The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2021 - Issue 30

uses the finest seasonal and traditional British ingredients alongside heady spices and culinary techniques associated with Indian cooking. The 90-seated restaurant aims to provide a more communal and informal fine dining that offers diners the best quality and wide range of palate-pleasing flavours whilst remaining true to the chef’s heritage. The Peacock Room, an intimate private dining room, overlooks the res- taurant and seats up to 10 people, making it an ideal setting for parties or business meetings. Available for exclusive hire, diners can expect a speciality menu curated by Peter Joseph to suit the exacting requirements of each guest. When we arrived at Kahani, it was quite cold outside but as we descended the wooden stairs, beautiful warmth greeted us. Ali, our server for the evening, seated us in an exclusive corner booth with suave salmon banquette fabric that enabled us to see a portion of the restaurant as well as The Peacock Room. To my far right, an intriguing mosaic decoration on the wall held my attention for a while. Banquette seatings in a darker hue for four people occupied the space beneath this decorative wonderment. For cocktails, we had Gulap Martini with vodka, lychee liquor and juice, lemon juice and rose syrup and The SW1 with saffron and cardamom infused Patron Silver Tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, fresh mint and applewood smoke. Later on in the evening, we tried the Tandoori Ananas with homemade spiced rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, Tandoori-cooked pineapple, cinna- mon and honey water and PJ Kahani with vodka, wild berries purée, creme de mure, lemon juice, jasmine tea and egg white. Gulap Martini had a lovely rose flavour with a touch of lychee liquor, and lychee and lemon juices. You could taste the alcohol but it was not overly strong.The SW1 was very intriguing! As the liquid was poured into the glass, smoke ascended into the air which was a highlight of the evening. It was deliciously smokey with a refreshing strong taste. Tandoori Ananas was creamy and all the ingredients worked well together while the PJ Kahani was fruity, thanks to the pineapple and lime juices and had a slightly strong taste. The à la carte menu consists of small plates, Kahani Klaasik meaning chargrilled, curry and biryani dishes and accompaniments.We decided to try the Oxtail tossed with shallots, green jackfruit, bay leaf and Kerala paratha (flatbread); Seared Scallops coated in star anise with pepper chutney and barley khichdi (a dish made with rice and lentils); and Samosa Platter with Punjabi aloo, kolhapuri chicken and chettinad lamb. I’m normally not a fan of oxtail but this dish changed my mind. It was slightly spicy but gave me a nice warm feeling inside. I liked the flat- bread that complimented the dish.The scallops presented on a bed of the barley khichdi were soft and nicely seared. You could taste the pepper chutney which made it interesting. The trio choice of aloo, chicken and lamb in the samosa platter allows you to experience more flavours.They were meaty and tasty, and I loved the crispy coating which was different to normal samosas. From the chargrilled menu, we had Monkfish grilled with galangal, lemongrass and sweet chilli; Trio of Chicken Tikka, tandoor grilled chicken supreme with cream cheese, mint and pickling spices; and Smoked Malabar Prawns marinated with fresh turmeric, coconut and curry leaves. The monkfish was deliciously flavoursome while the trio tandoor grilled chicken marinated with herbs and spices including coriander roots, cardamom, maize, mint, green chillies, ginger, turmeric and pickles had an authentic Asian taste.The giant prawns blew my mind; beautifully bitecuisine Pulao Rice