With an increasing number of restaurants relying on gimmicks and over-the-top presentation to draw customers, a place that focuses on hearty and well-made classics is a breath of fresh air. Urban Roti, a restaurant popular in Singapore for its authentic and close-to-home flavours, opens its doors in Indira Nagar with some staple Indian and Asian dishes. We visited the place last week to find out more.
Situated on Indira Nagar’s buzzing 100 Feet Road, Urban Roti is hard to miss. Brightly coloured furniture and French windows with a balcony leading to a sunlit area, make for a welcoming sight. A Masala Chaas and a Hammer of Thor (a mix of grape, cranberry and apple juice) later, we were ready to start our meal.
Hidden stems
Steering clear of the usual suspects, such as seekhs and tikkas, we opted to try the Nadru Shaami — spicy cutlets made of marinated and minced lotus stem. The fresh salad accompanying it gave the melt-in-the-mouth cutlets a crunchy edge. Another interesting dish we tried was the Ajwaini Rataloo. Rataloos or sweet potatoes were cooked in a Peshawari-style preparation of fragrant carom seeds, that gave it an earthy touch.
For Southern flavours, we recommend the Curry Leaves Fried Prawns — batter-fried prawns with a strong curry leaf masala. If you’re into Asian cuisine, try the Crispy Corn and Water Chestnuts, a crunchy affair all around. Some other dishes that stood out from the menu are Ghee Roast Chicken Kulcha Tacos and Kele Aur Palak Ke Pakode.
Just chilli-ing
We started our main course with the Stuffed Mirch Salan. Bhav-nagri chillies were slit in half, stuffed with a vegetable and spice mix, and then cooked in a piquant gravy. This paired well with piping hot, pillowy butter naans. But the dish we were most excited about was the Aloo Aur Chole Ki Biryani. A combination of potatoes, chickpeas and aromatic rice, just can’t go wrong. With a side of Cucumber Raita and Chur Chur Papad (crushed papad with spices), this was comfort food at its best. After all those fiery dishes,
we decided to cool off with dessert. The textural Ras Malai Milk Cake, served with chilled basundi and shaved pistachios in a cocktail glass, was just what we needed.
Urban Roti is apt for special family dinners or those meals when you just want to dig in guilt-free and satisfy those cravings for good Indian food.
Rs.1,000 for two. At Indira Nagar
anagha@newindianexpress.com @anaghzzz