Indian Accent - 4.5

Indian Accent

Firstly, apologies for my disappearance. I have been busy setting up and doing the food consultancy for an exciting new venture called Edward's - which belongs to the same people who have brought you TLR & Elma's in Hauz Khas Village. This has taken up all my time for the last two months and it is finally open and running! So do come by and check it out, especially all those in search of hearty & creative artisanal sandwiches. It wouldn't be ethical for me to babble anymore on this, so I shall leave you with a facebook link for more info: Edward's Sandwich Bar, Deli Artisanal Food Shop 

Now lets get back to one of my favourite restaurants - and anyone with a half a tongue and a wallet full of cash (though the latter is not me) - drum roll please - Indian Accent! By now you must know, how hard it is for me to find a meal with more hits than misses but, Indian Accent does it every time. Winter is my season to catch up on all the heavy Indian restaurant meals. Though, Indian Accent is a little more perennial with its various global influences that give you lighter options.

Enough foodless yapping . This is what the new menu brings us (old favourites remain too) - Be assured that apart from 1 or 2 dishes everything was super delicious!

I love so many of their starters that I honestly could skip mains entirely, and would still be quite content!

• Panko Crusted Bharwan Mirch - Stuffed with Goat Cheese Mousse. Served w/ Chili Aam Papad Chutney . They use the bigger green chillies so you get the wonderful flavour of green chili without setting your mouth on fire. Similar, to the latin Chili relleno but made better with goat cheese and desi-fied with the aam chutney. Yum.

• Meetha Achaar Chilean Spare Ribs - Its really quite ridiculous that I don't have a picture of my favourite dish - that too when we ordered a second plate - its just that good that I couldn't risk my share being gobbled up while I clicked away!  I LOVE ribs, and especially these. Absolutely tender meat - sticky sweet, a little spicy . The kalonji seeds and sundried mangos in the marinade - next time I'm getting a plate just for me!

• Ghee Roast Mutton Boti - A new favourite. A clever little play on peking duck. The Mutton Boti is served with the same pancakes. Instead of Hoisin or Plum sauce you get a tamarind chutney, and then some more - green chutney (which I usually skip), and Roasted Garlic (which I load up on!), and some thin julienned cucumbers. So good you must account for at least two to your name!

•  Ash-Roasted Sweet Potato - W/ Herb Yoghurt and Crispy Lotus Root. This and the stuffed chilly are the only veggie starters I must do every time.  Ok no wait thats a lie because I do have a soft spot for the morels but lets not skip ahead. So this essentially a chaat it has the tamarind chutney the green chutney, yoghurt and made even better with sweet potato - no it doesn't sound fairly skippable! Its understated but a winner. 

•  Kashmiri Morels Musallum - w/ Crushed Roast Walnut & Parmesan Papad. What I love about this dish is that the beautiful morels were not over powered by any heavy sauces, or coating. The creamy sauce on which they sit was subtle and went wonderfully with the morels. Of course who can get enough of the parmesan papad?

• Foie Gras Stuffed Galawat - Served w/ Strawberry Green Chutney. This is one of those dishes I feel you are judged for not ordering, even if you don't want to. Now don't get me wrong I do like the dish - love that strawberry jam with the kebabs. And I am a huge foie gras fan, but that is precisely where the problem lies for me. Yes, I am a little nervous admitting I have a problem with this all-time favourite, but hear me out. Foie Gras is king of its castle, its subliminal but in the most delicate of ways. Pairing it with something as overpowering as a galawat, is just a waste of some good foie. Between the 100 aromatic spices, the foie gras is merely a shadow. Same way I find foie gras, between a bun and a meat patty and god knows what else a total waste. But still go ahead and order it - do it for the kebab if not the foie - which is still very good .  

•  Tandoori Bacon Prawns - w/ wasabi malai cream . Ok now in all fairness I shouldn't have ordered this in the first place when a more creative soft shell crab, or tuna ceviche beckoned. But I'm like a dog drawn to a whistle - and my whistle is bacon! The dish was fairly standard, and unlike most of Chef Manish's dishes this one you could try in some form or another elsewhere. The bacon was well ok bacon, the jumbo prawn had lost any potential sweetness in exchange for its buff-ness. And the wasabi malai cream could have been a little more prominent. 

•  Pulled Pork Phulka Tacos - Again they were so delicious and so tiny, there really just wasn't anytime for a picture! But enough said this needs to be ordered - its really very good! You get three tiny almost paan sized portions - I could eat all three alone - very happily!

• Silken Tofu Kofta - Wok Tossed Quinoa Pulao w/ Goji Berry Curry. I believe its almost impossible to dislike things with a crisp exterior and a creamy/soft center. That is how my parents tricked me in to liking brain cutlets at a very young age! So yes goes without saying I quite liked this dish. The slightly tangy goji berry curry was the perfect accompaniment to the more mellow tofu kofta. Nice subtle flavours, texturally it was more of an explosion. Really liked the quinoa pulao as well. I would order it again.

• Garlic Khada Masala Chicken - w/ Raj Kachori Salad. I wanted to order the soft centered murg nargisi kofta but they were all out. And yes I do have a weakness for kofta dont I - but lets stick to meat or malai, lauki kofta shouldn't even be in the same category if you ask me! Anyway getting back to the dish at hand - though it wasn't anything out of the ordinary - I suppose how unordinary can chicken really get. But it was tasty and satisfying none the less. Perfectly succulent tandoori chicken with a rich and creamy garlic tomato sauce. Glad I tried it once, but so much more I would rather order next time - duck, baby lamb shanks - Mmmm.

•  Pumpkin Mash Khandvi Ravioli - Ravioli out of khandvi who would have thought and yet it just makes so much sense doesn't it? There are people who hate pasta, people who just say "meh ok pasta" and then there are people like me who LOVE pasta - so for me this was a wonderful play on a beautiful thing known as ravioli. It was lighter than its ancestors, packed with flavour and I would most certainly order it again.

• Baked Egg Keema Ghotala - w/ Batata Fry and Butter Broon Pao . For starters the way the egg was cooked half runny half congealed was a bit of a turn-off . Nor was it much of a fusion to stand-out next to some of the other dishes. Even judging it on more traditional parameters the keema just didn't do it for me.  

• Tempered Ricotta Vada w/ Pao Bhaji & Kafir Lime Butter Pao - Known as "Chowpatty in a Bowl! So this is a yummy little dish. The Kafir Lime Paos were my favourite part of this and I could eat them on their own. I personally have my eye out for a lot of other non-vegetarian dishes so will skip this next time but glad I tried it .

• Rice Crusted John Dory Moilee - w/ Market Green and Pine Nut Poriyal. Nothing wrong with the dish as such but for me the batter just over powered everything else, especially since the fish and moilee are both quite delicate. But there's crispy, crunchy, creamy, so could certainly be enjoyable for many,  but for me there is better out there on the menu.

• Try all the various stuffed naans & kulchas - Duck w/ Hoisin, Blue Cheese, Bacon, Wild Mushroom & Truffle
• The Anar Avacado Raita and the Black Dairy Dal - Were both delicious and everything they should be.

• Chorizo Chuki Mattar - Yum Chorizo does make everything taste good. Lovely little side worth ordering. 

•  Elaichi Banana Sticky Cake - w/ Ginger Ice-Cream. One of my all-time favourites. The banana cake is moist and bursting with banana goodness, with that sticky sweet toffee sauce - oh my lord! After witnessing the little squabble over who gets the solitary phantom sugar cigarette, the staff were kind enough to get us a whole glass full. Come on now, anyone born before the new 90s cannot help get excited over phantom cigarettes! 

•  Tender Coconut and Palm Sugar Brulee w/ Berry Chaat  - This was the only dish I didn't think was up to the mark. The brulee was really disappointing and texturally all wrong. It was more moussey but a blobby mousse, rather than being "set" - a tad gelatin-y, creamy and smooth - like a good brulee should be.  Also the pairing with "chaat berries", that black salt/chaat masala was just a bit too odd with the the gentle tender coconut.

lunch - 12:00 hrs - 15:00 hrs
dinner - 19:00 hrs - 23:00 hrs

The Manor Hotel
77 friends colony (west)