Japanese style of cooking at a restaurant in West Delhi sounds out of the ordinary, so the promised fare at Indyaki was quite intriguing. At the heart of West Delhi, at Radisson Blu, Paschim Vihar, Indyaki serves Indian food cooked on teppanyaki grills.
Perched on comfortable high chairs and with views of live the kitchen and almost half the restaurant, our food tasting session began at the tepppanyaki counter with an amuse-bouche of boiled yellow lentils with chopped onion, tomatoes and a hint of ginger and lime. Then came their signature mocktail, Indyaki punch, which was nothing great but just black fizz with a bit of mint and rock salt.
Though not a soup aficionado, I wanted to try their sabz badam ka shorba, a name more appealing than the typical tomato shorba. This was a good choice – the soup was thick and creamy, with a taste of ginger and garnished with grated almonds. While I was enjoying my shorba, Chef Gagandeep began to prepare appetisers on the grill, starting with roti pe boti, or tiny crisp malabari parantha topped with spiced lamb. They have something similar for vegetarians, too – roti pe soya boti has spicy and flavourful soya nuggets on crisp malabari parantha.
The mushroom galauti, the next contender on the grill, amazed my taste buds with the piquancy of cardamom. Finely minced mushroom patties with desi spices, served with malabari parantha, these galautis just melt in your mouth. One helping is just not enough. Next came sandwich paneer, which had ginger mango chutney, dried fruits and cheese sandwiched between slices of marinated cottage cheese.
Manoj Kumar Semwal, Executive Sous Chef at Indyaki, feels that since people are health-conscious these days, Indyaki gives them a chance to dine without a guilt trip. As food is prepared in front of you on the grills, you can also be sure of hygiene. With the concept of light food and grilling expanding, Indyaki might open at other Radisson properties.
Though the whole idea was food cooked on grills in front of guests, a part of the main course came from the kitchen. Both the items in the main course were of chicken. Murgh ki raan, chicken leg grilled with onion-tomato gravy, and Sindhi murg, juicy morsels of chicken flavoured with fenugreek leaves and brown garlic, were charmingly spicy, each with its own distinct flavour. Dal Indyaki – or dal makhani as we know it – needs no introduction. The Turkish pulao, basmati rice cooked with vegetables and nuts, in a Japanese-style restaurant had an unusual ring to its name but no great novelty in its taste. The breads were the highlights of the meal – pesto naan with basil paste went quite well with the chicken, and the roomali rotis came in flavours of cardamom and garlic.
A pistachio garnished paan kulfi and the warm and tasty chukander (beetroot) halwa rounded up a lovely meal.
Where: Indyaki, Radisson Blu, Paschim Vihar, D-Block, District Centre, New Delhi; Tel: 01146399999
Cost for two: Rs 2,000
Timings: 7.30pm – 11.45pm