Sitting in the middle of a square with many other restaurants, Diwan is here to make sure the food you eat is never boring. Unnati Joshi checks in
Set over two floors, Diwan is a perfect joint for desi food. Dim lights, soft music, the restaurant offers what’s working most these days, contemporised Indian food.
We started the night by sipping some white wine. First on our table was an assorted vegetarian platter, a combination of bharwan aloo, paneer tikka sunheri, bharwan kumbh and malai broccoli. Bharwan aloo was one skillful dish, tandoor-roasted potatoes stuffed with veggies, cottage cheese and nuts. Definitely worth a munch. Paneer tikka sunheri was cottage cheese marinated with ajwain, chillies, saffron yoghurt and cheese. But it tasted like regular paneer tikka. No gold. Bharwan kumbh had tandoori mushroom stuffed with cottage cheese (again!) and grated mushrooms. Mushroom on mushroomIJ Though it had fresh mint flavours, it didn’t appeal much to us. last on the vegetarian platter was Malai broccoli, baked broccoli filled with cheese, sweet corns and pomegranate seeds, with delicate flavours and a cardamom tang to it. We are recommending this to everyone.
Next they served their non-vegetarian platter, a fusion of fish tikka, murg malai tikka, murg tikka angaari and mutton seekh kebab. Fish tikka was pleasantly cooked with a hint of mustard that stole our hearts. Murg malai tikka had avid malai flavours but wasn’t suitably cooked. The highlight was the Murg tikka angaari wrapped in rounded spice blends. Mutton seekh kebab, flavoured with cumin and green chillies, was a steady dish.
Mountain lamb chops came next. Beautifully presented with candles, it was supposed to be melt-in-your-mouth but gave us a hard time chewing. Phew!
For the main course we had butter chicken, Diwan mutton curry, dal makhni, kadhain paneer accompanied with chur chur naan and jeera rice. Except the Diwan mutton curry, which worked with a magic ratio of spice combinations, the rest made for pretty usual fare.
The dessert was the most interesting as it was expertly presented in an assorted platter full of gulab jamun, rasmalai, shahi tukda and phirni.
Overall, the restaurant has some specials with commendable service. A good service can compensate for lack of quality elsewhere. The staff and the manager were very attentive and cordial to all its patrons.