The menu has chakhna (bar nibbles), chaat options, starters, main course options, special dishes that are cooked in claypots and desserts. There are dishes from different parts of India, and most of them have been kept very authentic. The Chicken 65 and Sabudana Vada from the chakhna menu were clear winners. Crisp delicious fried Chicken 65 with its Hyderabad origin served in small pieces- easy to nibble on while sipping on your drinks. The sabudana vada- definitely a crowd-favourite. The subtleness of the dish without removing any flavor from it- amazing.
I'm so not a chaat fan, specially when there's curd in it. I loathe curd more than anyone else, but I still tasted the Palak Patte ki Chaat from the Chaat menu and really really liked it. Thick leafs of palak deep-fried in a besan batter, topped with sweetened curd, saunth chutney and coriander chutney. It's a different story that I took off all the curd that I could, but the chaat was great. Jadavpoore Puchka Chaat was served in beautiful little trucks, with each puchka sitting atop a shot glass. The shot glass was filled with teekha pani/curd- whatever you ordered for. Puchka is from Kolkata, very different from the golgappa we get in Delhi. No sweet contents, only spicy, and very light.
In mood for some kebabs? You have to have to order their Hazratganj ke Galawati Kebabs. Melt in the mouth and how! Perfectly flavoured with the spices, you could not pick up the galawati with a fork or your hand- that soft. Another flavourful tikka they have is the Fish Tikka. Cannot praise it enough. Fish lovers are going to go gaga over this one. Just how an authentic lovely fish tikka should taste like. Juicy, soft, flavourful, with a yummy marination on top. I'm not a fan of Paneer Tikka but the Khaaja Special Paneer Tikka deserves a special mention here. Loaded with spices, the paneer is cut into two and filled with spices inside those two pieces too. Lip-smacking good, I will order this each time I'm at Khaaja Chowk. And this for a person who is not even fond of paneer tikka. Beautiful stuff! Lahori Seekh Kebabs were totally setting a bar for other restaurants. Seekh kebab with a thick masala of onions, tomatoes and chillies, served on miniature circular naans which were really soft. I could finish an entire tray of these and have that as my dinner. Insanely good!
Dum Ka Murgh and Dal Makhni were too good. A must must order here for main course. Creamy with a thick consistency, slightly sweet and a tomato base of the dish, the Dum Ka Murgh went so well with my Garlic Naan. And the Dal Makhni deserves no description, it was just a must order! You'll be surprised to know what else was brilliant here- Gobhi Musallam. A specialty of Khaaja Chowk, every vegetarian is going to lick his fingers after having this dish. Slightly mashed gobhi with a thick masala.
They also do two non vegetarian main course dishes a their specialty- The Flaming Claypot. These specialty dishes are cooked in an earthen claypot and served over a flaming fire. The server breaks open the sealed claypot with a huge knife in front of you, and believe me, that's some theatrics there. Nalli Boti Ki Nihari was the dish I tried. A very rich dish, but the oil doesn't seem excessive, it just gives the dish a 'rich' taste to it. A thin gravy with an excellent flavor profile, and a very earthen smoky feel to it. The whole presentation and the taste really does make the dishes fall in their special menu. The meat falls off beautifully- thankfully! You don't need to make a trip all the way to Old Delhi for this legendary dish now. Not as rustic, but definitely delicious.
Ended my meal with Beetroor Halwa. A conflict between whether it's healthy because of the beetroot or full of calories because it's sugar, but who cares! It was really good. A different option available in their desserts menu, you can even opt for this one with vanilla icecream- tastes damn nice, the mix of hot and cold.
The cocktails were really interesting too. Chatpata Bloody Mary with an Indianised touch to it, and a huge piece of ice with tomato inside it. Chilli Aam Masala was just an interesting with a sliced green chilli inside a piece of ice. As the ice kept on melting the flavor of chilli started coming out even more. A very interesting concept but this particular cocktail tasted mainly of mango juicy. A little more chaat masala and black salt and it would have been even better.
Khaaja Chowk has some brilliant food! After this lovely experience I am completely sold on their food. Delicious dishes, amazing flavours, excellent portions, pricing at par with all of these, and a place that suits all kinds of customers- families looking for dining out, friends/colleagues looking for a drinking+eating place, chilling over a couple of starters. A must try place for people who like Indian food!
Address: 3rd Floor, MGF Metropolitan Mall, Gurgaon
Timings: 12 Noon to 11PM
Disclaimer: The review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. All views expressed are unbiased in nature but readers are advised to exercise their own discretion.
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