It was a usual workaholic day at office when I suddenly received a notification, which read that I was invited for a review at Moti Mahal Deluxe Tandoori Trail restaurant by Vivek Vardhan. Glad to the core as Moti Mahal was one of the oldest restaurant franchise in India and it had an interesting history behind it.
The India-Pakistan partition forced great chefs to move to India which lead to emergence of a new culinary chapter. One such man was Kundan Lal Gujral who started Moti Mahal in 1920 in Peshawar and introduced Tandoori cuisine.
With history and food bind together, went there with lot of expectations yesterday. I was welcomed with a warm smile by the manager, Vaksar and then the delicious menus started rolling in.
MOCKTAIL
Fruit Punch (3.5/5) – It was an average one and couldn’t find anything special as compared to many mocktails that exist in the market today.
Price – Rs. 169
SALADS & PAPADS
Masala Papad (4/5) – The papad was spread with raw veggies on top. It was crispy and tasted well.
Price – Rs. 59 (2 pcs)
Kachumber Salad (3.5/5) – This is a salad consisting of fresh chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, lemon juice and tasted like day to day normal salads.
Price – Rs. 89
STARTERS
Tandoori Chicken (4.5/5) – This is the signature speciality of Moti Mahal which I was waiting for. It was medium spiced with well grilled tender chicken.
Price – Rs. 269/449 (Half-4pcs/Full-8pcs)
NON VEG TANDOORI PLATTER (4/5)
This consist of 5 varieties of kebabs.
Price – Rs. 899
Malai Kebab (3/5) – It was well cooked but would have been better if it was more creamy.
Pahadi Kebab (5/5) – It was a perfect blend of mint and chicken and the showstopper among all in the platter.
Mutton Chapli (4/5) – It was tawa fried less oily minced mutton and an another favourite.
Chicken Tikka (3.5/5) – Just a regular chicken tikka.
Chicken Banjara Kebab (3/5) – Though it was told that it was made with cashew nuts but I hardly found any.
FISH PLATTER (4/5)
This consist of one prawn item and other a Basa one.
Price – Rs. 499
Ajwani Fish (4/5) – It was a well grilled medium spice Basa fish and overall it tasted good.
Tandoori Prawn (3/5) – An average prawn dish.
VEG STARTER
Dahi Ke Kebab (4.5/5) – Something new. Minced panner cooked with curd and fried like a wrap. It was soft, sweet and tangy.
Price – Rs.249.
MAIN COURSE
Butter Chicken (4.5/5) – The ionic thing about Moti Mahal is its Butter Chicken. It was different than all other Butter Chicken I had in my life. It was really smooth and buttery. Every drop smelled of butter with tender chicken dipped into it.
Price – Rs. 369/649 (Half/Full).
Mutton Rogan Josh (4/5) – It was a well cooked mutton where the mutton pieces were soft and was less spicy. A rare combination indeed. Price – Rs. 369
Butter Garlic Naan (4/5) – Soft naan with grated garlics throughout with butter spread. Price – Rs.59.
DESSERTS
Malai Kulfi (4.5/5) – Another speciality of Moti Mahal. A perfect kulfi to be precise.
Price – Rs. 169
Kesar Kulfi (3.5/5) – I felt the kesar flavour was little less but it was good.
Price – Rs. 169
That was a wrap up !
They had a wide spread menu with many other starters and main course items but my belly was completely stuffed and there was no place for trying anything else.
The service was good, specially the manager who explained every dish well. The ambiance was good with a beautiful decor. All together it was a good tandoor experience. I would rate the entire experience as 4.3 out of 5.
