zaffran, the indian-mughlai outlet of lp residency hotel (rajendra nagar, dehradun), is a name that holds its own as one of the best restaurants in the city for north indian cuisine. with this reputation in mind, my friends and i decided to go there for a lavish luncheon, and we were not disappointed.
1. location
ground floor, hotel lp residency, kaulagarh road, rajendra nagar, dehradun. the premises has some parking inside and ample space on-road.
2. seating and ambiance
the interiors are done exquisitely and they exhume an aura of comfort and fine dining. the walls are adorned artfully and the instrumental music adds to the overall experience. the seating is aplenty and adequately spaced out.
3. food
we were welcomed with palette cleansers in the form of a crispy papdi and a shot of khatta-meetha paani - both items from a chat menu which set our taste buds tingling. to open, we ordered aloo ki kurkuri chaat which seemed like the obvious follow through after that chatpata initiation. it was delicious – a presumably simple dish that you might like to replicate at home (i tried), and will definitely order every time you visit (i will). the crunchiness of the fried potatoes, the burst of flavours in the chutneys and the undefinable x-factor that chaat masala brings to every dish – you just have to experience it.
for starters, we ordered malai paneer tikka, mushroom ki galouti, awadhi kalmi kebab and kasundhi mahi tikka. the paneer was soft, the galouti was flavourful while the chicken and fish were of excellent quality. i firmly believe that starters are an excellent way to gauge the primary ingredients available (paneer, meats, etc) which helps in deciding what to order for the mains – for zaffran, you can order whatever you want and you’ll get the absolute best.
for mains, we ordered a variety of dishes instead of multiple portions of one or two – this way we all got to have a bit of everything with assorted breads. we ordered the evergreen favourites paneer tikka masala and amritsari murgh makhanwala (butter chicken). the staff recommended us to try their mutton, so we went ahead and also ordered awadhi nalli nihari and champaran handi mutton. the paneer and chicken were as good as you’ll find anywhere else in the city. i’m not much of a mutton fan, but i still found the nihari and handi mutton to be way above par. also, the gravy of the handi mutton was my personal favourite from the main course – so much so that i claimed it for my “last bite of the meal”.
for dessert, we shifted to lp residency’s famous coco osteria for some lip-smacking blueberry cheesecake. having coco on the premises really ups the ante for pre/post meal indulgences!
conclusion
zaffran by lp hotels is undoubtedly one of the best places you can choose for indian and mughlai cuisine. their nalli nihari is slowly making itself well-known in the city and is a must-try if you favour mutton. i’ll definitely visit again (and again, and again!).