Kathmandu:

It is my New Year resolution to make restaurants my home in 2006. I feel like Raj Kumar Hamal, General Manager of Raj Gharana restaurant, who says the Indian specialty place is his home and the guests that come there are his family.

Begin the evening at Raj Gharana with Sheikh Kababs and Chicken Tikkas of which India’s foremost food expert Jiggs Kalra says, “A succulent and boneless kebab — possibly the most popular after the incomparable tandoori murgh — makes a great cocktail snack”. The Chicken Tikka had a fine tandoori crust with a double whammy taste of spices lead by garlic, chilies and ginger. I would have loved to try the marinade.

The Sheikh Kababs were perfectly spiced with cilantro racing to buzz your taste buds. The mutton in the sheikh was finely ground and made firm around skewers with a yoghurt marinade comprising ground onion, ginger, garlic and chilies with just a pinch of coriander or cilantro.

Of biryanis Madhur Jaffrey says, “The biryani is perhaps one of our most elaborate rice dishes”. The Raj Gharana followed Madam Jaffrey’s advice and augmented the saffron in the dish with different condiments, which gave the meat and rice “risotto” the fantastic yellow colouring with the taste of ginger, cloves, pepper corns and other spices bursting to life in your mouth.

“Our Biryanis are as popular as our Rogan Josh,” said Pitambar, the Captain who served us along with waiter Anup Pokhrel.

The Rogan Josh at Raj Gharana was true to Camellia Panjabi’s stated thumb rule for the meat dish, “Rogan means meat fat and josh literally means heat, though figuratively it means intensity.

Traditionally fatty meat on the bone was used for making Rogan Josh and it was slow-cooked in its own fat, with extra added for an intense flavour. The dish gets its heat and intensity from the lavish use of body heat-inducing spices such as cardamoms and cloves. The hallmark of the dish as cooked in Kashmir is the liberal use of the true Kashmiri red chilli, which has a mild flavour but gives a bright red colour”.

The Rogan Josh at Raj Gharana has a taste so distinctive it had 12-year-old Duksangh saying,” It tastes of flowers.”

...smokey was the taste of the Palak Paneer or spinach with curd cheese of which Madhur Jaffrey says, “Saag paneer — a combination of green and paneer, is eaten all over North India with slight variations in the spices. In India, the spinach, which turns into a sauce for the paneer, is sometimes creamed. At other times, it is left in its chopped state, thus allowing it to stand in equal partnership with the partner. I like the latter method because this way the spinach retains its texture”.

“Our guests prefer the spinach in the finally minced, pureed way we serve it. It is the most popular vegetarian item we haves,” said Hamal introducing me to Man Bahadur Gurung, the young looking, extremely polite owner

of Raj Gharana who said, “My GM knows this place better than I do. He knows which dishes which regular guest likes and he knows the recipes...”

Whereas, the Naans were delicious I urge you to try the Lachha Paratha or the many layered bread that was as crisp as a puff pastry, slightly thicker in each layer but melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

As we left, Bikas Gurung, who is a smooth singer was singing Barsaat Ki Raat. The words suggest that the night was a memorable one, which indeed it was. For details about the food reservations and the special inexpensive lunch thali, ring 258560, 258562.