One of the best ways to explore different dishes is having a Thali and if you translate it to a literal meaning, it means plate,on which different bowls of finger licking curries, a staple lentil dish along with a sweet is served. A thali for me means a feast, as you get to try different indian delicacies and they vary from different sectors of India, being poles apart, especially in Northern and Southern India.
I had the joys to indulge into a thali, at Antique bazaar in Four Points Sheraton Bur Dubai, a palatial-esque restaurant that depicts royalty with ornate furniture, brass dining tables, drinks served in golden goblets making you feel like a princess. To enhance the experience, live ghazals are performed leaving you to enjoy your meal with soothing tunes.
You can opt for a non vegetarian thali (AED 35) or a vegetarian thali (AED 30), so to enjoy the flavors of both, we each tried out both the thalis. What was presented in my thali for starters was the chicken tikka, the meat being tender and moist, and just how i prefer it to be, on the bone, imparting the desired smoky flavor to the meat. With the starter finished in seconds, i was all geared up to start off on the main course, you can opt for either bread or rice. I usually enjoy gravies with breads, hence i chose butter naan. Four gravies were present on the plate, which included a yellow dal lentil , dhaba chicken, mutton roganghosh along with yoghurt to neutralize your meal if it has the spice factor. It was really hard for me to pick a favorite, but each dish stood out from the other in terms of flavor. The dal was light on the palate and had the fragrance of mustard seeds along with the spice of the red chili. The spices so gently permeate the dal hence providing that aroma and fragrance.
The dhaba chicken, a comfort food by its very own is one of my favorite foods to try in a dhaba,the cubes of chicken are simmered in a delicious gravy, a rustic chicken dish that hails from the city of Punjab,the gravy is nice and thick and can be thoroughly enjoyed with bread or rice. The mutton roganghosh was a fiery gravy combining various spices involving red chillies, cinnamon and cardamom with meat, so tender, that it easily imparts with the fork. A Indian meal is incomplete without a sweet, hence the gulab jamun was bought to our attention – deep fried balls of milk powder and cream of milk are dunked and soaked in sweet syrup. Though the sweetness was empowering for me, nevertheless the dessert is one not to miss.
The vegetarian thali consisted of the yellow dal lentil, a mixed vegetable curry and a cottage cheese jalfrezi. The hubby opted to go with steamed basmati rice, the vegetable curry had a delicious fragrance to it as a medley of mixed vegetables is cooked and simmered in special handi spices in a deep bottomed utensil with a nice smoky aroma emanating from this dish and the cottage cheese jalfrezi had me eyeballing the hubby to leave me atleast two bites, I love cottage cheese literally in any form- juliennes of fried cottage cheese and capsicum is cooked in a creamy tomato gravy flavored with the essence of cumin spice. The dish had a nice tangy flavor to it, thanks to the tomato ingredient and the sauce is slightly on the dry and thick side. The cheese crumbles with the fork and can be easily enjoyed with both rice and bread.
