Kashmiri food can be as varied as the weather and while there are a ton of options to try out in Delhi, chances of finding something truly amazing are slim. And finding this rare gem in the city is not easy either. Chor Bizarre, tucked away inside Hotel Broadway in Daryaganj serves authentic Kashmiri cuisine restaurant. The age old restaurant has impeccable colonial décor with furniture and crockery that don’t have sets or don’t match each other but the whole place has beautiful semblance.
A striking visual is the 1935 Fiat Balilla sits comfortably inside and serves as a salad bar.
Their menu is loaded with Kashmiri delicacies and some of the more common Mughlai dishes with their own twists. We were a large group so we had the opportunity to order quite a few dishes. Being a dry day we couldn’t order any alcoholic drinks but their bar menu comes as a quirky wooden black bottle, with everything listed down inside. Starting with their non-veg platter. Fish, chicken tikka, galouti kebabs and seekhs. I’m a sucker for galoutis but the seekh on the platter was just brilliant. But the extreme hunger demanded some heavy stuff so we quickly polished off the pakal patta chaat and moved on to the main course.
We skipped the tarami and went for bigger servings of Gushtaba, Tamatar Chaman, Rista, Haaq Saag and also went ahead with Chhote Pyaaz ka Chicken along with garlic naan and rice. Their quantities are, if not generous then surely enough. Splitting the soft gushtaba meat ball reveals a light pick, well done mince. Their gravies are light and mildly spicy, which brings out the true flavours of the meat. Gushtaba was clearly, the show stopper. Haaq was fresh and is comparable to boiled cabbage of Nagaland, it tasted purely of Kadam (saag) a hint of salt and oil. The haaq went really well with the rice as there was nothing else to disturb its delicate taste.
We gave the Rogan Josh a miss as it is something that is commonly available, even if not as authentic and tried their chhota pyaz ka chicken. It was a simple Kadhai chicken style preparation but with cocktail onions with it. It was a surprise and we think a good choice to have had instead of the Rogan Josh. Their breads were fresh and crisp as was the fresh lime soda.
After this grand affair there wasn’t any space for dessert (yes I know there always is but there really wasn’t) so we couldn’t try any of the sweet stuff. But that’s just another reason for a revisit to Chor Bizarre.
Where: HOTEL BROADWAY, 4/15 A ASAF ALI ROAD, NEAR DILLI GATE, DELHI
Nearest Metro Station: Chawri Bazaar
Cost for two: Rs 1500
