Three-month-old Uzzuri in Connaught Place is cooking a storm with its fresh and innovative take on Continental dishes. Rupinder Kaur checks in
After slogging through the same slough throughout the week, the agenda for the weekend for most of us focusses on the term ‘chilling.’ A random or even a meaningful conversation is what we would look forward to with, of course, some hearty, greasy and ravishing grub. The hunt for the ideal place begins and many a times we land up in the heart of Delhi — Connaught Place — which, over time, has turned into foodies’ Mecca.
Uzzuri, right opposite Janpath market, met with our catching-up-over-food criteria. With hints of fresh salmon pink and green hues here and there, slat back wooden chairs, desk lamps on walls lighting up the place and a map of CP on the wall, it did feel like we’d had hit the bull’s-eye. To help us confirm the fact completely was chef Gaurav and his crew.
It has been a while since we’ve been trying to beat the heat with various summer drink concoctions and anything citrusy with a lot of ice was what we were ready to grab. We got ourselves the refreshing lychee lemongrass which was more of a slushy with lemongrass wedges in lychee juice and caster sugar. Their signature Uzzuri fresh, sure enough to give one a brain freeze, was our citrusy delight with orange and cranberry juice mix along with slices of mandarin and mint leaves.
Salads may act as a natural suppressants but their delightful combinations of veggies, nuts and fruits were something we were not ready to forgo. So we settled for feta, apple, cinnamon and walnut salad along with poached pears with an in-house secret dressing.
The greens including spinach, lettuce and cilantro and the thin sliced apples and pears along with walnuts gave the brilliant juicy crunch. It is not very often that one would see fried cheese balls in salads but Uzzuri broke the rule and we were glad to bite into them. The poached pear with cinnamon won, hands down.
From the kitchen emerged a wooden platter with four cottage cheese burger shorties along with a mini cauldron filled with fries accompanied with a ranch dip. Out of curiosity we dissected the shorties and found that the inside of the mini buns had been brushed with chilli jam. Then came the cottage cheese patty, some coleslaw with tomato slice and bell peppers. These shorties had game and we made a mental note to tag them as ‘must try.’
Along came the fiery grilled chicken skewers which were juicy chicken thighs marinated in Malaysian chilli and lime sauce served with spiced coconut dip. Uzzuri also offers some classic thin-crust pizzas where you may add your choice of veggies and meats as well as cheeses like goat cheese and boccancini. We ordered ourselves a farm fresh pizza with mozzarella cheese, trio peppers, olives, arugula, spinach and tomatoes drizzled in chilli pea oil. The oil had a piquant aftertaste while the crust was baked to perfection — neither too hard nor too chewy.
Moving on to the mains, chef Gaurav recommended the half roast chicken and baked duo peppers. The duo grilled peppers filled with well-cooked khus-khus were served on a layer of tangy tomato puree fused with garlic and topped with crisp spinach strands. It was flavours galore with brilliant textures.
The tender chicken leg served with red wine jus, which is juice of the chicken bones mixed with red wine and then reduced, along with crisp polenta chips and grilled zucchini, broccoli, baby corn, french beans and carrot salad. Chef Gaurav told us that it takes 12 hours to make the sauce and the chicken takes around three hours to cook.
Brand manager Saurav Kumar shared, “Uzzuri symbolises energy and warmth; of unplanned journeys and the road less travelled as exemplified in our logo and the ambience. The concept behind the deli lies in unfolding simple pleasures — food, people and places. Each branch of Uzzuri, starting with CP, will shape itself to its neighbourhood, find people worth talking to, places worth visiting in the area and explore local flavours with as much aplomb as it does its own offerings.”
Along with great food and drinks, Uzzuri offers its diners history and discerning anecdotes while sharing fun and heartwarming fables of the charming locality. The city of Delhi has a seam of stories woven in its history that we often overlook, with each street revealing countless secrets. The pictures on the walls hint at places worth seeing and a larger-than-life map helps you find them. Relive the nostalgia of Palika Bazaar; relish the pride of Central Park while exploring the forgotten alleys and nooks.