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14.5/20Critics' Pick

Kahaani

Updated ,first published

Puri flatbread crisps with chana dhal.
1 / 12Puri flatbread crisps with chana dhal.Bonnie Savage
Creative cocktails incorporate Indian flavours.
2 / 12Creative cocktails incorporate Indian flavours.Bonnie Savage
Grilled litti chokha.
3 / 12Grilled litti chokha.Supplied
Roasted cauliflower steak with pickled onions and herbs.
4 / 12Roasted cauliflower steak with pickled onions and herbs.Supplied
Paneer tikka.
5 / 12Paneer tikka.Supplied
Inside the Lygon Street Indian restaurant.
6 / 12Inside the Lygon Street Indian restaurant.Bonnie Savage
Assorted dishes.
7 / 12Assorted dishes.Supplied
Parda biryani, sealed with pastry.
8 / 12Parda biryani, sealed with pastry.Bonnie Savage
Inside the parda biryani.
9 / 12Inside the parda biryani.Bonnie Savage
Ghar ka gosht (goat curry).
10 / 12Ghar ka gosht (goat curry).Bonnie Savage
Bread pudding.
11 / 12Bread pudding.Bonnie Savage
Chickpea-battered kale chips.
12 / 12Chickpea-battered kale chips.Bonnie Savage
14.5/20Critics' Pick

Kahaani

Indian$$

Menu mapped to regional cuisines.

A map helpfully wayfinds which part of India dishes come from, but there’s no way to prepare you for the bold plating of Dudhiya kebabs, crumbed cubes of paneer as large as they are fluffy. Kahaani keeps the lights low and the music unobtrusively ambient, all the better to train your senses on its far-reaching showcase of cornerstone dishes from Rajasthan, Chennai, Kolkata and beyond.

Delhi’s favourite street-eat, papdi chaat, is a rugged landscape of fried kale leaves, yoghurt and tamarind-date chutney. Copper and silver pots dot the table, some filled with creamy yellow dhal and an iridescent red slick of chilli-infused ghee, others holding fine strands of basmati rice that put all other examples to shame.

Cocktails feature fennel and are graced with flowers, and dessert is another striking vision: a disc of deep-purple strands of sweetened carrot scattered with pea flowers.

Must-order: Gajar halwa – the dessert of shredded purple carrots, cardamom and milk – that’s cooked in iron pans and has a pleasant bouncy texture.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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