A Kebab Fest at Patiala by Kunal Kapur

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Patiala at Souk al Bahar has been around for a couple of years, and having walked past it on several occasions, I have always been curious. Very recently, the management and menus have changed, thus I was invited to enjoy a specially curated tasting menu by Chef Kunal Kapur himself.  The meal consists of a selection of the new vegetarian dishes on the re-launched menu.

Image Courtesy of Patiala

As I enter the restaurant I notice that the dining area is quite long and narrow – it’s not really a visually pleasing shape, but I suppose they did the best they could with the space the landlord gave them!  I am told there is a separate bar area so I make a mental note to check this out later.

My friend and I have a seat on the long dining table that has been set up for the other influencers sampling the new menus.  It’s a dimly lit restaurant, and the interiors are also quite dark in color.  There are table to ceiling windows that look into the semi-open kitchen in the far corner on one end of the space.

Chef Kunal Kapur warns us that it’s going to be quite a lot of courses, and the service promptly begins.  The first thing to greet the table is a twist on the classic street snack pani puri.  Pani is usually a mint and coriander flavored water, but in this case it is infused with guava and served in a shot glass with the crunchy puri resting on top.  I pour the pani into the little pre-made hole on the top of the puri and put the entire thing in my mouth – I was a little thrown off by the colour of the pani, but I am pleasantly surprised by how tasty it is!  Things are off to a good start, so I have high expectations for the rest of the meal.

Next is the Dahi Ke Kebab – it’s a small round deep fried kebab with a nice soft spiced yogurt center with finely chopped onions.  I do like this one as well, and polish the entire thing off in a few bites.  This is shortly followed by the Punjabi Chenna Bruschetta, which is effectively fresh paneer (cottage cheese) served cold on toast with a touch of pink peppercorn and perhaps a little more bitter orange chutney than it needs.

A palate cleanser in the form of a mini Pomelo salad or chakotra served with mint leaves and cashews is juicy and refreshing and the hint of tangy masala is a nice touch.

What follows, however, is a series of one too many kebabs.  While the Palak Zardaloo Kebab is nice and moist and brought to life by a touch of tangy sweetness from the apricot, I don’t particularly love the Sabz Kathai Kebab, which is a very plain tasting combination of yam, rich gourd and lentils.  The garam masala marinated eggplant steak is a little over-seasoned and the Magjiadi Kebab is quite crumbly as it consists of nuts and there is nothing to keep it bound together. There is a sixth kebab, a combination of corn and potato, for which we’re not given a name or description. It’s not very exciting, but it could very well be a case of kebab overdose.

I do notice a few gaps in the service – on inquiry about some of the dishes, unless the Chef himself is personally around to explain, the rest of the staff doesn’t seem to have been properly briefed.

The Pumpkin & Peach Shorba is a delightfully light soup cooked with fennel and garam masala and a refreshing transition from appetizers to mains.  The rich Dal Makhani is fantastic with a piece of crisp and buttery garlic naan or a little bit of subz biryani, and the palak soya is a unique and delicious combination of chopped spinach, onion, garlic and soya leaves.

The desserts are also quite innovative, my favorite being the mango lassi ice cream, a frozen version of the classic mango lassi drink garnished with a touch of crisp nan kathai cookie crumble.  The Garbar Falooda, which is an old Delhi speciality of falooda, basil seeds, fruits, rabri, crushed ice and rose syrup piled up in a creative mess, adds an element of humor as the literal translation of Garbar is chaos or mess!  I barely manage a couple of bites of the Chenna Payesh Pie, an interesting take on a traditional rasgulla, with Baileys, Madras filter coffee and amaretto – this dessert certainly has novelty value, though I am not sure I would order it again.

There is no shortage of Indian restaurants in Dubai, many of them providing their own little twist on classic Indian dishes.  In spite of the revamped menu and change in management, I wouldn’t say Patiala ranks the highest on my list, but it does have some solid main courses and desserts to make up for a lot of not-so-solid kebabs.

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