The new menu is different from last one. They had surely elevated the spice level (Not the red chili but the Indian spices). They had gone more towards the Indian Street food this time hence Indian diners can relate to it more closely. For the non-desi crowd (which are in massive attendance at the restaurant) it appeals itself due to its vibrant presentation and unique taste.
Chef Aditya from Tamba has taken us through the entire menu. Aroma sensation in the whole menu has gone few notches up. For example, they first course to arrive on the table was a mixture of 17 ingredients, and many Indian spices itself know as Delhi Mix, Quinoa smokey mess. It was a form of Chaat but was very diligent and sensational. In spite of many ingredients in a dish, none of them over empowered in an odd way. Indeed it was a compact, tasty & enjoyable first impression. They did not forgo the healthy factor here but replaced (urad) lentil bhala (used in regular chaat) with Quinoa dumpling. Tangy fruits Pomegranate, raspberry and black grapes with homemade khaka gave the essential crisp with sweet & sour flavor.
Scallop with Chili Lime – Mango, and kumquat dressing has complemented raw Scallop in this dish. It has very fresh meat and yet simple with carefully chosen ingredients.
Bihari Litti you will find it commonly in Bihar across many food vendors on the street. They gave a fusion twist by serving the same with Thai green style sauce with Indian tang, hmm sound pretty challenging ( by the way I loved the fennel essence in the same sauce). Crispy fried from the top this wheat flour dumpling has soft center filled with onion and cranberry jam; served with garlic chili chutney dot on top. Oh you should not miss the cracking part, it was amazing to witness the gash when Chef Aditya used his cute kitchen hammer to split open the litti to pour on green sauce.
Pan fried sea bream, In such dish where usually people use pearl fish, they used sea bream, and the most interesting part was the presentation as whole fish without bone, which I was amazed to see too. Mustard oil vigilant cooking resulted in great taste in melt-in-your-mouth, and caramelized lemon had enhanced the texture and tang of each bite, perfection!
Confit duck ragda is a derivation from Ragra patty in Mumbai which they gave a new twist. Pan fried ravioli stuffed with confit duck on the bed of tomato chutney finished off with mint chutney foam, INTERESTING!
Bombay Bhaji Roll with creamy aampanna was an interpretation of Pao Bhaji where they removed the pao, making bhaji more intense with a cannelloni sheet. Extracting all flavor of Aam Panna (Raw Mango Molasses) and then incorporating it with cheese into this dish was itself a wow factor and the presentation was nothing short of amusement. It appears to be volcano but with dripping flowers instead of molten lava. Vegetables had been added to cut off the fattiness of the cheese a bit.
Chettinad braised beef with wild veg, tenderloin marinated with Chettinad spices and cooked on slow heat for 12 hours, the pulled beef then presented with pomegranate sauce dressing. It’s a sweet & sour combination dish more like meat salad had very strong spices taste hence not much of my liking.
Soft Shell Crab – It’s Crab pakora, but instead of traditionally made in gram flour batter it’s prepared with concentrated starched flour resulting in a tasty end product. You might chew and dislike the shell of the crabs in every bite incase you are a fan of soft center & crispy fried crust. But as the dish claim to be presenting the soft shell crab I would highly recommend going for this dish as their kadhai dip is to die for and will make you Hogg on the entire plate at once. One more tip makes sure not to wait long to finish off all as the batter gets soggy and sticky immediately due to the own course of water content from crab shell itself.
Tenderloin, Kalimiri was last main from the new menu. It was indeed a proud moment to taste a dish which can put Indian food on a global map. It was a magical creation by Chef Aditya Kumar JHA at Tamba. He has already wowed the judges with this Wagyu Tenderloin Kalimiri at the Taste of AbuDhabi, TastetheWorld contest. We are sure it was very well-deserved.
Tamba’s new dessert Indecent Proposal is a show-stopper with frolics, a talking point, and something entirely different than previous desserts; it is equally light and mildly sweet in taste. The presentation will keep you implicated for good five minutes before you dig into this fruity & tangy dessert. It enticed us with a haze of smoke. It has rose granita and lemon sorbet ruby red raspberry jelly pearls. The portion is small, and I did miss the Break-up.
In drinks we tried our regular favorite Jaggery jampot with a new popping sensation Passion fruit patakha. It was a mixture of passion fruit with crackling sugar. Very refreshing tangy and chilled drink.
When it comes to main we had satisfied taste buds , but the portion was small, except for the fish. All is all menu did the true justice to its theme. They are representing street food from pretty much all parts of Indian North, East, West & South. I found the new menu large in terms of choices though less experimental compared to the previous one. Taste wise it still seizes to amaze us with big flavors. The dishes are glorious & unique. I was so much in love with their Watermelon and goat cheese salad from the first season. I was not expecting if anything new will be able to par that standard. However they did thumb the nail once again with a good start.
Keep it up !
Verdict:
“New season’s menu at Tamba has innovatively personified the Indian Street Food.”
@MahiBlog