot which was made from water and sweet paan.
Overall, the dinner was fabulous and rich. As the hotel is placed on the outer ring road, which has many offices and apartments around, one can savor the menu over family lunches or dinner or even team outings. The Maharaja menu has little more variety on the menu while the Nawab menu has a little less. The seating is neatly arranged using the entire space and giving privacy to every table. The yellow lighting in the restaurant is nice but not good at all for picture so bear the poor quality pics on the blog. This was my first visit to Saffron and I had a good meal which will bring me here again for the kebab's and curries
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