Saffron is a celebration of flavors from North India be it Lucknow, Punjab, Mughlai or Kashmiri. Located inside Radisson Blu Hotel in Marathalli. The ambiance here is authentic of a high classy restaurant with decor of rich orange. They even have a small dinning area which is open. With open kitchen you can capture all the action. We recently visited the place to try some authentic Kashmiri Wazwan headed by Chef Irshad Ahmad Wani from the Valley itself. This festival is from the 10th of August until the 20th of August. The Chef has been called upon from the branch in Jammu to showcase his talent to the food lovers of Bangalore. The chef even got the Kashmiri spices from there. A special menu has been curated for all the Kashmiri delicacies.
We had the Fantastic Four and the Virgin Mary from the bar menu. The fantastic four was a combination for fruits from four seasons i.e. Mango, Litchi, Cranberry and lemonade. The taste was delicious. But if you like something sour and tangy then the Virgin Mary is perfect. Made with Tomato juice, tabasco sauce, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, it was tangy with salt on the rim of the glass.
Coming back to the Kashmiri Wazwan we tried their Sabzi Badami Shorba. This is a very light soup made with vegetable stock, coriander and pieces of almond. The first spoon will take you to Kashmiri, where the flavors is perfectly balanced, nothing is overpowering. We even tried some Kashmiri appetizers like the Nadru Ki Shami, Malai Sarson Paneer Tikka and Zaam Doodh Kebab. The Shami was patties of crushed Lotus Stem with dry fruits in Indian spices. We couldn’t make it if it was made with Lotus Stem as it was so good. The Paneer Tikka had subtle flavors of mustard oil along with mustard leaves and dry fruits as its marination. While, the Kebab were made with sour Hung Curd patties stuffed with walnut.
The main course at Saffron was equally delicious. We tried their Aloo Dum, Al Yakhni, Schuk Wangun and Moong Dal Nadru. The Dum Aloo is made with deep fried baby potatoes cooked in yogurt and tomato gravy with loads of Kashmiri Red Chilies powder and other Indian spices. The flavors were perfect and is best tried with Tandoori Roti. The Al Yakhni is a total surprise as Bottle gourd pieces are deep fried and is served in a yogurt based gravy with loads of Kasuri Methi. Have never tried something like this and it was beautiful. The Schuk Wangun were aubergine in Tamarind and tomato based gravy. Simple and succulent. But the best was the Moong Dal Nadru which had whole green moong dal and lotus stems. The touch of ghee made all the difference. The Tehri was a rice dish which was very healthy as well as aromatic with loads of vegetables and dry fruits. Not to be missed!
Saffron also had classical desserts like the Phirni and the Kesar Ras Malai. Both the desserts were simple as if made at home with great use of Saffron or Kesar. And nothing end at the Kashmiri Wazwan without a sip of the delicious Saffron Kashmiri Kehwa.
The best thing about this Wazwan was the fact that nothing was overly rich and we had a perfectly balanced meal. Each of the ingredient used spanned out really well on the whole palate.
Saffron – Kashmiri Wazwan – Scorecard –
Food/Taste – 9/10
Service – 9/10
Value for Money – 9/10
Ambiance – 10/10
Quantity/Quality – 9/10
Overall – 4.6/5
Taste the authentic flavors of Kashmiri at Saffron!