By Rupali Lamba
For me, good Kashmiri food has always had transformational powers; it usually turns a bad day good. I used to carry cans of gushtaba, rishta and tabak maaz to England to ease the most homesick days in college, converting my flat mates into lovers of wazwan in the process. In Kashmiri, the word tarami means ‘platter’ or thali. Taking from the name, {yet} another restaurant has opened its doors in Hauz Khas Village.
The interiors of Tarami are very pleasing to the senses, and a lot of attention has been paid to detail. The décor is an interesting mix of jaalis {screens} and lighting. Kangris {earthen pots with hot embers, covered in wicker, used to keep the cold at bay in the cool climes of Kashmir} have been used as lamps. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan songs play at the perfect volume and tempo, keeping the vibe upbeat yet tasteful. The tableware and the service utensils are just too beautiful; everything has an interesting shape, colour or texture, and exists in harmony.
The menu at Tarami featured a wide range of dishes- some were traditional Kashmiri dishes and others were fusion. And we decided to order a mix of both. To start, we ordered the kumb {mushroom} galavti. We also ordered one non-vegetarian tarami, which included four starters, four main courses, rice and a dessert for two.
The mushroom galavtis were gorgeous– they simply melted in my mouth and had that wonderful kind of heat that is packed with complex flavors as well. The tarami came with nadru {lotus stem} shaami kebab, seekh kebab, tabak maaz and waaza chicken. The shaamis were delicious, the seekh pleasant but not moist enough. The tabak maaz was good– crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like it should be. The chicken however seemed off, so we sent it back.
Unfortunately, it was almost like the chicken set the tone for the rest of the non-vegetarian part of the meal. The main course featured my favourite; gushtaba, rishta, rogan josh and chaman paneer.
Gushtaba and rishta are pounded meatballs that are served in a yoghurt and tomato gravy respectively. The renditions at Tarami were either not pounded enough or not pounded at all. The rogan josh was a healthy, less spicy, and less oily version of it’s traditional counterpart- I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that is a good thing or not!
The chaman paneer {tomato gravy} and haak saag were very very good. The only vegetarian let down of the evening was the kaliya paneer. Traditionally, this dish is made with saunf {fennel seeds} and milk or yoghurt. At Tarami, it tasted like its ingredients – raw.
The evening came to an end with fingerbowls, phirni and kahwa or kehwa. The fingerbowls were warm and comforting with a neat slice of lemon in them. The phirni initially bombarded my taste buds with an odd essence of rose, but it grew on me after the first couple of bites. The kehwa, however, was perfect. It was fragrant, comforting and loaded with dry fruits.
The setting and food presentation is polished which reflects in the pricing. It works out to Rs. 1000 per head exclusive of taxes.
Notes in my Little Black Book |
- - Where | Tarami, 30-A, First Floor, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi, India 110016
- - Timings | Mon – Sun, 12 noon- 3.30pm & 7pm to 11.30pm
- - For reservations, contact | 011 4059 1823
- - The menu at Tarami features unexpected surprises. Its strong points as of now are the non-Kashmiri fusion dishes.
- - If you have not had a taste of Kashmir yet, this would be a good place to start to familiarize yourself with basic flavor profiles.
- - If you are craving traditional classic comforting Kashmiri food, wait it out. The manager, Vivek Sehgal, was open to feedback and I think a lot of it is going to come into play
