Golconda Bowl, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi

I’d heard quite a few people talking of Golconda Bowl, none of whom had actually been there. Meeting up with Kula Naidu of Fu fame, presented us with the perfect opportunity to check out Golconda Bowl, which claims to serve authentic Hyderabadi fare. FYI, I’m not hung up on authenticity though I will hold an establishment to it’s word if it chooses to make such claims or name it’s food so.

After concluding our work in the area, we made our way to Golconda Bowl, which appears to have chosen a retro look for it’s interiors and to my eye, lacked a professional touch. No worries there; it’s the food that counts.

The manager was around, a friendly man who suggested we go with the Murg Dum Biryani (chicken biryani, 450++) and Nalli Nihari (350++) with rotis. He replied to my question of how long the Nihari is cooked at Golconda Bowl, with a firm “6 – 8 hours”, which worked for me.

Kicking off our repast with beer, served by friendly service staff, we waited eagerly for our food. First in was the Nihari.

For the uninitiated, Nihari is a mixture of spices, meat, bones and water, the entire mixture simmered for 6 hours or more, till the bones have released everything they have to offer to the dish and the flesh has usually fallen off the bone or is quite ready to do so on being gently prodded. The typical characteristics of this dish are it’s intense meaty nature and the very overcooked meat you’ll find inside it. As you may have guessed, the bones are more important than the meat for a good Nihari. It’s usually eaten with leavened, oven cooked bread that’s helpful in mopping up gravy; the mainstay of this dish.

The Nihari at Golconda Bowl was unlike any Nihari I’ve ever eaten, though very similar to quite a few meat curries. The dish was nice as a generic meat curry, but a complete disaster as Nihari. There were a few pieces of meat in there… all firmly attached to the bone, which really isn’t possible if the broth was indeed cooked for 6 to 8 hours, as the manager had stated.

Moving on to the Chicken Biryani, served with Mirch ka Salan and raita on the side, we found it devoid of flavor; with just enough so the dish was consumed without further comment. We were hungry. The Mirch ka Salan was another failure. Full of ‘filler’, usually magaj ke dane, though this dish could have used something different, the salan had little or no flavor and was left as is after each of us consumed a couple of incredulous spoonfuls of the stuff.

Restaurants mustn’t go to town about their food, then find themselves unable to get staples correct; in this case, the Biryani and Nihari. Add to that the expensive nature of the food that makes the whole experience worse. True, the interiors are comfortable, the service friendly… but it is a restaurant, right? I suggest staying away from Golconda Bowl until they’re closer to delivering on their promise of authentic Hyderabadi food.

Ed: Featured picture is from Premier Inn, not Golconda Bowl.

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