Every time when I receive an invitation from Food Bloggers Qatar, I get excited. It is all about meeting fellow blogger friends and exploring different types of cuisines and recipes..
Similarly few weeks back I got an invitation to taste a menu in Zaffran Dining Experience. I generally prefer to choose home delivery during week days, but as they don’t provide it I never got a chance to enjoy their delicacies. Zaffran has an Indian Street Food outlet near The Center, which is behind Radisson Blu. It is one of our favorite places for enjoying tea, chats and snacks during weekends. Zaffran Dining Experience is located in Al Emadi Financial Square building on C Ring Road.
‘Zaffran’ is named after one of the expensive spice Saffron. Zaffran Dining is in lime light because of their unique concept of molecular gastronomy which they highlight in their promos. With a curious heart I reached the restaurant bit early. The restaurant is on the ground floor, They have outdoor seating arrangement. But as it was very cold, it was better to enjoy the cozy space indoor.
The interior work is just amazing with the theme paisley all over the wall.
Soon Nitin Shroff, (Managing Director of Zaffran Restaurant ), came in and we all got introduced to each other. Bloggers joined that evening were Hungry Birds Doha, Creativity with kay, Qatar Eats, Life With Karlly, Itometa and Sara. It was a set menu decided for us. Unlike our previous menu tasting experience, we did not have any clue about the food going to be served.
First came in a Deconstructed Pani Puri.
Trust me, I was not so impressed with the look of that green shells which was kept on individual spoons. I reminded me of a green eye. Do I fantasize a lot?. Without further delay I glided it into my mouth. It was so refreshing and delicious It was yum!
Then came in a tray with test tubes rather I call it a test tube stand . It looks similar to what we could see in a Chemistry lab. All the test tubes had a basil leaf inside it. A rose drink was poured in each of the test tube and it started smoking and bubbling. Reminded me of Alton Brown’s food lab. Once the smoke and bubbles settled a bit, we tasted the welcome drink.
It was a Rooh Afza drink. It is a kind of herbal fruit juice (sharbat) which is traditionally severed with kulfi or milk. Otherwise the concentrate syrup is mixed with water. We got to taste the syrup and water version. People who love Rooh Afza will like it, but it was not my favorite.
Then came in the starter platter. It had 5 delicacies placed on a rectangular plate.
The delicacies were
- Bharwan Khumb (right bottom) – stuffed mushrooms.
- Paneer Makhmali (right top) – a flavorful appetizer made of Indian Cottage Cheese
- Kandhari Murg (center top) – This was made of chicken and it was yum
- Bharwa murg (center bottom). It was a chicken drumstick without a bone. Instead it was stuffed with flavorful chicken mince.
- Barra Kebab (left) – It was a flavorful lamp chops
The platter looked crowded and a bit messy. But it was delicious. My favorite pick from the 5 delicacies were Kandhari Murg and Bharwan Kumb
chutney and pickle
foam chutney
Next was Scientifically Smoldered Chaat.
It is a transformation of Indian street food. It was presented on a cake stand, covered with a transparent dome cover. At first you cannot see anything but the smoke inside. The cover is removed gently and the smoke came out.. Slowly we get to see the a beautiful artistic chat presentation. I couldn’t ask what was the smoke infused with. The platter had two potato cakes assembled one on top of other separated by a papadi (a small crispy seasoned biscuit). The whole structure is dressed with mint, tamarind and yogurt sauces. It had sev (a crunchy noodles made of seasoned chickpea flour), pomegranate pearls sprinkled over it. A ripe strawberry was the cherry of this savory cake. This dish tasted very authentic and it was full of flavors. And it is a must try.
Then came in an array of main course dishes
Murg Makhani or Butter Chicken
Deegi mirch ka ghost
I absolutely loved this mutton preparation. It was scrumptious and flavorsome
Queens bay
It was presented in a whole tender coconut shell. It was piping hot and the aroma will make your mouth watering. The seasoned coconut milk gravy was luscious . The prawn was fresh perfectly cooked, but I felt the the flavor of the gravy was not absorbed completely in to the prawns. It could be because prawns are bit larger. Traditionally when we prepare Prawns curry we choose smaller prawns which becomes much softer and flavorful once it is cooked.
Vegetarian gravies were Velvet Makhmali and Freezi veggie. In this my favorite was Velvet Makhmali. I kept on tasting this.
The assorted breads were Mint Za’atar Naan, Cheese Naan and Lacha paratha. The Cheese naan was delish!
Next course served was Biriyani. We were served Yakhni Biryani and Butter Chicken Biryani . Both of them were delicious. My favorite pick was Yakhni Biriyani.
Yakhni Biriyani
Butter Chicken Biryani
Before the desserts, we were served a palette cleanser. It was a smoking cream biscuit which is actually a liquid nitrogen biscuit. It was an unique experience. The moment you pop it in your mouth the smoke starts coming out from your nose. If you try to open your mouth smokes comes from there as well.
And then the last course came in. We were served 2 desserts.Astronomy Kulfi Canal.
It is a mix of phirni. falooda and Kulfi . And that was my favorite dessert! Though me and “Qatar Eats” shared the same dessert (The dessert was too large for a single person.), I am just wondering how it will be served daily
Atomic Rajshahi Bhog
It is a white chocolate ball placed on top of a carrot halwa and garnished with rabri. Once we crack the crust and cut the ball you could see a huge rasamalai. If you have a sweet tooth you will love this. Individually all these delicacies are very sweet, so all together it become very sweet for me
I bid good night to fellow blogger friends and took a stroll back home relishing the finger licking delicacies of Zaffran. My favorite was pani poori, scientifically smothered chat and the kulfi canal.For more details about Zaffran Dining Experience please check their Zomato page.
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