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Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

EXPANSIVE SLICE Each cuisine is embodied in the five most representative dishes of the region

Indian Affair has taken a fairly interesting route to Indian cuisine, showcasing specialties from Rajasthan, Goa and Kerala in the west and Lucknow and Punjab in the north. The menu itself is designed to show off these specialities, with each cuisine being embodied in the five most representative dishes of the region, served with a characteristic bread or rice, and a sabzi. The menu also pairs each cuisine with a wine, thus making the difficult task of wine pairing easier for customers.

Thus, for instance, if you want to find out what Rajasthani cuisine is like, all you need to do is try out the laal maas: a clove-scented lamb preparation, the murgh ka showeta: chicken cooked with corn, the tali macchi Amritsari: fried fish in a Rajasthani masala, the Govind gatta masala: gram flour dumplings in yoghurt and the dakhni saag: shredded spinach tempered with garlic and red whole chilli. All of these dishes come with hara pyaaz mangodi ki subzi and either missi roti or jeera pulao. And if you’re thirsty along the way, the menu advises going with either a cabernet sauvignon or a pinot noir. Of course, for those of us that might feel claustrophobic with such a fixed menu, there is a wider range of options on offer, from regional soups like shorbas to lesser main course options to a wide range of kebabs. For our meal, we went North for the starters and returned south for the main course. The highlights among the non-vegetarian starters were the tulsiwali jhinga and the nalli bharah kebab. The first is an interesting treatment of tiger prawns, flavoured with holy basil to get an aroma and taste quite unlike the more regular greens. The bharah is tender lamb shanks in yoghurt-based marinade, cooked to perfection in a clay oven. On the vegetarian side, the shakkarkhand dahiwala was easily the best thing on offer. With spiced yoghurt giving the sweet potato a nice tangy overtone, this kebab offers an exciting interplay of flavours. Also interesting is the paneer tah pe tah, with layers of cottage cheese with pea mash and nuts. What is most interesting about these kebabs is that all of them come with different digestive garnishes, which not only lighten the meal but also provide an added layer of flavour variation to the kebabs.

For the main course, we picked our way through the highlights from God’s own country, accompanied with appams and Malabari parathas. The aatu iraichi varuthu archathu had easily the most outstanding flavours in the showcase, and the tender lamb lived up perfectly to expectations. The meen moilee, on the other hand, lacked a uniquely distinguishing flavour. For the vegetarians, the spicy yam erussery cooked with coconut and red lobia is a good option, all gusto and warmth. The avial, at the other end of the spectrum, touched all the required flavour notes, as did the olan that came with the parathas. Closing up our meal was a rather predictably flavoured rasmalai and a nicely done anjeer badam ka halwa. Indian Affair may not be the best Indian restaurant in the city, especially considering its out-of-reach pricing. But it is worth an occasional dekko.

Indian Affair is in Chancery Pavilion on Residency Road. Contact 41414141 for details.

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