Beginning this post with a major gratitude burst to The Grand New Delhi for
taking the pain to personally invite me to try out their delicious food. On
usual days, I am almost always accompanied by other reviewers and customers on
special events or menu tastings. But, The Grand New Delhi extended me an
exclusive invitation, which I was more than happy to oblige with.
I first visited their signature award winning Italian restaurant (IT) which
was a totally wholesome experience. But this time, I was invited to their newly
opened Indian restaurant Caraway, which has a very interesting quirk to it. It
is exclusively open only for dinners, between 7pm to 12am. Not only did they
completely entice me with their wonderfully accommodating service but they also
gave me the special opportunity to talk and bond with their newly joined
Executive Chef, Mr. Nilesh Dey. That too for over an hour.
The Caraway has a very subtly lighted and sensual ambience that unravels beautifully
around the excellently decorated room. There is a mesmerizing interplay of
shadow and light that allows for some quiet and uninterrupted conversations you
might want to have with your friends or your loved ones. This very restaurant
is also special because the owner of this Five-Star hotel, Mr. Radhe Shyam
Saraf (Group Chairman, Sarah Hotel Enterprises) claims this to be his all-time
favorite restaurant.
Amidst my extremely insightful and quite exuberant conversation with Mr.
Nilesh Dey; I was served some incredibly mouthwatering and irresistible food. I
started my delectable journey with some of the most flavorsome and bewildering
starters. The Tandoori Malai Broccoli (roasted broccoli with a creamy
and spicy marinade, Rs. 700) was unputdownable and the Subz ke Gaulati Kebab
(vegetables patties served with special Indian style bread) too was
delicious. I was fairly impressed with the kebabs, but the broccoli was
understandably better.
But, in my opinion the best dish from the starters was the Achari Jaituni
Khumb (roasted mushrooms served with an array of pickled spices and a zesty
olive paste, Rs. 550). It scored exceptionally high on my taste scale, because
of its beautifully combined flavor of the spices and the olive paste. This dish
was so delicious that I was forced to order another platter of the dish, which
the chef most talentedly provided.
Concerning the main dishes, the ones that were the stars of the night were
the Afghani Tangri (stuffed leg of chicken with a creamy marinade, Rs.
850); Gosht ke Gulati Kebab (meltingly soft mutton partied served with
an Indian style bread, Rs. 975); Zard Sheekh Kebab (A combination of
cheese, minced mutton, garam masala and saffron served on skewers, Rs. 900).
The dish I was served next was quite an uncanny yet tremendously delicious
chicken dish. Called the Atta Chicken, it was very complicatedly built
and was very large in size. Although I couldn’t finish it in its entirety, I
did try a piece or so.
Caraway’s menu is a absolute explosion of flavors and spices. The taste of
the dishes is refreshingly new coming from the Taj Hotel’s former chef. Some of
the dishes that are a must have are the Nalli Nihari (braised goat
shanks in a saffron flavored broth) and the Gosht Dum Biryani (aromatic
rice and mutton chunks cooked in a sealed pot, Rs. 950). With a steaming and
spicy aroma wafting out the pot, the biryani looked too good to be true. The
best combination of dishes would to be order two heftier and meatier dishes
accompanied by three lighter ones.
No meal can be complete without desserts, and Caraway offers an unbeatable
range of palate appealing ones. The Blueberry Kheer (chilled rice
pudding made with blueberries, Rs. 350), the Gulkand ka Jamun (rose
petal relish stuffed fried Indian sweet, Rs. 350) and the Baked Boondi
and Rabri (house special milky dessert, Rs. 350) were the winners of
the dessert array. Flavorful and packed with the sweetness of India’s cuisine,
these desserts were making my mouth water.
