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Anjali Prayag

Roomali with a View, Bangalore's latest addition to the city's culinary map, takes you to North India not just with its food but with its distinct ambience too.

Somebody once said that Bangalore city is like a huge sponge. Pour anything on it and it is absorbed within minutes. What he actually meant was that the average Bangalorean was game to try any new experience. And what's more, he's even willing to try newer versions of any old experience. When it comes to food, there's no stopping the Bangalorean. From Greek to Mexican to Vietnamese, he's tasted and relished them all.

And that's why when `Roomali with a View' offered Kashmiri and Rajasthani cuisine, there was no doubt in anybody's mind (especially the owners') that it would be a success. "We just know we have done the right thing," says Sanjeev Makin, Chief Restaurant Consultant of the restaurant.

But why such an unusual name?

"Roomali with a View offers our guests a unique experience of actually viewing the roomalis being made right at their tables," he says. The chef rolls down a tawa-on-a-trolley and allows you to watch your roomalis being tossed in the air.

Apart from this unusual treat, the fare itself is new to the Bangalore palate. The Rajasthani cuisine has been carefully prepared by the Maharajas (cooks), brought all the way from the royal North Indian State. The Daal Bhati Churma, a traditional Rajasthani dish of flour balls soaked in ghee and served with Rajasthani daal is a hit at the restaurant. The dish is best enjoyed with Churma a sweetened powder. "This is a complete meal in itself," says Makin. There are other typical Rajasthani dishes to choose from: Ghatte ka Saag, Kher Sangri and Kichdi Khadi.

If you are looking for a more exotic variety of Indian food, then try the Kashmiri menu. Prepared by a Waza (Kashmiri Master Chef), the cuisine offers Tabakh Maaz (tender mutton ribs cooked in Kashmiri spices and served with nuts and a salad), Palak Rista (small mutton balls served with spinach), Sukhi Sabji Dil Ruba (dry assorted vegetables sautéed in Indian spices), and Gobhi Gulistan (cauliflower florets cooked and served dry with tomato and nuts).

For the traditionalist whose palate is used to the Tandoori recipes, there's the Punjabi Khumba Palak, Pindi Channa, Punjabi Kadi and Punjabi Parathas. "The Punjabi and the Avadh food are for people who think they have eaten authentic North Indian food, but who later realise that they really have not. Most restaurants in Bangalore dish out anything and everything as Punjabi food," says Makin.

TheKebab freak can, of course, take the Avadh route. Called the Shaan-e-Avadh, the menu offers Kakori Kabab (tender mutton sheekh cooked on a charcoal grill), Gosht Akbari (Chunks of mutton cooked in a special gravy made of tomato and cashew nut and garnished with cream and rogan), Murg Chaman (coriander flavoured chicken curry cooked with Indian spices and herbs of dum garnished with a boiled egg), and Khatte Aloo (Baby potato cooked with Indian spices and amchur).

The restaurant has been done up in four different styles representing the four States. The Punjabi corner has glass-topped bamboo furniture, seen in most houses in the State. The walls are adorned with works of art done in traditional Phulkari style. Then there's the Kashmiri corner with beautiful artefacts from the State. The Avadhi and Rajasthani areas are distinctly different with their unique interiors. But being on the same floor they all flow seamlessly into one another without any barriers.

"This is as far as the furniture goes. Even the spices are all brought from the respective States," says Makin.

The restaurant, launched last month, is a big hit among families, because "we don't serve liquor here," says Deepali, Managing Director, Kapoor Hospitality, who owns the restaurant. And according to Makin, it's not just food for profits that the hotel is interested in. "We have signed an agreement with Freedom Foundation and Akshaya Patra to give a part of our profits to them," he says.

Picture by G.R.N. Somashekar

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