Bawri  – Bawri, Shop No. 5, Ground Floor, Ins Tower, G Block BKC, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051
Country: India          
Must-try dish: Bawri Butter Chicken
The high: Everything is smoked in a few different methods and you can taste it in each bite. 
The low: The air condition could be turned down. 

It was exciting to have the opportunity to check this restaurant out in the heart of Mumbai’s financial district for a couple of reasons – the first is that we love a female chef, and secondly, the majority of her dishes are cooked on an open fire, or with a smoker in a traditional method. The Bombay outpost is Chef Amninder Sandhu’s second restaurant, following the success of her first one in Goa. Although many of the dishes are authentic North Indian recipes passed down for generations, there are a few South Indian curries available too, but we maneuvered through the menu picking her famous plates that all hail from the North. 

Unlike the modern Indian restaurants popping up everywhere, Bawri takes things back to the basics with age-old recipes and long standing cooking methods over a fire. The decor, food presentation, and service are world class, and the ingredients used for the dishes are fresh, local, and in-season. The high quality ingredients play a large part in still feeling light after a big meal, and that’s a feat in itself. 

Don’t be alarmed if you can’t decide on what to order, it’s a tough decision. Even with an eight person party, we couldn’t have it all, but we tried our best to order as much as possible. It’s a large menu, so the best approach is going on multiple occasions. 

Now let’s get to the good stuff. 

Welcome Plates
Upon sitting down, we started with two small plates to pick at while we perused the menu and ordered cocktails. 

• Kela Kakori Kebab: This may be one of the only restaurants in the city serving this dish made with raw bananas that are cooked over a fire. They’re soft to bite into, and taste good on their own or with the tangy green chutney that accompanies them. 
• Yogurt Kebab: From its initial appearance, this had an appearance similar to a potato salad, but obviously it tastes completely different.It’s a mosaic of textures and a marriage of many flavours – apricots, peanuts, chickpeas, and yogurt to keep it saucy. It was a palate cleanser going into the next course.  

Appetizers
This was a difficult decision to make because although we wanted to taste everything, we still had a couple courses to go after the appetizers. 

• Teccha Potatoes: These balls of potato mixed with chillies and garlic are on the spicier side, and are originally from the Maharashtra region of India. There are a lot of textures and flavours here with the potato, teccha seasoning, and crushed peanuts. It all works – this is a fun dish to kick things off with. 
• Pather Ka Gosht: This dish was a highlight of the entire meal. The thin pieces of mutton are packed with famous from the quality of meat, the seasoning, and the flames. Whether you want to eat it alone, or with a green chutney is up to you, but both ways are terrific. 
• Gunpowder Paneer: Alternatively, this is the one dish from our entire meal that I wouldn’t order again. Not that it’s bad, but it’s underwhelming. The cheese is marinated in a spice called gunpowder then wrapped in a dosa-esque shell and cooked. 
• Smoked Prawns: This tastes and looks exactly as it sounds. The prawns have the smoky flavour well, and despite being present, it’s not overwhelming. 
• Curry Leaf Fish: This flaky white fish is cooked perfectly in a velvety marinade. It’s one of the lighter dishes in our order, and felt healthy and fresh compared to some of the heavier meat plates. 
• Mutton Seekh: This minced lamb dish comes with chutney for dipping, and it’s easy to share. The meat is seasoned with spices and herbs then cooked over a fire, which you can taste in each bite. If you like mutton, this is a great option to include in your order. 

Mains
After a full round of appetizers, our eyes were still bigger than our stomachs. We ordered two if each curry, and one of each biryani. 

• Paneer Kofta: Chef Amninder cooked this dish on the Netflix show The Final Table, if you’re in the mood to watch something that will awaken your appetite. This saucy number has two large pieces of fried paneer that literally melts in your mouth, and are cooked in a spiced tomato and cream sauce. It’s one of those dishes that you kind of have to get if you’re eating at Bawri. 
• Bawri Butter Chicken: This is another famous dish at the restaurant, and it’s the best butter chicken that I’ve ever tasted. Nothing else even compares to it. The chicken chunks are cooked over a fire, and the smokiness comes out in every bite without being overpowering and pairs well with the rich sauce that marinates it. 
• Prawn Pottalam Biryani: This is a special type of biryani that’s steamed and covered with a thin layer of egg that creates a shell on top of the rice. In this particular recipe, the shrimp are a generous size, and one portion can serve an entire table easily. 
• Chicken Biryani: This was a last minute addition to the order because if you can do chicken biryani well, then you can probably do everything else well. This one was well-balanced with flavour and the ratio of rice to chicken was on point.  

Dessert 
Indians love a sweet treat after a big meal, so in keeping with tradition, we ordered two things to try. 

• Bawri Jamun: This plum dessert is the size of a baseball and has a gelatine texture with a fruity taste that’s topped off with ice cream. It was the favourite of the sweets among our party. 
• Malai Kulfi Sandwich: This dense puck shaped dessert is made with milk, sugar, and spices like cardamom and saffron, then frozen and served in small pieces. It’s refreshing and counteracts any spiciness from the meal. 

The restaurant’s space transports you away from the city – everything down to the smallest detail is mindfully considered. It’s best experienced during the day because of the large windows that bring in tons of natural light. And, make sure to take a peek at the cooks doing their thing with the flames at the back of the restaurant before you leave. 

Eat with you soon in Toronto, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)