Focusing on flavours from the erstwhile North-West Frontier Province, chef Osama Jalali wowed us at this pop-up in Bengaluru!

One of the first things that catches your eye when you see the craft of chef Osama Jalali is his key attention to colours. While most food that we’ve seen from the NWFP cuisine (not a new obsession in Bengaluru) are usually repetitions of what we’ve tried and tested (and sometimes liked) over the years — this pop-up at Quattro at The Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru had so much more in store for us — both for our eyes and palates.

After a brief conversation where chef explained to us the differences in these similar cuisines from the North, we sat down and experimented with quite a few delicious debuts, at least for our palates. This included the Paneer Parchay, the Chicken Koyla Kadhai, the Kathal Qorma, the Saag Qeema and the Afghani Chitta Paneer.

While the former two dishes were delicious and new, but slightly familiar, the Saag Qeema was unlike anything we’ve ever tasted. A combination of greens and mince, why hadn’t we ever come across this amazing combination before? What also stole our hearts was the subtle and creamy Afghani Chitta Paneer that was a very different flavour profile altogether. We’d just been complaining about how paneer dishes are often the most boring and so this presentation came well-timed. Needless to say, the Kathal Qorma was out of this world too, but that could also be because this reviewer has a soft corner for kathal (green jackfruit). Kudos to the chef for introducing us to these rare delicacies.

We also tried a Memoni Paneer Tikka, Chandan Seekh, Charsi Murgh Tikka, Pashtoon Aloo Tamatar, Bhindi Ki Qaliya, Matka Urad, Dal Gosht, Barati Murgh Qorma and a Memoni Mutton Biryani and were very impressed with every bite. We wrapped up this rich and heavy meal with a serving of Phirni and promised to visit every pop-up by the chef we ever get to hear of again!

Email: romal@newindianexpress.com
X: @elromal