Sep 21, 2016

PUNJAB GRILL. ( the modern punjabi grill)

11:06 AM Posted by Vishnu Kompella No comments
Since my childhood,i have grown up believing that Punjabi food is just confined to Dhaba and it has less varieties to it than kebabs and some butter chicken and lassi. But later on the jynx broke partially after the city hosted some best Punjabi restaurants with a feel good ambiance with more varieties of dishes to relish the cuisine to its best. But when i visited Punjab Grill, the jynx was broken all the myths i had previously and i explored almost the best of the Punjabi, in fact the most authentic till date.

They opened recently with a good marketing strategy which draw huge crowds since day one which is a good sign to know that people of Hyderabad are giving much importance to other cuisines as well.

I was here for dinner with a couple of friends, and who shared the same table and ordered the chefs choice of dishes to relish the best of the  taste.

We started off with the veg kurkure, they are crunchy from outside and soft from inside as they are filled with cheese and minced mushroom which was coated with sev and deep fried. They are simply good with the sweet sauce. Then came the chicken starter which was boneless and made in tandoor. The smoky flavor was evident in every bite, which was enhanced by the mint sauce which was spicy too. They had too kind of mint sauce, one with curd and one with raw paste which is a bit spicy for those who like it hot.

The Tawa machi is one of the best starters of the night, which came in the third position to the table, It was shallow fried river sole, which was very smooth from inside. And the bread crumbs outside made it even crispier to enjoy the taste with different textures at the same time.

The salmon tikka was too string for my flavor, which was served with spicy mint chutney, which balanced the flavor of the strong salmon taste which we can't take it raw. But it was buttery smooth and i loved it.

In the main course, the legendary dal makhni was absolutely outstanding and i completed half of my breads with it. It was creamy and had that flavor in it. Kadai murgh in non veg was another great dish for the dinner, which was done with the chicken legs from tandoor and the creamy gravy was a pure accompaniment for the bread.

Butter chicken was a passer  by, as it had the excessive sweet taste in it with the tomatoes being sweet, made it too sweet for me. The chicken has lost its smoky flavor which is a must for butter chicken in the punjabi cuisine.

In rice, i loved their veg biryani which was served along with the chutney pulao( chicken). The vegetable biryani is one of the best biryani i have had in Hyderabad and if they can maintain the same consistency, they can make the dish as their USP. The saffron flavor was spread equally and the ghee tossing was perfect to ooze out the flavors and with little spice and generous amount of veggies on top, made it an exceptional dish.

In deserts i loved their pinni which is made with rice flour and mixed with sugar and topped with dry fruits. It was heavy and filling too. It was being served as complimentary. In addition to this their paneer jalebi stands out when had with the rabdi. The combination is just spot on.

The ambiance is done exceptionally well and the service also matches the pace of the restaurant. Being a 130 + cover, they managed the service part very well and they are crowded all the time. Its a good sign to start with. They are also doing lunch buffet as a part of the corporate food fall and they priced it at 680++. They haven't recieved their bar licence, but they are making some out of the box combinations in their mock tails, which stand out and are also refreshing. My choice is the lemon pickle with orange juice and paan shake.

I would love to comeback for some special dishes which i really liked in their menu, real soon.