Afghan Darbar Restaurant- A review

It was just like another Sunday evening, we were traveling towards Lajpat Nagar to explore some Afghani Food. This pocket was adjacent to the Woodland store, where one gets to see mini Afghanistan. It’s behind the Lajpat Nagar Central Market, the narrow lane is just opposite Dosa Express.  Approach the lane and you’re at the restaurant just after crossing a few shops. I was amazed to see Afghan people chatting here and there. I’ve never imagined that one day I could find such a corner in Delhi to experience real Afghani food, that too cooked by the Afghans.

Afghan Darbar Restaurant
Afghan Darbar Restaurant

The interior of the 2-3 yr. old restaurant was nice; they have maintained a touch of their culture in the décor. I asked the Manager to suggest some specialties from their menu, as we can’t taste all at a time. He asked me to try Mutton Chopan Kabab, Chicken Kabab, Chicken/Mutton Qorma, Qorma Kofta, Qabuli Uzbeki and Mantu.

We chose Mutton Chopan Kabab and Afghan naan as starters. They arrived on the table after 15 minutes of placing the order.

Mutton Chopan Kabab and Afghan naan
Mutton Chopan Kabab and Afghan naan
A glimpse of their Menu
A glimpse of their Menu

We liked the Kabab a lot (read the description part in the above picture of the menu how this kabab has been made). It was perfectly charred from all the sides, and well balanced in term of spices. The lamb pieces were tender from inside and delicious in taste, a must try. The traditional way of having this kabab is to pair them with Afghani naan. The naan was little different in comparison to our Indian naan. It was a bit hard and chewy, but I was told this is how they make their bread.

Chicken Qorma and Qabuli Uzbeki
Chicken Qorma and Qabuli Uzbeki with the sides

Then for the main course we ordered Chicken Qorma and Qabuli Uzbeki. Qabuli Uzbeki was served with Rajma and Afghani naan as sides. Chicken Qorma was good with tender, juicy chicken pieces in a flavorful tomato based gravy. Sour taste was the key element in the qorma. Qabuli Uzbeki was a delightful experience. Long flavorful rice grains cooked in ghee with raisins and julienned carrots added to the beauty along with boneless, melt in the mouth lamb pieces, it was more than perfect.

Firni
Firni

We ended up with Firni and I didn’t like it. It was made with rice flour instead of roughly crushed rice, so the graininess was lacking. Overall a good experience, service was good; portions were perfect and budget-friendly. They’ve not started including VAT and service charges yet.

Afghan Darbar Restaurant
Afghan Darbar Restaurant
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