Everything we cook

Small plates from the tandoor and the fryer, meant to be shared and argued over.

• Kalonji Paneer Tikka₹480

  Hand-pressed paneer marinated overnight in hung curd and nigella seed, charred hard on the outside and still trembling within. Served with a burnt-tomato chutney.VegChef’s pickDairy

• Galouti Kebab₹620

  Minced lamb worked with raw papaya and twenty-one spices until it collapses at the touch of a spoon. Four to a plate, on warm ulte tawe ka paratha.Chef’s pick

• Gunpowder Bhindi₹380

  Okra sliced fine and fried until it rattles, tossed in molagapodi and dried curry leaf. The most addictive thing we make, and the fastest to disappear.VegVeganSpicy

• Chettinad Pepper Prawns₹690

  Tiger prawns in a dry masala of black pepper, star anise and toasted coconut. Hot in the Tamil way — aromatic first, then the heat arrives.SpicyGluten-free

• Beetroot & Walnut Tikki₹360

  Roasted beetroot bound with crushed walnut and green chilli, crisped in ghee and set on a smear of dill yoghurt.VegNutsDairy

• Amritsari Sole₹640

  Sole fillets in a gram-flour batter sharpened with ajwain and lime, fried to order. Nothing else on the plate but a wedge of lemon and chaat masala.

The long cooks. Most of these were started before the doors opened.

• Saffron House Dal₹540

  Black urad simmered thirty-six hours over a low flame, finished with tomato, butter and a bruise of ginger. The dish the restaurant is named around.VegChef’s pickDairy

• Laal Maas₹890

  Mutton on the bone in a Mathania chilli gravy, cooked down until the fat and the spice stop being separate things. Properly, unapologetically hot.SpicyChef’s pick

• Gucchi Yakhni₹980

  Kashmiri morels in a pale fennel-and-yoghurt gravy, scented with green cardamom. Delicate, and the only white curry on the menu.VegDairy

• Malabar Fish Curry₹820

  Seer fish in coconut milk soured with kudampuli, tempered with mustard and shallot. Ask for extra appam; everyone does.Gluten-free

• Old Delhi Butter Chicken₹760

  Tandoori thigh meat in a gravy of slow-roasted tomato, cashew and a great deal of butter. Sweet only by accident, never by design.NutsDairy

• Bharwan Baingan₹520

  Baby aubergines stuffed with peanut, sesame and jaggery, braised in a dark tamarind masala until the skins give way.VegVeganNuts

• Kacchi Gosht Biryani₹940

  Raw marinated mutton and aged sella rice sealed under dough and cooked once, together. Served with burani raita and mirchi ka salan. Forty minutes; worth the wait.Chef’s pickDairy

Restrained, mostly. The pastry section shares its kitchen with the tandoor.

• Saffron & Pistachio Kheer₹320

  Short-grain rice cooked slowly in milk until it thickens on its own, steeped with Kashmiri saffron and cold-set. Pistachio, and nothing else.VegChef’s pickNutsDairy

• Gajar ka Halwa₹300

  Red winter carrots grated by hand and reduced in whole milk for three hours. Served hot, with a scoop of cardamom kulfi melting into it.VegNutsDairy

• Palm Jaggery Tart₹340

  A dark, almost salty caramel of Kolhapuri jaggery in a thin ghee shortcrust, with crème fraîche to cut it.VegDairy

• Tender Coconut Sorbet₹260

  Nothing but young coconut water, its flesh, and a little lime. The dessert for the table that has already eaten too much.VegVeganGluten-free

• Shahi Tukda₹360

  Brioche fried in ghee, soaked in saffron rabri and finished with rose petal and silver leaf. As excessive as it sounds.VegNutsDairy

A short list. Everything here is made in-house or poured from something we can vouch for.

• Kokum & Curry Leaf Cooler₹280

  Kokum syrup, lime, soda, and a curry-leaf oil floated on top. Sour, savoury, and the best thing to drink alongside chilli.VegVegan

• Masala Nimbu Soda₹220

  Fresh lime, black salt and roasted cumin, over crushed ice. Sweet or salty — the kitchen will ask which.VegVegan

• Rose & Cardamom Lassi₹260

  Thick set curd whipped with rose water and green cardamom. Cold enough to hurt, which is the point.VegDairy

• Bagh-e-Bahar₹640

  Indian dry gin, house tonic, black cardamom and a strip of grapefruit peel. The bar answer to a G&T that has to sit beside a laal maas.VegVegan

• Mysore Filter Coffee₹180

  A 70:30 blend decocted overnight, pulled long with hot milk. Served in a steel tumbler the traditional way, whether or not you asked.VegDairy

• Kadak Adrak Chai₹160

  Assam leaf boiled hard with ginger and a single clove. Strong enough to stand a spoon in.VegDairy