A lavish Royal Cuisine at a competitive price at Maharajah Palace

1 October 2014 01:12 pm

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Text by Shehara Rizly

Colombo witnessed one of the most lavish openings in the history of cuisine last year when the celebrated Maharajah Palace situated at Rajakeeya Mawatha opened its doors to the public. It soon became the talk of the town as the celebrations lasted for over three nights and the affluent clientele in Colombo became a part of this grand celebration.

Welcome to Royalty

As you enter the gate, the security guard will be at your side guiding you to a good parking spot (there is ample parking space) and will courteously greet you by opening the door. Once you walk to the foyer, the Butler in his exquisite royal attire will be the next person to greet you with a warm welcoming smile. The amazing classical splendor with authentic oriental décor crafted with magnificent embellishments coupled with many traditional moghul artifacts adds on to the ambience and grandeur of the palace and you will be then guided by a courteous steward to the table of your choice. The restaurant could accommodate about 80 guests at one time. While you enjoy the scrumptious meal a flutist seated on a dais will soothe you with typical Indian music from the past and the more latest tunes upon your request. Today, it is one of the most elegant and gastronomical experiences that one could enjoy at a competitive price. They are the market leaders with the ravishing new concept in authentic North Indian cuisine prepared by the Executive Chef M.Abubaker from Hyderabad.

Signature Treats to enjoy

  As a special note it must be mentioned that they do not serve either beef or pork and all meat is halal certified. The extensive vegetarian menu of Maharajah Palace include kebabs, mains, curries etc. Some of the signature kebabs and grills for vegetarians are VEG. CHILLI MILLISEEKH KABAB- blended fresh Vegetables, Cottage Cheese and Potato infused with onions, green chilies and spices. Skewered and Chargrilled, PANEER ACHAARI TIKKA - cubes of Cottage Cheese marinated with Indian pickling spices. Skewered and Chargrilled, MUSHROOM MAHARAJA– whole Mushrooms stuffed with Cheese, marinated in a mildly spiced yoghurt mix. Skewered and Char grilled and ASSORTED VEG.KABABPLATTER- paneer, Mushrooms, Babycorn, Cauliflower, Potatoes and Hara Bhara Kabab marinated with Chef’s specially blended spices and cooked in a Tandoori Oven. The kebabs and grills for nonvegetarians include CHICKEN HAZARVIKABAB- boneless Chicken strips marinated in cheese, cream, yoghurt, and species. Skewered and Char grilled. A house specialty, RAAN MUSALLAM - tender Mutton thigh marinated in yoghurt and special aromatic spices. A traditional delicacy from the Royal kitchens of the Mughals. A “Lucknawi” specialty, TANDOORI POMFRET– whole Pomfret Fish marinated in Tandoori spices. Skewered and Char grilled, TANDOORI JUMBO PRAWNS- Jumbo           Prawns marinated in saffron flavoured tandoori spices. Skewered and Chargrilled. A shellfish lovers delight, ASSORTEDNON-VEG KABAB PLATTER (Serves 3) - An assortment of Prawns, Fish, Chicken and Mutton Kababs marainated with Chef’s specially blended spiecs. Cooked in a Tandoori Oven, TANDOORI LOBSTER - whole Lobster marinated in saffron flavoured tandoori spices and cooked in a Tandoori Oven. A shellfish lovers delight and KATHIKABAB ROLLS- this is the ultimate dish for Kebab lovers. A Roomali Roti, a soft delicate handkerchief thin roti wrapped round your choice of vegetable, paneer, chicken, mutton or prawns. The special vegetarian curries and mains include BRINJAL MASALA– brinjals cooked in a rich spicy tomato and onion gravy, ALOO CHILLI MASALA– potato cubes sautéed with onions, capsicums in a garlic ginger paste flavoured with crushed black pepper, SAFFRON MALAIKOFTA- cottage cheese dumplings simmered in a rich saffron flavoured gravy, PALAK PANEER- cubes of Cottage cheese simmered in a spicy spinach gravy, BABYCORN AND MUSHROOM JHALFAREZI - mushroom and Baby Corn tossed in a spicy tomato paste with green peppers and VEGETABLE SATANUI– seven types of vegetables cooked with cottage cheese and whole spices served with a mild onion gravy to name just a few off the 25 different varieties of mains and curries especially made for the vegetarians. In the same manner the non-vegetarian range of curries and mains contain over 25 different varieties with over five varieties of the favourite signature “dum biryani” of the palace. CHICKEN VINDALOO – an extremely spicy boneless Chicken and Potato curry, blended with Goan spices, FISH GOAN CURRY -chunks of Modha fish fillets cooked in a spicy Coconut based curry. A traditional Goan specialty, PAN FRIED FISH - pan Fried Seer Fish steak marinated with traditional Mumbai spices and cooked on a low fire, CRAB MEAT BHUNA - crab Meat infused with spices and fresh herbs. Served in a thick tomato gravy, CUTTLEFISH CHILLI MASALA – rings of Cuttlefish lightly sautéed with onions and capsicums in a spicy ginger and onion paste. Flavoured with crushed black pepper and BUTTER PRAWNS – prawns cooked in rich herb butter flavoured tomato gravy to name a few of the many varieties available.    Among the desserts the KULFI– traditional Indian ice cream made of thickened saffron flavoured milk, almonds and cashenuts and the MAHARAJAFALUDA– a very popular traditional ice cream sundae float prepared with milk, rose syrup, kulfi and ice cream, vermicelli and basil seeds that will complete your authentic and scrumptious meal.

Services offered by the Maharajah Palace

It offers you the convenience of ordering your favourite dishes over the phone and you could even personally pick it up or have it delivered to your doorstep for either lunch or dinner everyday.

Chef M Abubaker

He has been with the renowned inter continental chain for 20 years and ensures an authentic Indian experience. He stated ; “ the specialty of the restaurant is that the ingredients are all fresh from the meat, fish to the vegetables and fruits, the paneer is made in house and it is quite soft on the palate. The spices used for the dishes are specially imported from India therefore the real authentic taste is well relished by every guest and we have North Indian dishes that you will not find anywhere else in Sri Lanka. We do not serve pork or beef and the other meat items are halal certified. Moghul dum style of cooking over a slow fire is used for some of our signature dishes. All biryani are cooked in steam in a covered pot with a blend of Indian spices to create a distinctively exquisite aroma. The kebabs and rottis have become hot favourites among many of our guests and we have received many comments on our facebook page.”

Private dining especially for you

You can treat your guests to a scrumptious meal at the Maharajah palace by choosing one of their many private dining rooms available without any cover charge. There are private dining rooms from 8 to 20 people at the restaurant and it is up to you to decide. Private dining rooms come with their own wash rooms which give the guests more privacy.

Photographs By Anusha de Silva