Indo-Arab menu at Ashiana
Ashiana is an Indian restaurant located in Sheraton beside Dubai Creek. Recently it has got a new head chef - Joseph Yohanna - and has started its Indo-Arab menu; and we were among the first ones invited to try it out.
This was my first time visiting this outlet, and as soon as I entered, the ambiance felt classy. They've got live Indian music too (bollywood, and ghazals), so if you're a fan, you'll love it, otherwise it might be a bit too loud.
We started off with some pani-puri fruit juice shots. In this, instead of the regular pani, there was a mango-based fruit juice. The taste wasn't bad by itself, but if you're in the mood for pani-puri, then this doesn't quite hit the spot.
After this, all the items were Indian, with an Arabic twist to it.
We had a soup which was called dejaj (chicken) shorba. In a bowl were small pieces of chicken, and a bread-stick tempered with cumin, over which we poured the broth that was served separately. It tasted quite nice.
Then came the tandoori sumac paneer tikka. Sumac is an Arabic spice that was put on this paneer tikka instead of the regular Indian spices. The paneer was really soft and melted in your mouth. The flavour of the sumac was mild, and gave a good taste. It was served along with hummus.
The Harissa Tandoori Chooza was the starter we had next. It consisted of chicken that was marinated in Harissa which in an Arabic chili paste. It was served with Moghrabieh methi malai. Moghrabieh is a Moroccan grain which is similar to cous-cous but a little bigger. The chicken had a totally different taste than the moghrabieh methi malai that it was served with. Both tasted good by themselves; they didn't necessarily feel like they were complementing each other though.
Zaatar Jhinga Tikka looked so tempting when it was served. The prawns were huge and crispy. The zaatar and spicy sumac on it made it a tab bit dry, but it tasted delicious nonetheless.
Moving on to the mains now...
We had Chicken Tikka Shish tawouk. Staying in the Arabian land, I'm sure you'd know what's a shish tawouk (grilled chicken). This was made with Indian spices that would be used for a chicken tikka. This tasted really amazing. The texture was of a shish tawouk and taste of the tikka; I can say this was something really desi. And oh, it is served along with dal khichadi which was also made to perfection.
After this we had the Ras El Hanout Masala Lamb Chops. Ras El Hanout is a Middle Eastern spice mix. The lamb was succulent, but tasted alright. I don't think this spice goes all that well with the chops.
Batata Harra Masala was next on the menu. The famous Arabic starter Batata Harra (spicy potato), made into a dry main vegetable dish. Being someone who loves potatoes, I totally enjoyed it. The flavor was good; similar to the Indian ones.
And finally we had the Chermoula Sea Bass. The fish was soft and well cooked, but the Chermoula (coriander marinade) was okay.
We had this with the Zaatar & Garlic roti and Sumac Naan which was pretty good and went well with the food.
Let's get on to the sweet fusion endings...
First we had the Aseeda Bobar. This is a sweet from the Middle Eastern region which is made from pumpkin. It is basically like a pumpkin pudding. Initially I was a bit apprehensive to try it out, but after having a bit, it got me hooked on. It was served along with gajar halwa which was undoubtedly good.
Last but not the least, came the dish which was my favourite among all. The Gujab Jamun Umm Ali. When you take two of the most loved desserts in the Indian and Arabic world respectively, you can't possibly get it wrong. This one was irresistible. Don't leave without trying this out!
This place also accepts Zomato Gold on drinks! If you aren't a Zomato Gold member yet, use my code - UDITSS - to sign up and get a 25% off !
This was my first time visiting this outlet, and as soon as I entered, the ambiance felt classy. They've got live Indian music too (bollywood, and ghazals), so if you're a fan, you'll love it, otherwise it might be a bit too loud.
We started off with some pani-puri fruit juice shots. In this, instead of the regular pani, there was a mango-based fruit juice. The taste wasn't bad by itself, but if you're in the mood for pani-puri, then this doesn't quite hit the spot.
After this, all the items were Indian, with an Arabic twist to it.
We had a soup which was called dejaj (chicken) shorba. In a bowl were small pieces of chicken, and a bread-stick tempered with cumin, over which we poured the broth that was served separately. It tasted quite nice.
Then came the tandoori sumac paneer tikka. Sumac is an Arabic spice that was put on this paneer tikka instead of the regular Indian spices. The paneer was really soft and melted in your mouth. The flavour of the sumac was mild, and gave a good taste. It was served along with hummus.
The Harissa Tandoori Chooza was the starter we had next. It consisted of chicken that was marinated in Harissa which in an Arabic chili paste. It was served with Moghrabieh methi malai. Moghrabieh is a Moroccan grain which is similar to cous-cous but a little bigger. The chicken had a totally different taste than the moghrabieh methi malai that it was served with. Both tasted good by themselves; they didn't necessarily feel like they were complementing each other though.
Zaatar Jhinga Tikka looked so tempting when it was served. The prawns were huge and crispy. The zaatar and spicy sumac on it made it a tab bit dry, but it tasted delicious nonetheless.
Moving on to the mains now...
We had Chicken Tikka Shish tawouk. Staying in the Arabian land, I'm sure you'd know what's a shish tawouk (grilled chicken). This was made with Indian spices that would be used for a chicken tikka. This tasted really amazing. The texture was of a shish tawouk and taste of the tikka; I can say this was something really desi. And oh, it is served along with dal khichadi which was also made to perfection.
After this we had the Ras El Hanout Masala Lamb Chops. Ras El Hanout is a Middle Eastern spice mix. The lamb was succulent, but tasted alright. I don't think this spice goes all that well with the chops.
Batata Harra Masala was next on the menu. The famous Arabic starter Batata Harra (spicy potato), made into a dry main vegetable dish. Being someone who loves potatoes, I totally enjoyed it. The flavor was good; similar to the Indian ones.
And finally we had the Chermoula Sea Bass. The fish was soft and well cooked, but the Chermoula (coriander marinade) was okay.
We had this with the Zaatar & Garlic roti and Sumac Naan which was pretty good and went well with the food.
Let's get on to the sweet fusion endings...
First we had the Aseeda Bobar. This is a sweet from the Middle Eastern region which is made from pumpkin. It is basically like a pumpkin pudding. Initially I was a bit apprehensive to try it out, but after having a bit, it got me hooked on. It was served along with gajar halwa which was undoubtedly good.
Last but not the least, came the dish which was my favourite among all. The Gujab Jamun Umm Ali. When you take two of the most loved desserts in the Indian and Arabic world respectively, you can't possibly get it wrong. This one was irresistible. Don't leave without trying this out!
This place also accepts Zomato Gold on drinks! If you aren't a Zomato Gold member yet, use my code - UDITSS - to sign up and get a 25% off !
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