If there is one thing a restaurant in the ITC Group will promise you, it is a superlative food experience, each and every time. Whether you are a first time visitor or a veteran of ITC restaurant hopping, you know you are in for something exquisitely different on each visit. That is why, when we were invited to indulge in a meal at the Dum Pukht Jolly Nabobs, I put on my stylish Joey Tribbiani pants (yes, am watching Friends for the millionth time) and landed at the restaurant's ornate front doors.
The first thing that struck me, walking past the grand staircase in the ITC Windsor lobby and then past their skylit lounge and bar area to the restaurant, is the instant step back in time that you take. The interiors immediately transport you to the time of the Raj - plush wooden interiors, green Chesterfield-styled wooden backed chairs and ornate tables that are heavily set. Though the restaurant serves only dinner, the lighting ensures a pleasant evening hue all through your time there, bathing your table and everything around you in swathes of soft yellow. The chandeliers, the heavily ornate paintings and even the little wine display at the entrance, all bear the promise of a wonderful repast.
Life has ensured that the pressure cooker has become our best friend. Home cooking is all about cooking things quick and getting it out there on the table. But in the days of yore, it was all about slow cooking - just as everything is done here at Dum Pukht - slow, in its own juices and flavours, spiced just enough to enhance and not overwhelm.
As with any great Indian meal the base for us with daintily rolled masala papads, a grainy mint chutney and a fabulous Mango preserve - of the kinds that you continually take helpings of, only to realize that you have reached the bottom of the bowl and the first course is yet to arrive at the table. It carries the tastes of sweet and sour, with a tempering of mustard that gives it a light hit of spice as well.
Restaurants usually save their best for the last; well at Dum Pukht, they begin with their masterpiece and only go higher from there!
There is no two ways of about Dum Pukht being an experience in Raj style Indian dining. It is a classy affair all through and will take you through a journey back in time. Plans are afoot now to bring in a small wave of change - in the decor, in the presentation but definitely not in the style of cooking. If anything, things are going to adhere to original cooking styles with added fervor. a meal for two here is in the Rs 3500++
Address: #25, Golf Course Road, Windsor Square, Bangalore - 560052
Phone: 22269898
Cuisine: Indian
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking: Valet
Parking: Valet
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