Mother-In-Law’s First Trip to India: Eating in Delhi

March 20, 2013 By Meghan Hunter

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Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook or Twitter! Emily: Delhi has quite a selection of food. One can find Western food, Indian food from all regions of the country, Indian-Chinese, and lots more!

Daraius had read good things about Rajinder Da Dhaba and it was supposed to be very good for tandoori chicken. The restaurant is 2.3 kilometers from the hotel, so you need a car or a cab to get there. We had a little trouble finding the place, and it looked a little sketchy at first…

In front of the restaurant, there was a man selling kebabs. They sure smelled good!

They take the meat, cover it with spices, put it on a skewer, and then put it in a tandoor oven. The oven is what helps give the kebabs their unique flavor!

This picture is of a restaurant’s kitchen as we were walking to Rajinder Da Dhaba.

We descended the steep staircase into the basement, and found a somewhat dark dining room. Which means that the food must be good!

We were all very hungry, but posed for a picture.

The menu had quite a selection of traditional Indian foods at very reasonable prices. It was about 250 rupees (~$4.60) for a starter.

And about rupees 350 (~$6.40) for a main course.

The service was extremely fast. We got our drinks and then our food in no time. The chicken tikka was divine—some of the best I’ve had in India and I even ordered a second plate!

We also ordered butter chicken…

…and biryani. Biryani is spiced rice with meat and sometimes small vegetables.

For dessert, we had gulab jamun which was some of the freshest I’ve ever had. Yum!

After our snack, we went upstairs to get ready for dinner. For dinner, Daraius’ friend hooked us up at a new restaurant named Shiro inside the Hotel Samrat in Delhi.

It was very well decorated with a very trendy, modern feel.

Their bar was beautiful.

There were three large Aphrodite statues that provided a lot of drama to the setting. It definitely had the wow factor appeal.

I had forgotten my fish allergy kit, so I stuck to only vegetarian food. We were served a selection of maybe 8 different starters—I feel like they just kept coming with the food! The food was mostly East Asian food.

We had dumplings.

After a late lunch and a snack at the hotel, we were stuffed. After the round of starters, we skipped to the desserts, and ordered a chocolate mud pie, chocolate cheesecake, and a chocolate lava cake. The food was nice and the ambiance trendy, but this could be a restaurant in any capital city.

The next day, we went for lunch at Moti Mughal, which claims to have invented butter chicken. Moti Mahal is next to the Jamma Masjid and the Red Fort, so you could visit before or after sight-seeing.

Butter chicken is now served all over India, and is equivalent to the American hamburger in popularity.

Daraius: The restaurant is pretty run-down, and the owners don’t seem to have invested in maintaing the facilities. The toilets were some of the worst I’ve seen in a restaurant. Emily: I agree with Daraius on the bathrooms. Once inside the restaurant, there is a large space filled with tables and chairs.

The menu prices were reasonable. The full butter chicken was about $10.

Daraius: Actually these prices were high for a restaurant which is not in a five-star hotel. 500 rupees for butter chicken is higher than elsewhere.

Other curries were less expensive, at around $4 per dish.

We ordered butter chicken…

…different kinds of naan…

…biryani…

…and dal.

The food was very good—the butter chicken was very creamy and delicious, though I thought it was a bit on the bland side because it was not spicy at all.

Daraius: This was some of the best butter chicken which I’ve eaten, but the other food was okay. It was pretty good, but not amazingly good.

I wanted to order brain, but Connie and Judi didn’t look very happy, so I didn’t. But I sure will if they visit India again!

Emily: Not all Indian food is spicy, and you can definitely find non-spicy food.

Personally, I love spicy food and Daraius’ comfort level with spice is off the charts! Even “Thai Hot” in Thai restaurants is not spicy enough for him.

For dessert, we had galub jamon…

…kulfi, which is like ice cream…

…and a carrot and cultured milk dish.

I liked the carrot dish (without the sour milk) and the galub jamun the best. Yum!

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