Kadai special

Head to this Indian restaurant in Jayanagar for some heavy duty Mughlai meets Indian food

When we walked into Dancing Kadai on a weekend, we had expected it to be busy but not to the extent of people queuing up, to get their reservations, outside the restaurant.
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Located on the fifth floor of a building in Jayanagar, we had been hearing about this restaurant for quite sometime.

If you are one of those who prefers to eat at least one or two Indian meals a week while eating out among other options, then you could head to this restaurant.



After waiting for nearly 45 minutes we finally managed to find ourselves a place.

The restaurant was lit up by a mellow orange light that gave the room a comfortable feel. Wooden floors and pillars, granite table tops with carved wooden legs form the d ufffdcor of Dancing Kadai.

We started our meal with a Fruit Punch (Rs 55) and an Orange Delight (Rs 55). Both were created out of fresh juices and were refreshing to sip into before we began our meal.

Since we had just stepped in from a rainy evening outside, we settled for the Tomato Coriander soup (Rs 75) as a hot start.

The soup was creamy with the fresh coriander adding a delicate flavour to the rich tomato broth.

The Masala Papad (Rs 35), roasted papad topped with chopped tomatoes, onions, green chillies and coriander, was crunchy, spicy and fresh and went well with our soup.

Since, Dancing Kadai is a vegetarian restaurant with even a section dedicated to the austere Jain cuisine, we had to look for some interesting options among the greens.
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We ordered a Palak Paneer Tikka (Rs 105), Gobi Kaju Mutter Masala (Rs 120) and ordered a basket of Tandoori Roti (Rs 40), Naan (Rs 40) and Aloo Paratha (Rs 45) to go with it along with some Peas Pulao (Rs 60).
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The paneer tikka was grilled cottage cheese stuffed with garlic flavoured spinach and was served with a spicy coriander chutney.
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The paneer was charred just right but was soft when we bit into it and came together with the spinach stuffing beautifully.

What do you do when you want to make a regular vegetarian dish appear rich and Mughlai? You just dunk the veggies in a nutty gravy.
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The gobi masala met the same fate here. Cauliflower and peas came cooked in a cashew nut and poppy seed paste.
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We found it delicious but a little too heavy for our taste.

The rotis and parathas did not disappoint us and neither did the Peas Pulao made of long grained rice and tempered with ghee, jeera and of course loads of green peas.

Dessert was however a big disappointment. Many of the items listed on the menu were not available that day.
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We settled for Gajar Ka Halwa (Rs 45) a gooey, ghee soaked carrot halwa scattered with raisins and cashew nuts and a regular vanilla ice cream scoop (Rs 35).

The vanilla ice cream was the perfect foil for the rich halwa and tasted delish when we spooned them together into our mouths.

The good thing about Dancing Kadai is that it delivers exactly what it promises: tried and tested Indian cuisine except that we do wish they lightened the heavy duty cashew based gravies and had more of traditional Indian desserts that we could dig into.

At Dancing Kadai, Fifth Floor, Maiya's, 459/30, 30th Cross, 4th Block, Jayanagar
Call 4341 4400
Meal for two Rs 800
Dancing Kadai didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.