The festival of colours is over, but you should still try the special menu here
The festival of colours is over, but you should still try the special menu here
There is one unwritten rule in Delhi which almost everyone follows on Holi. On that fateful day the master or mistress or the maid doesn't step into the kitchen. 
Post celebration fatigue teamed up with insatiable hunger is the perfect excuse to try out new restaurant menus with friends and relatives. And as usual, most hotels and restaurants try to cash in on this evening to midnight period, when your appetite is at its peak, and come up with special Holi menus.
Random picks
We decided to try one such menu before Holi and at random chose a restaurant in Connaught Place. The location (CP) witnesses a sea of officegoers, government employees, college students, shop owners, foreign backpackers and local tourists among many others. So I couldn't think of a better democratic set up when it comes to food. Though there was no particular reason why I landed up at Ignis, but one thing I had kept in mind was their claim of being a multi-cuisine restaurant.
A small affair
The Holi menu however turned out to be a very small one and at first glance seemed almost like a half-hearted effort. Besides by now I'm kinda used to the routine, when it's Independence Day most restaurants change the presentation with a tricolour salad though the flavour remains the same. So like always I started with a healthy dose of scepticism. The theme was planned around bright colours and joyfulness (couldn't have been more predictable). So, there were cocktails named Colours of Spring (Bacardi, brown Sugar, crushed Ice, green apple, mint and lemon). I guess by now I have let you in into the trick, tweaking a little here and there and voila! A conventional gets a new breath of life. But having said that it would be unfair to assume the fair is not worth your penny. For example, the Vodka shikanji (Ignis' special) has a lovely base of vodka which you can only taste as you sip it slowly with a straw without moving around your glass too much (after too much bhang I wonder how many can manage that). But if you can, this seemingly innocent looking concoction can be a perfect drink.
Tripping on
The names of the dishes again are predictable. So there is something called a Bright Spring Fare (platter of hummus - beetroot, garlic with pita and mukhallil). Simple, decent and of course not too heavy. The 'White lady' who greeted me turned out to be chicken with basil and pepper. They were smoky, very mulayam (couldn't have described in any other language) and something you wouldn't want to leave on the plate for long.
The Feiry feast (Amritsari fish tikka) turned out to be lovely. This one wins the cake for being crispy outside and soft and fresh from inside. A little heavy on salt but I'm ready to ignore that happily. The 'Red Vs Green' was penne with tomato and basil. And to experiment I ordered it with prawns instead of chicken. It was decent, the prawns were tasty but the pasta and sauce lacked that Italian gusto. End your meal by their Death by chocolate, (you can avoid the kaajus if you like).
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Overall I enjoyed my trip. The feeling also stems out of sharing my meal with the co-owner Mmanav M Sharmaa (sic) who strongly suggested that he believes in the maxim that a restaurant is known by its food above every thing else. Many preach that maxim over dinner but few practice. For the time being, I would believe Ignis, is among those few entities.
At: Ignis - Kitchen & Bar, B-45, Inner Circle, CP
On till: March 27
Timings: Noon to midnight
Ring: 43081984
Meal for two: Rs. 800 plus taxes
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