DLF Emporio in Vasant Kunj, Delhi, spells luxe and style. And it is not just accessories or clothes that we are talking about. Located on the third floor of the mall is Set’z, undoubtedly one of the good-looking restaurants in the city today. Designed by Tokyo’s Super Potato group, the restaurant boasts seven different kitchens turning out cuisines ranging from Japanese, Thai, Chinese to Indian, Italian and more. The recent addition to this fare is their Iranian cuisine, ably spearheaded by Chef Feridoun Sohrabi Shahsavar.
A master of Iranian cuisine, Chef Feridoun has cooked for former US President Barack Obama, besides several other international dignitaries of note. Needless to say, what he brings to the table is more than his homegrown passion for cultivating traditional flavours of Iran blended with a modern day twist. Says he, “It is always a pleasure to cook across cultures.
I have cooked in eight nations and India is my ninth stop. You get to learn so much from different places, take in how different communities celebrate food.” His many outings across the Arab world and countries in the West and Asia have given him an opportunity to learn while interacting with fellow chefs and exploring the many different flavours every city had to offer.
Chef Feridoun is known for innovating with old-world Iranian ingredients and local flavours, and that comes across beautifully in the menu he has curated for Set’z. Acknowledging the similarities between Iranian and Arabic cuisine, the chef has divided the menu into two parts of the same. So, even as you have barbecued meat and pilaf showcasing the cuisine of both the nations and which is a very common food across the Arab world, you also have the typical use of eggplant in the Iranian menu, and the extraordinary Arab halwa which reminds you of the Indian aate ka halwa. The restaurant also offers an extensive drinks menu—brownie points to the wine section and the single malts. To make it easier for patrons to order from the list, there are also paired wines as per the cuisines on offer.
The Iranian meal begins with the exotic sounding Juo—which is actually a barley soup with or without chicken. Known as much for its meats as for its vegetables, the cuisine makes use of pomegranates, eggplants and yoghurt in abundance. So while you have the Anaro Khiyar salad that tickles your taste buds with the sweet and sour twang of pomegranates, you also have the Iranian counterpart of the humble baigan bharta in the form of the very handsome-sounding Mirza Ghasemi.
Talking of Indian influences, the Iranian cuisine also makes use of lobia—a legume found in most North-Indian homes. The chef says, “Our cuisine and the Indian cuisine are similar, yet varied. We use some vegetables and legumes which one can find in Indian kitchens. But at the same time, we use spices with a very light hand, unlike the Indian cuisine.”
When discussing Iranian cuisine, one cannot not talk about its scrumptious kebabs. From the Jujeh kebab (chicken) to the Maygo kebab (prawns), and of course, the succulent mutton kebabs and chops, it’s nothing short of a platterful of deliciousness, and Set’z does ample justice to it. Even the flavourful varieties of rice—from the saffron rice to the lobia rice and the Maygo Polo (prawns biryani with bell peppers)—make you want to savour each grain. It’s a pity that the portions at this king-sized restaurant are quite small. The portions are just sufficient for a medium-eater.
While the overall experience was definitely worth a visit, the service kind of puts one off. The waiters, far from being attentive, were not well-equipped to guide one through the menu. While Chef Feridoun was the perfect host, one wishes the rest of the staff was as attentive, or at least pretended to show some interest.