Bombay Brasserie - Marryam H Reshii

Atmospherics: This part of the Outer Circle has no hassle parking, especially at dinner time. A lift takes you to the first floor. The best part about the décor is that the bones of the original structure has been retained: flooring has been kept simple, there is plenty of natural light, the large space has been cleverly broken up into sections, so that you can choose a different setting every time you visit. The bar is the focus and both the (mostly desi) cocktails as well as the wine list is one of a kind. Service is polite and attentive but never intrusive, with everyone from the manager to the servers being very aware of the intricacies of the menu. The name Bombay Brasserie indicates that over 50% of the dishes come from Maharashtra, yet so starved are we for Maharashtrian food that all of it is a novelty. Best of all is the focus given to spices. As my book The Flavour of Spice, has many of the spice blends used in the restaurant, I appreciated the full range of creativity.

Table talk: there are plenty of wonderful choices for vegetarians. The tilkut masala

flat rotis (Rs 315) was the finest dish of the meal. Small, soft rotis were spread over with tomato peanut chutney over which batter-fried aubergine was layered, on top of which were juliennes of raw cabbage and beetroot for textural contrast. Tilkut masala (slow braised grated coconut and sesame seeds) had been sprinkled for a deep, rich taste that could be called ‘Maharashtra on a plate’. Next up, fiery thecha prawn (Rs 445) was a masterpiece of flavour and controlled spice. Thecha is usually extremely spicy, but this was not. Chutney made of green chilli and peanuts was piled artistically on top of mid-sized prawns and burst with flavour: this was another dish from Maharashtra, albeit another part of that state with great, under-estimated food. One of the rare North Indian items was chatka chhole kulchey (Rs 395) where the unmistakable flavour of anardana was prominent. The aloo kulcha had the whiff of ghee. Red hot Kerala fish curry with turmeric rice (Rs 495) was the exact replica of a Central Kerala curry.