For me Awadhi food and Lucknowi food meant kebabs with lots of kewra, ghee and spices. When I got a chance to visit the beautiful Zaffran, to try Lucknowi food, I was excited. The first thing the manager introduced me to was how well planned Dastarkhwan e Awadh, the food festival is. Running a month long festival meant more variety and Zaffran changes it’s menu every week to spice up the festival.
Zaffran has a foreign clientele and that is the first thing you notice upon entering, which means the food here has to be not so spicy.
Ambience: Zaffran is located in the restaurant heavy GK 1 N Block market. Its a well made upscale restaurant with pale yellow lights, classic furniture adding grace to the setup. It is one of those places you would love to take your family or your date for the classy environment. PS I have been a regular at the CP one for some 7 odd years now but this is my second visit to the place.
Food: Unlike most places, the food at their Lucknowi food festival was not high on spices. It had the perfect blend of spices, aromatics and authenticity in play. The food is something which will make you want to try more variety. We had Murg gulbahar seekh which is cooked on a sigdi that adds to its rustic and real flavours. The chicken is marinated with a cheese stuffing that adds smoothness to the dish.
Mutton galawti is cooked so perfectly that I had to congratulate them for making me taste the softest melt in the mouth galawti ever. And I have had quite a few varieties, trust me. They serve this one a small khasta roti which adds to the texture.
For vegetarians the Nashmeen seekh, made of corn, with its velvety texture is a must try. The kebabs are heavy so one small portion og each variety is a smart idea.
For mains we had biryani. The biryani had its signature look, long rice grains, some saffron for colour but what stood out at Zaffran is the perfection of spices. Not once could I say the dish was spicy but it was perfectly flavoursome. The Nalli Nihari is a bit of a disappointment, but that is because the wonderful chefs at Zaffran tried to decrease the quantity of oils.
Murg Pardanashee is a must try and I would suggest everyone to try it once. For vegetarians the Bagare Baigan ka Salan is simply finger licking, the eggplant and gravy have a delectable taste. They served us assorted breads with the mains and the Cheese Naan dreserves a special mention, stuffed with gooey cheese, the naan is great in taste.
The dessert Zoke Shahi, was different, it was a mélange of Shahi Tukda and Rabdi, dense, heavy and terrifically Indian!
Rating: 4.5/5
Address: Zaffran, N-2, Greater Kailash (GK) 1, New Delhi
