Just before I went on a long holiday in late July, my family and I were invited to Jodhpur restaurant at Al Murooj Rotana to try the chef’s sampling menu. Jodhpur is fronted by the talented and creative chef Pradeep Khullar. He is known for his amazing culinary skill, bold and innovative creation. He is a hands-on chef and makes it a point to visit each and every table. A rarity among the chefs these days.
This was my second visit to the restaurant, my first visit was a rushed affair and I didn’t really get to enjoy the food as I was there for an event.
Not to be mistaken with Rajasthani food from India, as Jodhpur happens to be a city in Rajasthan. Jodhpur offers modern Indian cuisine in a lavish set up. It is a fine dining restaurant.
The menu at Jodhpur offers a great variety for both vegetarians and non vegetarians. Their drinks menu is impressive.
We loved the Passion Fruit Mocktail and the gin based Guava Juice Cocktail that we had that night.
As my family and I happen to be vegetarians, we opted for the chef’s vegetarian sampling menu.
Here’s a list of all the dishes we tried:
Pre-Starters
Jeera Khari with herb yogurt was served as our pre starter. Jeera Khari is an Indian puff topped with caraway seeds and it is my teatime favorite. Here it was served with herb yogurt topped with pink peppercorns. Well, who would have thought about this combo? It was fantastic.
Macaroon Chaat is another excellent creation of chef Pradeep Khullar, it will have you asking for more. Macaroon stuffed with tangy filling and served as a chaat. It was sweet, sour, crunchy and chewy.
Starters
Adees Chaat or the humble moong dal chaat is a hot chaat, topped with three kinds of chutney and seasoned with finely chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander roots and crispy moong dal. It was comfort food at it’s best.
Laban & Ricotta Kabab was another masterpiece by the chef. Crispy fried melange of hung curd and Ricotta, coated with Rose Ash, was served cold from the centre to allow a contrast in the dish.
Desi Pesto Kabab was a blend of coriander, green chillies and basil pesto galette stuffed with raisins and cream cheese. It was grilled and topped up with chutney made from popcorns and served with Parmesan papad.
Palate Cleanser
Mango,Cranberry & Kafir Lime Sorbet was presented in cute and tiny Hawkins pressure cooker. This sorbet was made with fresh Alphonso purée spiked with kaffir lime leaves and dehydrated cranberries. The best palate cleanser that I’ve had in any Dubai restaurant so far.
Main Course
Miniature Pao Bhaji, Garlic Maska was fantastic. The Bhaji was made with slow cooked veggies with handcrafted spices that was mashed to perfect consistency. It was served along with garlic butter seared miniature pao.
Soya Paneer Pepper Fry with Dosa layers had silken tofu cubes that were dusted and flash fried and tossed in South Indian masala with a seasoning of mustard seeds and curry leaves. It was topped with crispy layers of Dosa. It was spicy, tasty and flavorful.
Faux Dal Makhani was the usual dal makhani with one difference, that is the black urad dal was replaced with moong dal. It tasted just like the usual dal makhani but it was lighter. You don’t feel bloated after eating. What a great idea, now I am going to try it at home.
We were served Indian bread to go along with our main course. The whole wheat Rotis were soft and freshly made. For the very first time in a Dubai restaurant we had Chur Chur Kulcha. It was served in a miniature bullock cart.
Desserts
We tried 3 desserts each one of them was scrumptiously delicious.
Rasmalai was served on a bed of saffron flavored milk, topped with milk foam and pistachios. Kataifi shreds that were added on the top, gave it a crunchy factor.
Kesar Malai Kulfi with Crystallized Strawberries tasted as gorgeous as it looked. It was presented beautifully in an open burgundy box.
Saffron Jalebi, Mascarpone Rabdi with Gold Dust was a huge hit with my kids. Crisp miniature jalebis were accompanied with mascarpone Rabdi, that were dredged with gold dust.
I can’t find a single fault in any of the dishes. Each and every dish was flavorful, extremely delicious and exquisite. The taste, the presentation and the plating was excellent. What I liked about chef Khullar’s creations was that the Indian flavors and essence was not lost in any of the dishes. It was a perfect medley of contemporary and the traditional Indian dishes.
Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience. Jodhpur is definitely one of the top five Indian restaurants in Dubai. We can’t wait to visit Jodhpur again.
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