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UPGRADING The restaurant is still trying out new dishes and wants to keep adding different items to the menu

Why would a restaurant be called 1947? The owner was once a freedom fighter? The owner was born in 1947? “We wanted to offer our guests something Indian.... not North Indian or South Indian or East or West Indian,” says Jiya Jain, the 25-year old entrepreneur, who came from Assam nine years ago. “And we thought 1947 was the catchiest, shortest way to brand something as truly Indian.”

We walk into the restaurant through doors carved out of old sleeper wood. Rough white walls, a charkha and cannon are enough to set the tone of the place. Once you’ve ordered, there is time to take in charming little details about the interiors.... old-world switch boards, placards in every table with details about unknown freedom fighters, sepia-tinted photographs on the wall and so on with melodious instrumental film music in the background.

One can start the meal with tomato soup, palak ka shorba or 1947 dal shorba, a Bombay-style soup. The menu has an impressive list of starters. Aloo nazakat ke (baby potatoes with marinated hung curd and Indian spices, finished in a clay oven), tandoori baby corn (fresh baby corn marinated with hung curd and Indian spices, cooked in tandoor, paneer Peshawari (creamy malai paneer marinated in yoghurt flavored with ajwain and cooked on char grill) and 1947 Special (marinated vegetables on mushrooms and cottage cheese cooked and served in a skewer) are just a few on offer. “Our chef is an experienced person, and we happily let him come up with the best starters,” says Jiya.

We ordered a basket of assorted rotis. Apart from regulars like butter naan and roomali roti, the ones to look out for here are Peshawari kulcha and Kashmiri naan. A host of gravies complement the rotis. Rajashahi dal makhani, kumbh mutter paneer, aloo mirch ka salan, sarson ka saag and Lahori kofta (mixed vegetable dumpling in garlic flavoured gravy) are bound to become favourites with diners. The subzi dum biryani we had was very light and aromatic. In fact, the food at 1947 is wholesome, well-cooked and non-greasy. “We’re still trying out new dishes, and want to keep adding different items to the menu,” says Jiya.

For those with a sweet tooth, there are some refreshing mocktails, milkshakes and ice-cream. Sweets like Shahi tukra, rasgulla, gulab jamoon and matka kulfi are on the menu. But if you’re going to have the gajar ka halwa, let me warn you.... go light on the meal so that you can do this dish justice. Rich and juicy, the gajar halwa is not saturated with sugar the way it is in most places.

Instead, the sweetness of the carrots, and the dry fruits makes the dish a good way to finish the dining experience at 1947.Apart from the food, what makes the place special is that this has been started by a first-time entrepreneur.1947 is the first project of Insignia Hospitality, a company incubated at MATS Institute of Management.

Jiya’s classmate and friend Abdul Gaffar Sait provides financial and management support and the interiors were done by another classmate, Jyothi Jain. “We’re not just doing business, we want to create entrepreneurs,” says Jiya, who now dreams of having several 1947 restaurants.

The restaurant is at Ram Towers, 100ft Ring Road, Banashankari III Stage.

For details call 32943733.

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