Chennai | Check out this new restobar that serves North Indian fare with a side of old Bollywood

One of the levels at Khaas
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Chef Mohammad Javed spent a healthy amount of his childhood in the expansive kitchens of Lucknow’s nizams and nawabs.

“My father was one of the cooks during their massive weddings and celebrations. I learnt to make kakori kebabs from him. Unlike the galouti kebab where the mutton is formed in patties, the ground meat is shaped in the form of cylinders and then wrapped around the sheek. This is where consistency plays a role. If it is too soft, it will not maintain shape on the skewer. If it is too hard, there is no way you will enjoy eating it,” he says, serving a piece.

Javed has travelled a long way from home to explain the process of adding papayas to soften meat but he does so with gusto. As the head chef of Egmore’s newest restobar, Khaas, he feels it is important to know where his food comes from. “Working at five-star chains in Lucknow and Delhi has taught me to make a variety of food including dishes from the Peshawari, Awadh and Bukhara regions. I am excited to have Chennai try my food,” he says.

Khaas intends to be a sit-down restaurant focussed on catering to the India that lies North of the Vindhyas. “The food, drinks, music and location have all been strategically chosen to ensure that this community finds authentic, good food and can unwind after a long day. None of that loud Bollywood music and the jump up and down party-style dancing here. We are looking at gentle swaying to old, lovely songs and smiling families. It is time that Chennai’s bars move away from just chilli paneer, chilli chicken and french fries,” says operating partner, Arasu Dennis.

Various dishes at Khaas
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

With this, we sit down for lunch and drinks at this three-level bar with a view of Chennai’s populated but pleasing skyline, ready to tuck in.

Chef Javed decides to play to his strength and brings forth two kebab platters — a vegetarian one (with beetroot, soya and paneer options) and a non-vegetarian equivalent (with fish, prawns, mutton and chicken). Our recommendation is the lasooni jhinga where a thick jumbo prawn is laden with the perfectly cooked pungence of garlic and spice. The kakori kebab too, is cooked to perfection, melting in the mouth with a hit of cinnamon. “I source all my spices from Delhi and Lucknow,” he says. Those yearning for Delhi’s famed soya chaap on a winter evening can now bite into this flavour bomb in Chennai too. Marinated in an achari-spice mix, the chaap feels like biting into a pillow.

Chennai’s North Indian restaurants have evolved from using coconut oil in our paneer butter masalas to serving delectable biryanis and kebabs over time. In this, Khaas is not unique. However, it is difficult to come by a butter chicken that is not sweet and artificially orange and a nalli nihari that is perfectly seasoned without being spicy. Here, the restaurant excels.

Nalli nihari
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Although their cocktail selection lies on the sweeter side of the spectrum, Kothmir, a drink made of cilantro, tequila, agave and citrus is savoury and refreshing.

The meal ends with a fig and date halwa and a tender coconut pudding that unfortunately fail to impress but the deconstructed falooda with a light malai kulfi and noodle-like vermicelli is fine way to end the meal.

Pro tip: Ask for the raw papaya morabba and chilli pickle.

Khaas is at Briley One, Ethiraj Salai, Egmore. A meal for two without alcohol costs about ₹2,000.