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WHEN you think of tasty Indian food served in a relaxing ambience and at an affordable price ... Lanterns Restaurant immediately pops into your mind.
I used to be a regular visitor to the owner’s first outlet in the kingdom near the Burgerland Roundabout on Budaiya Highway but since the unrest I’ve avoided the area … and I’ve missed it.
When my editor asked me to do a review of the newly-opened Lanterns Restaurant in Juffair, I jumped at the chance to reacquaint myself with the franchise’s cuisine and took along photographer Ryan, whose favourite Indian food is butter chicken, which is this operation’s signature dish.
We were met on arrival at the tastefully-decorated restaurant, adorned with lanterns on the ceiling and Indian cultural artifacts, by group operations manager Uday Mukundan and we left it to him to decide on what we should eat at the award-winning and ever-expanding restaurant’s fourth outlet on the island.
The kitchen team is headed by Chef de Cuisine Ranvir Rana, 35, from the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. He has been in Bahrain for the last six years and with the Lanterns Group for the past 12 months.
The food is prepared in the dhaba-style, originally the name given to popular roadside outlets in India and Pakistan. They are situated on highways and generally serve local cuisine and also serve as truck stops. They are most commonly found next to petrol stations, and most are open 24-hours a day.
Since many Indian and Pakistani truck drivers are of Punjabi descent, and Punjabi food and music is quite popular throughout India and Pakistan, the word dhaba has come to represent any restaurant that serves Punjabi food, especially the heavily-spiced and fried fare preferred by many truck drivers.
Indian food is typically hot due to the various spices used in its preparation, but Mr Mukundan assured us that the spice is just right to cater for all tastes. “We opened this outlet primarily to serve the people in and around Juffair and, keeping in mind the mixed clientele living in the area, we have ensured the right mix of spice,” he said.
And he appeared to have struck the right chord as on the table next to us sat three Bahraini friends who proclaimed they were eating at the outlet for the third time since its recent opening!
“We like Indian food and whenever we crave it we come over here,” said one satisfied customer.
Mr Mukundan told us that he would serve us specialties unique to the Juffair outlet and he started us on Amritsari Fried Fish (BD2.700) – fish fillets dusted with seasoned flour and golden fried; Tandoori Stuffed Mushrooms (BD 2.500) – tandoori mushrooms with creamed spinach and cheese; and a Baby Naan Platter (BD2,500) – olive, tomato, cheese and potato-stuffed baby naans.
Ryan and I both dug into the naans and almost wiped them out. Being a fish lover, I treated myself to the Amritsari fish. The mushrooms too were tasty and something I hadn’t tasted before.
For the main course we sampled the signature Delhi Butter Chicken (BD3.600) – boneless tandoori chicken finished in tomato butter sauce; Lamb Shanks curry (BD4.200) – lamb shanks in a robust brown curry, red-chilly flavoured; and Khubani Kofta (BD2.500) – dry apricot stuffed cottage cheese kofta in a star anise-flavoured creamy curry along with roti and naan bread to go with it.
I shouldn’t forget to mention the pomegranate lassi – yogurt smoothie – which was served by the friendly staff before the meal along with a welcome treat of pappad with a dip consisting of tomato, cilantro and onion.
All-in-all a hearty lunch and with the superb taste still lingering in my mouth I decided that I will surely return with my family at the earliest opportunity.
