BENGALURU: Gun powder sounds scary, but it turned out to be one of our favourites during our visit to Bakasur in Koramangala 6th Block, a fine-dining restaurant in the city.
We didn’t love it because it’s unique, quite the opposite. In the midst of 70 other dishes, this one reminded us of the gun powder made by our mothers. The powder took us back to our childhood when we would replace our not-so-liked curry with gun powder and ghee. But here, one has to mix it with steamed rice and ghee. You can taste the steamed rice with a sprinkling of chilli powder, spices and salt.
The restaurant wants to cater to every palette – from a child who’s just started his/her restaurant meals to youngsters who like the spices to knock them out. This means the food leans to the blander side but you can get it customised with the help of chefs standing on the other side of the counter.
Our meal started with Chilli Garlic Corn Coriander Soup. While garlic and coriander are usually strong flavours, this soup tastes mild. I loved it.
Most of us would’ve had Pav Bhaji, but Bakasur serves another variant as a starter, using similar ingredients. It is called Gujarathi Aloo Taka Tak With Pav. The chef at the the restaurant Sheriful Hasan told us that they haven’t tried to stick to any of the traditional recipes by a 100 per cent. The chefs have given their own twist to the dishes. Tender Vegetable Momos were juicy enough to make us have more of it.
Most of the non-vegetarian crowd kept buzzing around the “live counter” for Tawa Seer Fish, in the starter section. The fish is soft to bite and hot to taste. It is outstanding.
Also try the Mutton Pepper Fry. Its pepperiness is just right.
I moved to my favourite section – chaat section – after starters. Among other chaats, Live Panipuri counter is what caught my fancy. Here we had to fill the puri ourselves. I stuffed it with aloo, lined it with mitha and tikha chutney and filled up the puri with kahtta meetha pani. Took it all down in a single gulp, as any paani puri should be. It did not disappoint.
Onion on Hare Pyaaz Ki Paneer Khurchan put me off but it added zing to the tender panner along with tangy tomato. I was wrong about Chana Lauki Ki Subzi too, in the beginning. Lauki put me off, like it would many, but to my surprise, it was one of the best dishes there. It looked and tasted healthy.
The soft and not-so-spicy Nihari Gosht Curry can be had with roti. It is the best pick for children.
Don’t expect Bakasur Murgh Dum Biryani, though influenced by Hyderabadi Biryani, to taste like one. It tastes light because the chef wanted children to have it too.
Their new buffet menu, is priced at Rs 627 (including taxes) for vegetarians and Rs 689 for non-vegetarians.