Saturday, January 13, 2007

Copper Chimney, Race Course Road

Copper Chimney, Race Course Road
Indian food for me has generally been a mixed bag of excitements and disappointments. In general, I do enjoy them. Especially those of the Northern India variety. There are certain commonalities which doesn't agree with me. It has to do with certain overused green herbs, amongst them the vile coriander. There are others, but I do not have the names to them. Suffice it is to say, these are the bane of my eating pleasures.

Copper Chimney, Race Course RoadCopper Chimney at Race Course Road was an example of a mixed bag place. The restaurant is a few units away from Delhi Restaurant which I ate at a couple of months back. The al fresco dining area at the entrance was tiny (just two tables) but had a small measure of the old world charm (and dirt) of the colonial era. An old shop house glazed in weathered whitewash and peeling paint matched with dust coated grey concrete flooring. If not for the lack of shelter from the rain, it would have been a pleasant place to linger after lunch with hot tea and a cigarette which I shouldn't have the luxury of. Lol.

Copper Chimney, papad

Papads were served at the start. These ones are studded with peppercorn and are quite spicy. Alongside, was a mint chutney which did not have slightest hint of mint in them. After a while, I couldn't decide if the crackers were the main source of the spicy sensation in my tongue or if it was the chutney.
















One of the things I enjoy from Indian restaurants is lassi. This one was a mango flavoured one. Good stuff.


Their Murg Malai Tikka was heavy as a starter.  The portions could've made a main course. This was also one of those dishes that didn't altogether agree with me because of the amount of green herbs that was sprinkled all over. The dish was suppose to be chicken marinated with mild spices, yoghurt, cream and cheese. All I could really taste was the herbs and the bitter burnt portions of the chicken. Despite being a Chef's Recommendation on the menu, I'll never eat it again unless my life depended on it.


Copper Chimney, naanThis Gosht Saag turned out to be an excellent in the rainy weather. It's mutton in spinach gravy as described in the menu. The dish was like a piping hot and mildly spicy mutton and vegetable stew of sorts. It managed to stay warm throughout the whole time I was eating. What impressed me was that mutton was actually tender and not overcooked. Had this with an order of cheese naan. The only complain that I had was that my unerring senses detected sparse bits of coriander. Fortunately, it was in quantities small enough for me to forcibly ignore.

I noticed that there is quite a variety of cheese based dishes on the vegetarian section of the menu besides palak paneer, so it's possible that I may come back again.

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