1 restaurant – 3 cuisines!

 

About Karama

Think soulful music, think Qahwah, think rich Arab food – that’s right, Karama unveils a new Arab menu with Karachi and Punjabi menus sharing the golden space, as Empire group celebrates its 50^th anniversary! This home away from home has its decor in sync with the menu. Enter the Karama zone and you will know you are in the house of Arabian food.

The Empire (group) began as a small restaurant with its first outlet on Church Street by late Mr. Haji C. Abdul Rahim. Karama is a unit of this chain that was called the Taste of Bangalore. Al-karama (الكرامة) means dignity! In this case, it would refer to the dignity to serve, present meals to a family or group, and carry on age-old traditions of a region with poise. Scan through the menu, bask in their good service, and the two main elements of the Arabic cuisine will be evident – generosity and hospitality.

 

 

When to go?

Lunch or dinner if you want to enjoy the extensive spread.

 

What’s on the menu?

From Arabia: Yakhni and other shorbas, grills and barbeque, kababs, sea food, roti (bread), rice, biryani.

From Karachi: Kababs, curries, dal, peshawari delights, murgh (chicken) and tawa specials

From Punjab: Raita (curd), kababs, kofta, saag, paneer, mushroom and non-veg preparations

As a part of the 43^rd FBAB meet-up, an endless wave of three cuisines followed suit. Here’s a quick picture tour of some of the dishes under each category….

 

Welcome drink

Besides the traditional qahwah, we were welcomed with Mexican Soda. The sweet syrup was neutralized with slit green chillies floating around the bubbly soda drink.

Shorba/Soups

Yakhni, Chicken, Tomato Dhaniya, Dal Shorba

Salads

Fattoush, Tabouleh and Russian salad- light, healthy, veggie-overload

Appetizers (Non-Veg)

Al Faham Dajaj, Barbeque Fish, Rubiyan Mashwi, Dajaj Fajita, Prawns-fried, juicy, soft core

Appetizers (Veg)

Hara Bhara Cheese, Dahi Kabab and Spicy Potato

Biryani

Feast your eyes on them 😀

Rotis and curries – main course

Breads: Karachi Naan, Alu Kulcha, Lachedar Paratha, Keema Naan

Gravies: Rara murgh, Rogan Josh, Tawa Bheja, Karachi Dum Gosht

Dessert

Jalebi with Rabri, Gulab Jamun, Gajar (carrot) halwa – almost everyone’s favourite! 🙂

Milkshakes

For the fruit and dairy lovers, here’s your dose of fruit churns for the day!

 

Lyf&Spice picks:

While the biryani, kababs, non-veg curry preparations and most appetizers were average, the following dishes have been tasted, liked and thus picked by Lyf&Spice – yes, you could call them ‘must try’s’…

Mexican soda: Though not a part of the 3 cuisines really, this soda was refreshing and set tone for the food overload that followed. The play of chillies to reduce the syrupy sweetness worked well and left an after-taste, where you would long for more.

 

Al Faham Dajaj: Juicy, succulent pieces of chicken grilled or barbequed. In this case, the masalas (spices) that seeped through the flesh indicated the strength of the marinade.

 

Palak Paneer: The ever-yummy cottage cheese recipe from Punjab, made with pureed spinach gravy stole the show with its consistency and flavour. Had best with plain rotis, some of us love the thick gravy with stuffed parathas too.

 

Dal Makhani: A Punjabi dish comprising of red kidney beans and whole black lentils. This slow cooked dal (lentil) was as creamy as you would expect it to be, perfectly balanced in terms of spices and salt, and had best with plain roti or kulcha.

Dal Makhani

 

Gulab jamun: This king of Indian sweets made of khoya dough (milk solids) has always won hearts. Prepared soft and syrupy, with pistachio sprinlers, it dribbled our over-eating woes away!

 

Anjeer milkshake: While you would agree that not many like the idea of a fig milkshake, we thought this blend was yummy and crsipy with crunchy pieces of fig seeds in the churned mix!

 

Cost: Around INR 500-600 per person for an appetizer, grill, biryani and dessert.

Decor: In sync with the theme – glass work adorns the walls, while light sandy hues embrace the walls of the majlis

 

Don’t let the hookah fool you! It’s just for show 😉

 

Psst… For a traditional Arabian experience, book a majlis where the entire family or group can gather and eat together, sitting on the floor, out of a huge vessel.

Seating: Indoor across 2 levels, with majlis-style seating, regular tables and a relatively low-lying table-chair fusion near the staircase.

 

 

Location: Opposite Empire, Frazer Town

Parking: Right outside

 

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That’s all folks!!

Read… Drool… Eat!

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