It’s not about the location; it’s not about the ambience. It’s not so much about the service as well. At the newly opened Punjab Grill in Gurgaon, it all boils down to the food. Although, Chef Jiggs Kalra, who had introduced the restaurant a few years back, is no longer associated with it anymore, regular rounds are made by him and his team to ensure high standards of quality and hygiene.
As soon as we enter, a luscious kebab platter sits beautifully on the deep brown teak table. It comprises Chaamp Taajdar (Lamb chops, pot-roasted and braised in perfectly balanced liquor with an infusion of cloves, black cardamom, kasoori methi and basil, grilled in tandoor), vegetarian and non-vegetarian Kurkuri (Wonton skin rolls filled with juliennes of mushrooms, celery, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, dipped in a cornflour batter and rolled in savory sevian and fried), Harra Bharra Kebab (melt-in-the-mouth kebabs fashioned with spinach, green peas and cottage cheese, spiced with herbs and pan-grilled), Dahi ke Kebab, (kebabs of yoghurt cheese, blended with cardamom and coriander), Bhatti da Murgh (leg of chicken, reserved overnight in a yoghurt and spice marinade, including the rarely used ‘mugga’, cooked in tandoor and then finished on a open-fire grill), among a lot more.
“It is true, a lot of restaurants serve excellent north Indian cuisine but our restaurant specialises in the cuisine of the undivided region of Punjab—Multan, Lahore, Peshawar and Rawalpindi. I must add, we have strict instructions from the management to never compromise on the taste of any dish, even if that means using ghee and cream generously,” says Chef Jaswant Negi.
As he leaves for a quick inspection of the kitchen, left unattended for 15 minutes (a lot by his standards), I quickly survey the three-storey space. The top floor is still under construction and will open its lounge section soon. There is a separate take-away kitchen to avoid confusion when orders come pouring in during peak business hours. Not that you will ever need to visit the walk-in freezers, but it was reassuring to see the way food items were dated and stacked in an orderly fashion on clean racks.
As the chef and I sit down for the next course of the lunch, I notice the sudden disappearance of the service staff. The reason, I am told, is due to their mandatory training session, held everyday between 3 pm and 5 pm for updation of skills.
The chef didn’t have to tell me, but I could smell butter chicken sizzling in the kitchen, preparing itself to be savoured. Accompanying it was Meat Punjab Grill, Dal Punjab Grill and a few other accompaniments I could barely keep track of, including desserts like chocolate-stuffed Gulab Jamun, an unusual recipe, Phirni that could be given a miss, Rasmalai, and our favourite Litchi ki Tehri (milk reduced in lohe ki kadhai, finished with shahi Litchis)—a must-have for everyone with or without a sweet tooth.
Suffice to say, each dish was well executed and the new Punjab Gill indeed lived up to its expectations—even without Jiggs Kalara.
-Sunday Standard