Dum Pukht

Curry corridor restaurant in Karama with passable biryani 5 Reviews

When you wake up on Friday morning hankering for biriani, and Mumtaz Mahal – your first choice destination at the Arabian Court Hotel – defies its solid reputation by not opening as scheduled on a Friday lunchtime, things can become pretty desperate. We drove slowly along the Trade Centre Road trying to find a single Indian restaurant open for business and were about to give up when we saw an Indian family emerge from a doorway sporting a well-nourished glow. Located a short but incongruous distance from the main strip of Indian restaurants, and owner of one of the least appealing names in the business, Dum Pukht was here to save the day.

Dum’s a fairly nondescript place; a few pleasant thatched chairs, some tired-looking pictures on the walls, and a man writing the daily specials on a whiteboard at a unnervingly slow speed. Our Dhs40 went on a mutton biriani, a chicken ginger curry, a portion of makhni dal and a couple of roti. The chicken curry tasted unlike anything we had sampled before, with strips of tender chicken breast in a sharp, tangy ginger sauce, while the dal was warm, thick and pleasantly creamy. Served in a traditional pot, the biriani was excellent, although we had to tussle a little with the on-the-bone meat. Dum’s by no means the best restaurant in the area, but it’s a fine choice for great-value and filling Indian fare.

• Previous reviews
  • 19 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff

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