Restaurant Review Dum Pukht at ITC Maratha

What's good:

Dum Pukth Badin Jaan - This main brinjal dish which is flash-fried and is topped with garlic flavoured yogurt and a bit of whipped cream, is a vegetarian delight.

What's bad:

Their Subz Biryani

 verdict:

Lay out the red velvet carpet before me followed by a drum roll for I feel like royalty after a rich and luxurious dinner at Dum Pukht, ITC Maratha, Mumbai. That it serves the best Awadhi cuisine you’ll ever have in your life, we have no doubt. But even the Persianisque décor, with ornate woodwork, striking chinikhaanas, et al (remember Mughal era or Mughal-e-azam?) will enrich your regal dining experience.

my RATING:

Where: Dum Pukht, ITC Maratha, Mumbai (Andheri)

Meal for two: Rs.2500 + taxes

Lay out the red velvet carpet before me followed by a drum roll for I feel like royalty after a rich and luxurious dinner at Dum Pukht, ITC Maratha, Mumbai. That it serves the best Awadhi cuisine you’ll ever have in your life, we have no doubt. But even the Persianisque décor, with ornate woodwork, striking chinikhaanas, et al (remember Mughal era or Mughal-e-azam?) will enrich your regal dining experience.

Since we didn’t know much about this type of Mughlai cuisine, Rini Sinha (who works with ITC) decided to come to our rescue. While explaining to us what Dum Pukth means (Dum means to ‘breathe in’ and ‘Pukht’ to 'cook'), and how this type of cooking uses huge pots (handi) in which the food is stoked by the slow fire throughout the night, she ordered a few starters for us.

While we couldn’t help having more than two servings of the delicious Dudiya Kebab (made of cottage cheese), it was Seekh Nilofari (made from Lotus stem) that took our breath away. The other starter, Hara Bhara Kebab was simply passable.

To work up our appetite, we then ordered Shorba Purbahar. We were told it was Master Chef M. Shareef’s signature soup. As the shorba was being poured, we could actually smell the subtle aromas of lentils and ginger which filled the air. The soup was indeed appetising. But nothing could have prepared us for what came next – Dum Pukth Badin Jaan.

This main brinjal dish which is flash-fried and is topped with garlic flavoured yogurt and a bit of whipped cream, is a vegetarian delight. It was so well cooked that it melted in our mouths. We didn’t even need any Indian bread to have it with this dish. Talking about bread, one should go Rogani Roti or Warqi Paratha. Shirmal (sweet crispy bread) or Nan-e-bah may be novelty but doesn’t add to the taste much.

The other main dish which we tried was Qasar-e-Pukhtan. This paneer dish cooked in tomato gravy was scrumptious. However, we cannot say the same about Subz Biryani.

By the time our main course was over, we realised our conversation had steered from childhood days and living in the mountains to green teas and how Andheri is practically half of Mumbai!

Dum Pukht definitely recreates the 200-year-old legacy from the kitchens of the Nawabs of Awadh. But it’s also the place where the conversations will never end; thanks to its rich cuisine which makes it compulsory for you to have it at leisure.