The first time we heard about the name of this new restaurant in Koramangala, we were quite put off by it. It seemed pretty gimmicky and just didn’t appeal to our cosmopolitan senses. But were we wrong and how! Jugni turned out to be one of the most intriguing and exciting pan-Indian menus we’ve ever come across.
What hits you first when you walk into this restaurant is how beautifully they have designed it. So much so, Koramangala regulars like us couldn’t even remember what stood here before this establishment. We are wowed even before we start to taste dishes from the exhaustive menu — that for once, didn’t leave us complaining. Owner Farheen Quadri knew exactly what she wanted when she opened Jugni and tells us, “I wanted to celebrate Indian food while being unapologetic about it. I wanted to retain the authenticity and bring nostalgia into the food experience.”
We started off our tasting with a delicious Chuda Ghugni Box which is a tiffin box filled to the brim with bengal gram ghugni, crisp fried chuda and peanuts with onion and green chilli, served with a pitachoki aloo chop. Needless to say, it was a great start and we quickly graduated to a Madurai Pepper Chicken — spicy chicken cooked in black pepper and served with crackling dosa crisps. This meal was only getting better.
Twisting courses as we pleased, we then had the Avocado Chaat with methi mathri, tamarind chutney, potatoes and moong and paired that with the Mushroom Galouti smoked in sandalwood and served with kesar paratha and mint labneh. While tears of joy from the exquisite flavours flowed down our cheeks, we also drowned ourselves in delicious cocktails on offer, including One in a Melon and Bean Banana.
Next up was the Bhatti Paneer with a roasted raw mango relish that we couldn’t stop gushing over and a Shakarkandi Chaat paired with tamarind chutney infused with fennel, that we could have nibbled on all evening. Too scared we’d fill up just on the starters, we decided to quickly move on to maincourse and ordered a Kaju Kofta Curry to pair with Flax Seed and Hemp rotis. We also ordered a serving of their Yakhni Pulao and were thankful we did so. The rotis, the pulao and the koftas paired like a match made in heaven and the only criticism we have, was that our stomachs couldn’t expand to fit in another serving of these delicious treats.
We wrapped up our meal with Elaneer Payasam served with a Mango Mousse and a Lavanga Latika paired with Thandai Cream. Unable to control ourselves after indulging in these delectable desserts, we also gave in to a serving of Gajar Halwa Phyllo Cigars served with a Rajbhog Ice-cream and then decided we had to stop, or we might have ended up in a food coma.
Meal for two: ₹2,000 onwards. At Koramangala.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal