12 Hour Slow Cooked Dal Makhani & Murgh Tikka: This Punjabi Chef's Menu At The Oberoi Is Boss

Bringing authentic Punjabi flavours to the kitchens of Le Jardin, at The Oberoi is Chef Sweety Singh and his curated Punjabi menu. Oh, and did we tell you that the menu has a Dal Makhni that’s slow cooked for 12 hours?

You would have probably seen him hosting Zee TV’s Khaana Khazaana and HDTV Good Time’s Feeding Frenzy. In any case, Chef Harjinder Singh or Chef Sweety as he likes to be called is no stranger to the Punjabi food scenes. He’s even fed A-listers such as SRK, Sachin Tendulkar, and the Ambanis with his curated home-inspired Punjabi food. The chef tells us that while the general conception of Punjabi food is that it’s rich and heavy, it’s not so. To him, authentic homemade Punjabi food is wholesome and nothing more. And it’s safe to say that it’s exactly what you get at the menu he’s curated for the Punjabi food festival at The Oberoi. With a rotating menu offered to patrons for lunch and dinner, selected dishes on the menu remain the same due to popular demand — Dal Makhni, Malai Kukkad Ki Tikki {Malai Chicken}, and Sarson Ka Saag to name a few. Now, while the festival has a pre-set menu, it does not follow a buffet format, but rather an unlimited a la carte service.

You can start off with the Beetroot Tikki like we did and while we are not fans of this vegetable, we most certainly liked this version — crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside with a bit of a cheese burst. Moving on, we highly recommend the Tandoori Paneer which has the softest cheesecake-like paneer we’ve tasted in a while. For the meat lovers, there’s the Tangdi Kebab, Malai Kukkad Ki Tikki, and Bhatti Ka Meat. Our pick would be all three with the Bhatti, a lamb preparation with a spicy kick, being declared the winner.

Moving on to the mains, there’s no way you can miss out on the slow-cooked {12 hours and that too on a tandoor} Dal Makhni. Pair that with some Wadiyanwale Chawal and you are sorted. The rice is cooked and flavoured with Kashmiri morels, so if you are allergic to mushrooms, then do ask for regular steamed rice. If you are looking at Indian breads, then there’s missi roti and Amritsari kulchas that you can have with the Murgh Tikka Makhan De Nal, which is the chef’s take on Butter Chicken. The chicken is cooked in the tandoor first and then added to the gravy giving the dish a rather smokey flavour. Matar Paneer Ki Bhurji, Amritsari Chholey, and the Palak Chicken cannot be missed out on too. Wrap up your meal with Panjiri, a powdery dessert made with rava, ghee, and sugar and finished off with raisins and nuts.

When: Until Sunday, November 19 for lunch and dinner

Where: Le Jardin, The Oberoi, 37-39, MG Road, Yellappa Garden, Yellappa Chetty Layout, Sivanchetti Gardens

Price: INR 1,375 ++