An authentic Sindhi cuisine
The Sufi beats of Abida Parveen’s popular song, ‘Duma dum mast qalandar’ rings in your ears as soon as you walk in at the two-storeyed restaurant, Duma Dum Mast Kalandar. Located on the SionTrombay Road in Chembur, the restaurant lives up to its name, boasting of signature Sindhi and Punjabi dishes. The lower level is like any other restaurant, however, the first floor is more of a lounge, which also houses a bar. We chose to sit on the first floor and to my surprise, the area had large tables that could easily accommodate more than six people.
Unlike other restaurants, that have two separate menus for drinks and food, here they have everything inside one booklet. Among classic cocktails such as Bloody Mary and Cosmopolitan, we also ordered Muddled Boondi Mojito (₹350) and Liquid Paan (₹400). Both cocktails had their own desi twist that added to its flavour. The Muddled Boondi Mojito had boondi mounted over white rum with mint leaves, soda, cumin and chaat masala, making it a refreshing drink. Liquid Paan, on the other hand, was more on the sweeter side. The vodkabased drink had paan syrup, pineapple juice and rose petal essence. Served in a martini glass with a big betel leaf, the evening took off on a refreshing note.
Before our starters, we were introduced to four small portions of their in-house Sindhi chutneys — a must-try with any of their appetisers. Though we wanted to order everything on the menu, we went for their signature Chicken Papad Fry (₹220), Vaangan Taryal (₹180) and Tarial Macchi (₹350). The Chicken Papad Fry left us licking our fingers. Chicken is wellmariated and deep-fried, and topped with crumbled papad. The Vaangan Taryal, a well-cooked eggplant dish has the right balance of spices. However, the dish that didn’t induce anything special. Lastly, the Tarial Macchi, a tender, perfectlycooked fish, literally melted in our mouth.
For the main course, we ordered the Satpura Paratha (₹60) along with Sukki Chicken (₹280). The multilayered paratha was crisp
Nishad Neelambaran
and was a perfect match for the saffron-flavoured curry. We also ordered the Sindhi Chicken Pulao (₹280), which had succulent pieces of chicken with flavourful rice,a perfect end to our meal. Calling for the desserts, we went with the Seviyan Ji Khirni (₹250) and Bhatt Jo Seero (₹350). Seviyan Ji Khirni was a treat for the taste buds with its perfect sweetness. The latter however, was so sweet that we couldn’t even finish a tiny bowl. We left the place with full, happy tummies. Duma Dum Mast Kalandar was certainly an amazing experience and is a place to look out for in Chembur.