Burra kebabs revisited

Ever since my first, then second amazing encounter with burra kebabs (both times from Swagath in Defence Colony) I raved about last June I have been desperately searching for those tiny, tangy, tender chops only to be disappointed with chewy, tough or raw kebabs.

I'm driven to write about my quest after yet another encounter with mediocre kebabs last night.

After a relaxing day hanging out by the pool, the only place to be when the mercury hits 41.6 C (that's 106.9 F for my celsius-challenged friends), we thought we'd stop on the way home to try out the latest branch of Delhi's famed Karim's Restaurant that recently opened in Malviya Nagar. The place was packed when we went in, good sign we thought, so we ordered burra kebabs, chicken seekh kebabs, butter chicken (I know - how cliche, but it is one of Delhi's favorite dishes; Rajiv wanted nihari but I wasn't in the mood for something so oily) and dal makhani.

The burra kebabs were tough and chewy, the butter chicken was overly sweet (it tasted exactly like it was cooked in Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup from a can), and the dal was only OK. Even the nan tasted sweet! Only the chicken seekh kebabs were tender and tasty.

Karim's is a Delhi institution. Getting kebabs from there is like getting a pastrami sandwich from Katz's in NYC - kind of a dive but it's the real thing.

Now I know we didn't eat at the original Karim's near Jama Masjid (and I haven't eaten there yet so I can't compare the quality), and I know butter chicken isn't what they're famous for but any way you look at it, it doesn't bode well for Karim's. Either their branches aren't up to the standards of the original which isn't good or they are and this is the level of quality to be found everywhere...which also isn't good.

If anybody out there can tell us where to get tasty, melt-in-your-mouth burra kebabs in Delhi we'd be grateful! Karim's is supposed to have the best in the city, Swagath's were amazing twice and disappointing twice and the other places aren't worth mentioning.

Burra Kebabs And Kulfi

We usually eat in since Indra's food is so good, but the other day we were running round Delhi all day so we decided to stop for some takeout on the way home. We knew exactly what we wanted - burra kebabs from Swagath in Defense Colony Market.

From the menu: "Pesawari Barrah Kabab - tender lamb chaps (yes, chaps) marinated with sour cream, special herbs and condiments cooked in clay oven" These thick-cut lamb chops (they say lamb, but I have a feeling that most lamb is actually goat since I haven't seen many sheep around here) are the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth, delicious things I've ever had. The spices are subtle and rich and a nice Spanish Tempranillo or Garnacha would have been perfect with them but, alas, I had to settle for some Indian Sauvignon Blanc.

We ordered dal makhani, a super-rich, creamy black dal on the side and some thin roomali roti.

Rajiv also had to get some kulfi from the Defense Colony Market kulfi walla (a good one, there's always a line in front of his cart) which we had at home too. They serve the ice cream with vermicelli noodles and it ends up looking like ice cream soup. I have to say I'm not too crazy about noodles in my ice cream.