Handi in Taj Palace Hotel, Deira, Dubai - Restaurant Reviews

Handi

Picture 1 of 2

Handi is without doubt one of the best top-end Indian eateries in town. Step into the warm, welcoming cavern of a restaurant and you are greeted by the smiling faces of the polished waiting staff and a pair of tabla players whose combined percussive expertise provides a fittingly evocative soundtrack to the gracious dishes on offer. Handi is not your standard tikka masala joint: you should prepare yourself for an altogether more refined experience than you might get at Dubai’s less salubrious Indian restaurants.

The head chef hails from the famed Qureshi dynasty; his ancestors worked in the Royal Court and prior to his tenure in Dubai, he worked at the Taj in Kolkata. CVs don’t get much better than that. We started with a lamb soup; an intensely meaty and milky coloured broth replete with a tender hunks of flesh on the bone. Discs of fried papadoms and lashings of grated yellow rice semolina came doused in a thick yoghurt and tamarind sauce; to the uninitiated this taste explosion might be somewhat overwhelming, but we found it a refreshing and texturally adventurous way to start our meal.

Our mains were equally excellent. A delicately pungent, smoky and fresh aubergine dish, baigan bartha, flavoured with hints of fenugreek and finely chopped onions, was a light and fresh contrast to the feisty Gulf prawn masala and an extremely tender chicken curry. Also, the murg biryani, a house speciality with a baked bread lid covering a mound of steaming, fragrant rice cooked to fluffy, succulent perfection and laden with chunks of tender chicken was delicious. The only downside to the dining experience at Handi is that there’s no alcohol, although given the effects of a number of pints on a curry-filled stomach, that might be no bad thing.

The bill (for two)
Evian large Dhs26
Chaat papdi Dhs24
Baingan bartha Dhs34
Masala jheenga Dhs72
Murg biriani Dhs46
Mutton nan Dhs10
Jeera rice Dhs15
Total (including service) Dhs227