If you’re fasting, one of the top rules for iftar is not to have too much spicy food. I’m sure that’s something we’ve all ignored at some point or another during Ramadan (if there’s biryani on offer, I defy anyone to skip it in the name of preventing heartburn). Atul Kochhar’s Rang Mahal, however, takes this to heart, and serves up a delicious iftar that is light-handed with the chilli.
That’s not to say that all Indian food is about chilli, and that is something Rang Mahal plays too, rich with the smoky flavours of the tandoor, fragrant with ginger, cumin and turmeric.
The set iftar menu (Dh325) is a little steep, but it’s worth it for the incredible surroundings (the wooden pillars are especially impressive) and wide variety of food, served at your table with grace and speed.
You’ll be greeted with dates, apricots, raw almonds and cashews, before a soothing lamb and wheat soup flavoured with cardamom and fennel is served. It’s like a thinner, tastier harees — it won’t knock your socks off, but it is good for a hungry tummy.
My favourite dishes of the night came on the kebab starter platter, served in a modern style on a wooden chopping block. The leg of lamb cooked slowly with Lucknowi spices, then finished in the tandoor, is a meat-lover’s dream — tender, moist meat with plenty of spice, brightened with green herbs. It’s one of the best dishes I’ve had this Ramadan. Alongside were perfect jumbo tandoori prawns and juicy chicken thighs. After lots of meat and soup, the arrival of the chewy, tandoor-singed Lahori kulcha was a bite of carb heaven, topped as they were with nigella seeds and sesame. I especially enjoyed using it to mop up the unusual (for me) Lucknowi khatti dal, a slightly sour dal with green mangoes. Another vegetarian dish also scored highly — the bindi do piaza, crispy okra in a dry onion base. Little lamb shanks in a brown gravy and chicken in an almond and yoghurt sauce were pleasant enough, but didn’t get my heart racing; a chicken biryani had a bit too much of the spiced core to rice ratio, but was wonderfully flavoured nonetheless.
The meal wraps up with a small dish of Indian-spiced Umm Ali alongside some chopped, chilled mango — just enough to satisfy my limited sweet tooth.
The details
Where: Rang Mahal, JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai
Timing: Sunset-8pm
Cost: Dh325
Call: 04-4140000
