Every dish at Singh Sahib has been painstakingly researched and recreated, bringing to life the hearty exuberance of a united people. By Team Viva
Singh Sahib, the little Punjab at the Eros Hotel, Nehru Place has no borders. Celebrating the undivided Punjab, the menu recreates the magical flavours of Potohar, Multan, lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Amritsar.
We sat for the dinner with the executive chef, Nikhil Rastogi and Umesh Dalal, director, Food and Beverages. It was a windy evening and Diljit Dosanjh’s Patiala Peg in the background made us want to dance but then the amuse bouche on the table would have taken an affront. On the plate, we observed perfectly cooked Palak aur matar ki tikki. “Our amuse bouche changes every day,” the waiting staff mentioned.
Sipping our wines, we discussed the Delhi heat, chef’s kitchen and the concept of Singh Sahib. “Maharaja Ranjit Singh epitomised the spirit of undivided Punjab. He was robust yet refined, his nobility tempered with humility. Despite his exalted status, he preferred the epithet ‘Singh Sahib’. like their king, the people of Punjab have a passion for the simple pleasures of feasting, battle and fellowship. The result was a culinary style that blended subtlety and substance with great panache – the cuisine of undivided Punjab,” Dalal told us.
The kitchen here is open and you can see the cooks at work. A chef was pressure cooking the meat, anther was making sure that the biryani was steaming well and a third young man was skewering naans in a spick and span tandoor.
One after the other came the starters. We took a patient look at the plate and confusion was the first emotion that struck us. The table was as colourful as the state of Punjab. “Bon appétit, as you travel to a time when lions still roamed the Punjab,” the chef smirked. A special mention to his wit and humour, it made the dinner memorable and super fun.
The health conscious may get a tad worried by the menu. This is malai and desi ghee territory all the way.
“Every good restaurant has Dahi ke kebab in their menu but we differentiate on the basis of sheer taste and the fine texture. These are a combination of cheddar and mozzarella with hung curd and then coated with panko crumbs,” said Rastogi as we took a bite of these palm-sized kebabs. The coat of panko crumbs was rustling and crunchy and it made way for soft hung curd, which had just a bit sour. But the star among the starters was Multani paneer tikka. Who can say no to Paneer tikka and that too when it’s, the Multani importIJ Roasted in a bhatti, this one had a perfect crust. The tikka was perfect – well spiced and wonderfully tender.
Another glass of wine and the chef shared, “Being vegetarian is a fad nowadays. But that was not the case 15 years ago when I decided to become a chef. My mother is a strict vegetarian. I am still not allowed cook at home as I cook non-veg at my restaurants.” With working parents and no siblings to disturb at home, cooking caught his fantasy from a very young age. “So when I opted for Hotel Management course from Pusa, Delhi, my mother prayed quite hard that I do not choose kitchen as my career. But as destiny would have it, I realised that I was very comfortable in the heat, no pun intended, of the kitchen.” Everyone at the table burst out laughing. As we ran our eyes through the menu, the interesting dish names began to work on our cravings and we quickly asked for a Bhune tamatar adrak da ras and we were soon sipping piping hot soup. The soup was mildly flavoured and we loved it.
We decided to submit ourselves to the chef and he wisely served us a non-vegetarian platter and Dhaba meat was served with assorted breads. The aroma of the mutton had whet our appetite and we couldn’t wait to dig in. The meat pieces had been cooked in a deliciously thick gravy and flavoured with all kinds of spices from caraway and pepper to coriander and cardamom.
Just as we thought, “Nothing could be better,” we were served chicken biryani. A bowl of fluffy and fragrant rice scented with saffron and whole spices, and heaped with the chunks of tender chicken had us asking for more. The chicken pieces were tender, lightly spiced and cooked just right. The flavours of the meat had melted with the aroma of the long-grained rice. And the outcome was finger-licking good. “The inspiration came from one of the regions of the concept of the restaurant, Afghanistan. Kabul is its capital and it is a very popular dish in that part of the woods,” said the chef.
The menu pays attention to the vegetarian customers as well and has a rich variety to offer with a lot of innovation in taste and presentation. Singh Sahib di bhuna pyaz is one of their specials. “This is one of the signature vegetarian dishes where in we have stuffed the onions with aromatic spices and then baked them in the oven. It was inspired by Muthe ki pyaaz which is a popular form of salad in Punjab. We took it one step further and have created a main course out of it,” Rastogi said.
With a very little space for dessert, we rounded off the meal with an assortment of sweets comprising of Badam ka halwa, Gulab jamun and Kulfi with falooda. Out of the three, their kulfi ka falooda was our favourite. Fluffy creamy texture and balance of sugar was commendable.