Daryaganj Restaurant — Restaurant in New Delhi

DaryaGanj is a blessing in disguise for the true food lovers who love having their food as authentic as it can be. Spearheaded on the lines of preparation of the food from the pre independence era as curated by the ever so fabulous Chef Mr Kundan Lal Jaggi. He hailed from Peshwar & post partition, had been one of the key chef's who set up the oldest Moti Mahal in town which is situated Daryaganj. So you can clearly see the historical proof of the vivid tastes that are stewed out of the kitchen here as adapted by the new team with vast experiences!

You would notice a traditional vibe common to the streets of old Delhi as one enters & settles down in the restaurant. Small artifacts & memorabilia are placed with some old photos that are key in highlighting the time from the bygone era. Even the steel crockery finished in brass used here signifies the old times as well. With this, the smiling faces of the support staff really adds to the entire ambience too. We ordered for the starters with the Mocktails as the first round of appetites. All of them were top of the line indeed. In case ur a fish lover, Tandoori Pompfret is a must have. It was so bloody damn good that it literally disappeared in the first 2 mins it arrived. The Chicken Tikka Trio comprised of three types of Tikka - Tandoori, Malai & Kasturi which were succelent and flavorful too! The Mutton Seekh was freshly prepared and grilled was too zingy as well with Mint chutney. In veg fare, I loved the Paneer Tikka which were again too fresh and felt really sapid indeed. Normally I skip the paneer ... But u can't really miss it here! Unlike other places the Dahi ke Kebab weren't sweet and suited my tastes quite well! The Hara Bhara Kebabs had a certain zing added to it with! These were accompanied with the a round of regular home made drinks like - Thandai, Lassi & Kheera Shikanji! The Kheera Shikanji was a nice surprise to your taste buds and again highly recommended item indeed!

The main course included some of the best of dishes - Original Dal Makhni, Original Butter Chicken, Railway Station Mutton Curry, Paneer Makhni & Subz Biryani. Well you really notice the use of word in the Menu- "Original" since these were how the dishes were cooked in the independence era versus the kinds that are available now. The original butter chicken gravy isn't the normal blanched one but rather a textured one filled with onions & tomato reductions and highly zestful. Similarly, the Original Dal Makhni is not like very creamy but something really more substantial and worthy of a palate that times have forgotten and changed due to many commercial additions. The Subz Biryani (that I refer to as Pulao rather) is by far the tastiest pulav I have ever had and surely something that not everyone in the food industry can match! One thing that stood out in all the dishes is the use optimum spices in each of them respectively and something that is not everyone is familiar with! The railway station Mutton Curry was light yet hearty too! All the four of us really enjoyed this food sojourn indeed.

Don't think of leaving the place yet without tasting the Phirni. Added with a bit saffron, this is one of most prolific desserts I have tasted in some years. I might as well suggest to order two instead of one to relish more incase ur more than three people on the table. The Ras Malai was pretty brilliant too followed by hot Gulab Jamun which brought us to the brink of sweet feelings for the afternoon.

I am heading to this place again soon for tasting those stuff which were missed out and for experiencing the old Delhi's courteous service which stood out almost all the time while we were in the restaurant! Thanks to Mr Manoj & Chef for the making our each...

With Aerocity bustling with new chic properties every month, some old world charm was need of the hour and Daryaganj aptly provided that balance. Termed as being established by the iconic family of founders of Butter Chicken and tandoori dishes in India, this place had to be on our list to try and we planned to visit them for a lunch on a Saturday.

Situated on the lower ground floor, Daryaganj, looks very upmarket from the outside totally opposite to what daryaganj area looks in reality. The interiors are beautifully designed and the you some of the decorative objects do give you that feel of old world charm and is definitely going to make your parents nostalgic. There’s a corner seat which has a small window from which you can have an idea of how the food is being prepared. Overall Daryaganj’s decor looks really gorgeous and the ambience is perfect for family meals or business meetings alike. Even the old songs playing in the background add you the mood.

We started our meal with a scrumptious “Vegetarian Platter” whose constituents were The Original Paneer Tikka, Dahi Ke Kebab, Hara Bhara Kebab & Mushroom Kurkuri. The best of the lot was their Paneer Tikka which was very nicely marinated and roasted to perfection. But the distinguishing factor was the cheese which was stuffed in the cottage cheese cubes and enhance the overall taste manifolds. Next best was the hara bhara kebab which had a very different spices mix which made it taste very different than the usual hara bhara kebabs and we just loved them. Mushroom Kurkuri were great too which were very crispy and stuffed with bell peppers and cheese. The only thing we liked a bit lesser than the others were their dahi ke kebabs which were a bit too sour for our liking.

Moving to the main course, we tried their popular “The Original Dal Makhani” and “The Original Butter Paneer”. The dal makhani was not too creamy and was topped with a lot of ghee instead of the usual butter which made it very light on the stomach. Even the butter paneer was very light on stomach as they used original tomatoes instead of the artificial puree. This dish is best suited for those vegetarians who want to get a hint of the magic of legendary Kundan Lal Jaggi’s gravies. The breads accompanying the gravies were pretty good except the chur chur naan which was a bit too dry.

We ended our meal on a very happy and satisfactory note with their inhouse “Kulfi” & “Phirni”. The serve kulfi with a holder which enables you to eat it peacefully without any worries of it dripping on your clothes. The phirni served in a earthern utensil was quite thick and the flavour of the earthern pot made it taste even better especially in this heat.

The drinks accompanying our meal were “Laung Elaichi”, “Kheera Shikanji”, “Aam Panna” & “Mattha From Daryaganj”. The Mattha was the heaviest ones of the all. But all these drinks except for the laung elaichi were summer based drinks and laung elaichi would be perfect for the winters.

The stewards were very easy to find and were always available around our table. And the best part was the they always had a smile on their face which looked truly genuine and made us feel that they seriously wanted us to have a good time.

When you plan to take the legacy of a figure like Kundan Lal Jaggi forward, you have to be very precise with each and everything especially when it comes to the choice of dishes on the menu or the ingredients used and Daryaganj easily nails that and succeeds in teleporting you to those old good days as are being described by our parents. Highly...

DARYAGANJ Aerocity

Daryaganj is all about Nostalgia

Nostalgia of the era of Kundan Lal Jaggi, black and white pics , nostalgia of food being cooked with passion, nostalgia of original robust Indian flavours, nostalgia of history of invention of butter chicken and dal makhani now an essential part of Indian menu all over the world.

In the present times of fancy innovations, insta friendly fusion foods, the original dishes and recipes are lost, thankfully Daryaganj doesnt fall for that.

It’s a tough task to rebiuld the aura of the bygone era, but where there is a will there is a way, Daryaganj is a perfect example of that.

Coming to the food

Butter Chicken : Most of the restaurants now use boiled chicken instead of tandoori chicken.

It requires special skills and marination to perfectly grill the chicken in the tandoor to be used in the butter chicken

Why I say this coz the whole idea of using tandoori chicken was to give the dish a nice smoky flavour while the retained juices enhance the taste.

One touch of Daryaganj Butter chicken on your tongue and you know that’s the result of the magic of the secret recipe of Kundan lal Jaggi.

I have heard a lot of people recently saying that Daryaganj butter chicken is different, I beg to differ here..

The numerous variants of this dish on offer in all restaurants should be termed as different and the one at Daryaganj as the original.

The gravy, thankfully was not a smooth and pasty one as sold in most of the restaurants. It had a very unique coarseness to it and did not have the overdose of cream which kills the flavours of the basic ingredients.

Dal Makhani was aptly spiced and nice to see that there was no use of cream etc. The key to a good dal makhani is always the time spent on low flame ideally 5-7 hours. However, I felt that the dal needed to be cooked for a little more time to achieve a perfect taste.

Another dish which we ordered was the chicken pakora I have had Chicken Pakora at various Moti Mahal outlets and have never been satisfied, sometimes the oil was too much sometimes batter was too thick and sometimes the chicken pieces were to dry from inside. Hats off to the kitchen team for dishing out a perfect version of chicken pakoda, perfectly layered batter, fried to perfection and the chicken was juicy.

Our request for a customised tandoori platter was thankfully accepted with Mutton Barrah, Tandoori Chicken, Kastoori Kabab and Fish Tikka presented nicely on the platter. Fish Tikka was was a good quality sole fish tasted fresh and again perfect as the chicken pakoda while the Mutton Barra was a delight.

All mutton lovers must have a dig at the Mutton Chapai, a mutton minced meat starter with a sprinkle of fried garlic on top. I am sure this one one will be a huge hit as a perfect companion to alcoholic drinks when their bar opens up.

The best part is that you would not feel heavy after the meal.

The sweet buds also have various options to choose from rasmalai to saffron flavoured phirni to Kulfi to Daulat ki chaat.

For the older generation who have been a witness of the Kundan lal Jaggis times, go to Daryagant to relive that era and for the newer generation go and celebrate/indulge in the rich glorified history of delightful flavours and exquisite...