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Atul Kochhar’s Rang Mahal at the JW Marriott Marquis will surprise you with its modern Indian food

The prospect of dining at one of the swankiest hotels in town, which is also currently the tallest hotel in the world — JW Marriott Marquis — had me pretty excited. Plus, hearing that Michelin star chef Atul Kochhar was the mastermind behind Rang Mahal, their Indian restaurant, only made my expectations shoot up higher.
As soon as we walked in on a Friday night, my friend and I absolutely loved how beautifully the restaurant is designed. We walked through the lounge area with cosy private corners and into the opulent dining area, which had spectacular carved wooden pillars and huge Indian paintings all over. The décor of the dining area, we were told, takes inspiration from Rajasthani palaces. Even though the place serves Indian food, our host informed us all ingredients are locally sourced, and the dishes (though essentially Indian) have a bit of a twist.

In order to try as many dishes possible, our host suggested we opt for what they call the “Grazing Menu”, instead of going à la carte. The menu allows the diner to sample a selection of their featured dishes, without wasting any food. They have bite-sized portions in their four-course menu, which can be tweaked to your taste. Once you’ve placed your order, you will be asked how spicy you’d like the food to be on a scale from 1 to 4 (the latter being the highest). While I decided to go all out and pick 4, my chilli-intolerant friend settled for a 2.

Opt for their drink of the day while you wait for your food — which is made right at your table. It’s impressive how they pay attention to the tiniest of details — from using home-made ingredients to enhance the flavour, to a giant ice ball, which melts slower than ice cubes.

We start off with the Amuse Bouche — chickpeas and spinach purée with a little piece of French baguette, before moving on to the starters. We tried the Roasted Aubergine and Burrata and the Kori Kempu (a south Indian-style chicken). While I did not particularly enjoy the former (I’m not a big fan of aubergine), my friend loved it; I was leaning more 
in favour of the kori kempu, which is serious comfort food. The chicken pieces coated in rice flower were deep-fried and came with the extremely delicious tomato and curry leaves chutney that I couldn’t get enough of!

Our intermediate course consisted of a piece of Murgh Chandi Tikka and Lamb Galouti each, both of which were succulent and well done. At this point, my friend and I started to debate if we would need to head out to a restaurant after — because as delicious as the food was, we weren’t sure it would make for a wholesome, filling meal.

Once the main course arrived though, our midnight snack plans were cancelled. Bowl-sized portions of Dal Makhni, Murgh Makhni and Gosht Khada Masala accompanied by soft buttery naans were more than enough to fill us up. The dal was rich and creamy, and definitely at par with some of the best I have had in Delhi. The hero of the main course was definitely the lamb, and the butter chicken lacked a little punch. We also tried lamb biryani (not a part of the grazing menu); and highly recommended it.

We rounded up our meal with their dessert platter that starred a betel nut leaf ice cream, berry sorbet, cassata kulfi, and a chocolate cake (which contained very little flour) — and it is safe to say my sweet tooth has not been satiated this way in a long, long time.

The restaurant is expensive, but that is the price of warm and friendly service, exquisite, one-of-a-kind dishes, truly amazing ambience and attention to 
detail. Rang Mahal is a must-visit for anyone remotely interested in Indian food. I know I’m definitely going back!