forget the strife, Baluchi at The Lalit couples a good meal from the region with some very interesting wines
Forget the strife, Baluchi at The Lalit couples a good meal from the region with some very interesting winesYou know it is a good sign when a muted, pleasant waft of all the right spices hits you as soon as you enter a restaurant. At Baluchi, the newly opened pan Indian restaurant at The Lalit, the smell is complemented with soothing mahogany interiors, earthy music and sundry small touches like candles lit in shiny copper glasses.
The smell is complemented with soothing mahogany interiors, earthy
music and sundry small touches like candles lit in shiny copper glassesBecause the smell of spices leads you to imagine delectable kebabs and strongly flavoured gravies, it is a pleasant surprise to find a wine specialist recommending wines to go with the food from what is arguably a rather exhaustive list. While, of course, the list of wines available by the bottle is long, what is remarkable is the comprehensive list of wine by the glass, beginning from Rs 300 going up to Rs 2,500.
Even if you are the type of person who proudly claims to know his reds from his whites, it would do you good to consider the recommendations made because they also factor in the kind of food you are eating. You may also choose to skip the wine and try the mocktails like the banta bottle, ganne ka ras or jal jeera.
But back to the wine Lindeman's Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Australia pairs excellently with Afghani chicken seekh kebabs and chapplai kebabs. The seekh kebabs, which also have pomegranate, are tender and the meat melts in your mouth at about the same time you fully taste the spices. The chappali kebabs too are a must try. But the Baluchi special is the gucchi aur safed mushroom ki galouti (with Kashmiri black morels) and whether you are a vegetarian or not, this is one kebab you should order.
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With the kebabs, have the signature Afghani breads: gilafi kulcha (stuffed with cheese and spices), pheni paratha (crumbly to perfection), besan ki roti, and the bakar khani (sweet Afghani roti), served with four innovative relishes, of which the white radish and papaya deserve special mention.
Baluchi is going to open in all the Lalit hotels across the country and the menu has been designed keeping that in mind. So, on a hot summer night in Delhi, you can have kombdi cha rasa (Maharastrian style chicken with Konkani spices), kosha mangsho (Bengali mutton specialty), jhinga gol mirch (spicy Goan favourite) and signature dal baluchi. A special mention must be made of the Pan Biryani.
The pan trail extended to dessert, in which the ubiquitous Indian leaf found itself in kulfi that is just blissful to eat. Not tasty, not delicious, but blissful. You may also try the flamb ufffd gulabjamun, another novelty, but it is the pan kulfi you should have. And just when you think nothing can top the taste of the kulfi, along will come a dessert wine (Sauterne, Bordeaux France) and double the bliss factor.u00a0
Baluchi
Food: Good
Service: Quick
Ambience: Awesome
At: The Lalit, Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place
Timings: 1-4 pm; 7.30 pm-midnight
Meal for two: Rs 2,500
Ring: 4444 7777
