Sufi

We first visited Sufi in its earlier location on Wind Tunnel road. That was a while back. I remember it shifted to Residency Road for a short while, and then disappeared, until resurfacing in what is rapidly becoming the mecca of restaurants in Bangalore – our very own Koramangala. As the name might suggest, Sufi serves Persian cuisine, and also sells Persian art and craft. Its quite easy to find, since it is housed in the same building as Empire, on the 5th floor. Here’s a map. You’ll need to go to the Empire Hotel (ground floor, not the restaurant entrance) reception and take the elevator.

Sufi seems more like a palatial living room than a restaurant. The ambiance, with carpets, paintings, urns, lamps, tapestries, and cushioned divans and chairs, seems straight out of some vintage Bollywood haveli. That’s meant in a nice, charming way. 🙂 Its non-a/c, though I wonder if its a temporary arrangement keeping the rains in mind, and the power cuts. The seating is well spaced, but it didn’t matter much since we were the only visitors. Meanwhile, Iranian pop (guess) plays in the background. By the time we left (about an hour later) there were about 4-5 more groups, but that still left quite a few tables free.

And now the menu. It is mostly Persian, but has an optimised Indian section too. The Persian part provides a large number of options, though I’m not expert enough to figure out if its comprehensive. There are a couple of soup choices in veg and non veg each. (Rs.85-120). The appetisers consist mostly of salads – veg and non.veg. (Rs.75-250) There’s also a Mazzeh (mini entree) section, mostly veg. (Rs.50-80). Now for the meatier portion of the menu. Kababs – beef (Rs.250-300), lamb (Rs.300-350), chicken (Rs.175-300) and kabab-e-daryayee – sea food (fish – Rs.400, prawn – Rs.550) and what must be a gigantic chef’s platter, with all of the above, at Rs.1200.

The main course options start with the Chelo Kababs – rice and kababs combination, the rice prepared in several stages, while kababs are mixed with herbs and spices, and broiled till they are juicy and tender. They are available in beef (Rs.300-375), lamb (Rs.375-425), chicken (Rs.350) and Daryayee (sea food at Rs.475)

There are also a couple of Khoresht (gravy) options in veg (Rs.200) and non veg (Rs.250), which are served with naan, and their combos with rice (Chelo Khoresht) – veg (Rs.250), and non veg (Rs.300-400). Finally there are the polo/chelo options – prepared in several stages, the rice is fluffy and tender, and saffron, xereshk, pistachio and badam are used for flavoring and decoration. Apparently, the chef sometimes uses assorted food items like yogurt, egg yolk, saffron, naan, potatoes, pumpkin and other vegetables to create a golden crust (tah deeg) at the bottom of the vessel. There are veg (Rs.200) and non veg (Rs.300-375) options. Like I mentioned, there is also an Indian section with quite a few veg and non veg options – including sea food, with the usual suspects in tandoori and gravies.

We took inspiration from the quote at the bottom of one of the menu pages, attributed to an unnamed Sufi mystic – “I’ve been on a diet for 2 weeks, and all I’ve lost is 2 weeks”, and started with a Doogh – a unique Persian drink made of homemade yogurt and herbs mixed with sparkling soda. (Rs.55). It tastes mostly like buttermilk, but what makes the difference is the soda, which adds a nice fizz. This, coupled with a mint flavor makes it worth a try. One glass sufficient for two people actually.

Since we planned on a Chelo Kabab for the main course, we decided to try a soup. The Soup-e-jo (non veg, reminded me of cup of woe..hmm) is a barley (jo in Persian) based soup with carrot, milk and boneless chicken pieces. At the risk of getting flogged, this actually tasted like sambar with chicken. 😐 You can safely give it a pass.

Our main course consisted of the ‘Chalo Kabab e Negindar’ – grilled mince meat of beef and lamb, topped with chicken pieces, garnished with vegetables and served with basmati saffron rice, and a ‘Khoresht e ghayne’, lamb pieces and lentil cooked in a special tomato gravy and topped with fried potato strips. We started with the latter, served with a naan. It had a very strong lemon flavor. I wondered why, until D pointed out that what I had figured as meat, was actually a lemon. As the description indicates, its meat in dal. I’d say you’re better off choosing the palak based gravy. The pieces were juicy and tender though, and made a reasonably good combination with the naan. The kababs were very good. D felt that the rice could’ve been flavoured better, especially since rice and kababs make a very dry combination. I survived using the butter provided with the rice, and chillies, onion and the remnants of the Doogh. 😀

To complete the meal, you could try the Persian tea (Rs.30). Its apparently served in small cups, without milk and sugar. Sugar cubes are provided though. You’re supposed to keep it behind your teeth, while sipping your tea, so that the sugar dissolves slowly and sweetens the tea. If you don’t find that weet enough, you could choose from a couple of dessert (shirini) options – sholezard, made of saffron, sugar and rice, or the ranginak, made of flour, dates, cinnamon, walnut etc. We were too stuffed to try either. And oh yes, can’t forget the hookahs, available in coffee (Rs.350) and fruit (Rs.325) flavors.

The service is decent, fast, and helps you in choosing too. All of the above cost us just over Rs.1000, including a 10% service charge and taxes. Visit once for a truly different menu and ambiance.

Sufi, 103, 5th floor, Empire Building, 5th block, Koramangala. Ph: 65901177

PS. Anniversary dinner, and also opened for me, the ‘Superstar’ badge on Foursquare 😀