KATHMANDU: The Food and Beverage Manager of The Annapurna and The Ghar-E-Kebab Raju Ghimire felt that the new restaurant inside the hotel was better suited to his vision of what an Indian restaurant should look like.

Said Ghimire, “Today we have taken over a much larger space than when the restaurant was above The Coffee Shop. Our tables are bigger because we want to serve our food in the authentic Indian way in Kadais and Tawas, which require space. Some of the changes are cosmetic but the others are to enhance the beauty of the restaurant. The gold-rimmed cutlery is from Thailand and is a well-known brand called Royal Cutlery. And to maintain ancient traditions we are serving our food in brass and copper dishes. Even the glasses are copper”.

Added Ghimire, “I searched all over India for dishes that were unusual like the Nasheeli Raan Patialashahi which came from the pre-independent state of Patiala where the great gourmet Maharaja Bhupindra Singh besides inventing the double double peg of whiskey forever to be called the Patiala peg also created the Nasheeli Raan Patialashahi, a dish influenced by his stay in France and Belgium during the First World War.”

The Raan, which is a leg of mutton soaked in beer, which has almonds and fourteen herbs and spices to give it a kick made for juicy eating. It used to be flambéed. Maharaja Bhupindra Singh was a hedonist who collected Rolls Royce and wives and concubines along with new and innovative dishes.

Another rare dish conjured up by Raju Ghimire and Chef Alam was The Sikampuri Kebab that was popular years ago and was a favourite of The Nizam of Hyderabad. Shaped like patties they are filled at their core with hung curd, chopped onions, coriander and mint. They are soft delights and truly great comfort food for me. The taste of lemon pervades.

Yet again Ghimire came up with the unusual Qualia that the Afghans love. It is a kind of Korma or gravy favoured by the Mughals. Ghimire saw that it was served in mini copper chaffing dish, which he discovered in Murarabad. A Korma according to Madhur Jaffrey is a delicate curry with yoghurt calming

the myriad spices which run all the way from ginger and coriander, all adding up to a very good reason why the Afghans should stop fighting and start eating their good food.

Says Madhur Jaffrey, “In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the lands of its evolution, it generally suggests a rich banquet/party dish, using a lot of yoghurt in the cooking as well as expensive spices and flavourings. The sauce tends to be pale, thick and creamy”.

Another brought another pleasant surprise, which is a Dalcha accompanied with Pulao deftly served by Rudra Rimal, the Maitre de restaurant. Madhur Jaffrey spends a whole page of her Curry Bible on the Dalcha which is mutton or vegetables in lentils created in South India and spiced to give you a slow burn removed by eating it with Pulao or rumali roti. We asked Chef Alam what made the Dalcha so hotly special. Said Chef Alam, “We cook mutton with onions, ginger, chilli powder, coriander, cumin and whole garam masala. We cook the Chana Dal separately and mix the two in just the right proportions”. Chef Alam comes from Lucknow where the Dalcha is called Halilma. As the old saying goes a gorgeous taste by any other name tastes as delicious. In fact so delicious is the food at Ghar-E-Kebab they deserve several tastings.

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