North Indian dishes get a contemporary makeover
J2/6B, 1st & 2nd Floor, B.K. Dutta Market, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi Meal for two: Rs 1,400 My frequent visits to the pubs and bars of West Delhi’s Rajouri post college had reaffirmed my conviction that the place—with its hip décor, the beer and hookah, and remarkabe affordability—predominantly catered to the teenage taste and likes. The pubs were dazzling, but the food had become somewhat repetitive and bland. Enter Kopper Kadai, a recently opened restaurant conceived by celebrity chef Akshay Nayyar specializing in North West Frontier cuisine, which sprang a pleasant surprise and smashed some of my poor held notions about the place.
Kopper Kadai reinvents some of the most popular North Indian dishes with a contemporary makeover; you would expect the same old Shahi Paneer and Chicken curry in the disguise of a more jazzed-up Baadshahi Paneer Rubiyan and Cooker mein Kukkad, but the restaurant will astonish you with a starkly different preparation, presentation and tastes of them. The items are crafted to perfection with the spices that are exclusively prepared by the restaurant. Cooker me Kukkad stands true to its name, and comes with a delicate, adequately spiced, piping hot chicken inside a cooker at the table. Govindgatta curry, which is mustard gatta in yoghurt curry, and ameeri tawa tarkari, which is mix of exotic vegetables and crumbled and fried paneer are tender and the spices bring a distinct flavor to the palate. The presentation looks too contemporary for the Indian food design, but the food retains its flavor nonetheless. “The idea was originally my mom’s. After all, the chicken is at its best when it’s steaming hot inside the cooker, isn’t?,” chef Akshay Nayyar quipped.
The show stealer was the Challi Kolmi Pasht—crispy corn and potato kebabs that look anything like ordinary kebabs. The outer portion is neatly layered with crispy crumbs which bite down to soft and squishy corn and paneer; it melted in my mouth and as I went on devouring it, I wondered why all the good things in the world come to an end, literally.
Next, I settled myself on Ganna Chicken, which are minced chicken kebabs moulded around sugarcane sticks—the same dish that had won Chef Nayyar accolades from the judge at the reality show Masterchef, and rightly so. If you eat it right, the sugarcane juice subtly mingles with the chicken and the result is nothing short of delightful. But, to be won over by Kopper Kadai, it would take an explosive mouthful of Nutella Dhodha. The dessert is chocolate lava over dhodhaburfi that feels like unbelievable in the mouth. Concoction of dhodha (a sweet popular in north India, mainly Punjab) with chocolate dribbling from the sides is a successful experiment. I would make no bones about calling it a sure thing.
Among mocktails, I tried Paan-e-Bahar and Masakali, both of which were light and delicious with just the right amount of alcohol to set the mood.The place is ideal for family dinner for its laidback, yet elegant ambience and setting. —Anshika Ravi