Dilli 32 at the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel is quite a revelation.  It has steadily emerged as one of the best restaurants to dish out a stellar variety of regional Indian food. There’s a popular saying, that the higher you want to rise, the closer you should remain to your roots.

The same concept applies to food. Keep it close to it’s roots, as close to it’s original flavor as possible, and people will keep coming back to it, again and again. In a country with as diverse cuisines as ours, the options are unlimited when it comes to taking your taste buds on a trip.

When one hears the name Awadhi cuisine the first images which conjure up in the mind are of mouth-watering kabebs, qormas, nahari, kulcha, sheermal. Inspired by the Mughal style of cooking, this cuisine which hails from the city of Nawabs, Lucknow, is famous for its “dum” style of cooking which is the art of cooking over slow fire. This style of cooking ensures that all the moisture and nutrients in the ingredients are retained, and the food cooks in it’s own juices.

We recommend you begin with the Shahi galawat ke kebab, Murg pasanda, Arbi ki shammi, Palak ke asharfian & Nukti kabab. These starters stood out for us. With flavors that were spot-on and melt-in-the-mouth texture, these ones are not to be missed! These were our favorites.

Interestingly, even non-vegetarians are likely to swoon over the vegetarian offerings at Dilli 32.

Though this may be just a starter, it can hold its own even when faced by the worthy main course of the Nehari gosht, Murg Aminabadi  & Cottage cheese dumlings – kofta with Shermal paratha. It was a match made in heaven. Ahem. Or to say in the kitchens of Dilli 32.

After this heavy sumptuous meal, the one dessert that you cannot miss out is the green mirch ka halwa.  a bell-pepper-meets-sweet khoya dish that deserves a standing ovation.

Big thanks to the team – Chef Ashwani Kumar Singh, Devashree Mahajan & Sherin for being such an amazing host.

Ratings:

Food: 9/10
Ambience: 9/10
Service: 9/10