Mohalla | Dubai Design District

In my journey capturing the hidden and well-known culinary hotspots across Dubai, I have very often come across Indian street food. Mohalla is one such promising newbie in town. Not only does this Design District diner serve up some delicious Indian street fare, but it goes a step further into exploring the gastronomic gems of India by incorporating sub-regional dishes into its menu.

Spanning across an indoor and outdoor seating space, Mohalla is decked up with ethnic pieces that subtly announce the intricacies of the interior regions in India. Handwoven carpets on the ceiling, copper bells, thatch chairs, wooden tables and those gorgeous colorful cushions – they all add character to the personality of the restaurant.

Owing to the chilly winters that have finally decided to make a cameo in Dubai, we chose to sit outdoors. We were offered a menu to look at, which in itself had a lot of charisma – thanks to its strong cover photo and bandini textile on the back.

  

Bread Basket

While we waited for our starters to arrive, we were offered Mohalla’s version of bread basket – a thin dosai crisp with a trio of chutneys – guac, coconut and tomato – served inside a miniature Indian stile tiffin box. While the dosai was quite crispy, it lacked spice. A dusting of gunpowder masala or something more flavorful would definitely make it more fun while waiting for the food. Alternatively a masala papad would be a much better option too.

Drinks

Our drinks were the first to arrive. I chose a Passion Fruit two Ways, which came with passion fruit juice, orange juice and grenadine. It was topped with a luscious piece of the fruit of course! My plus one opted for the  Vasanthaneer which was a refreshing mix of coconut water and lychee juice topped with mint leaves and lemon – almost like a coconut water mojito – but without the fizz.

Pani Puri

Our first starter was the very obvious one. If you haven’t already guessed from my previous posts what I would ask for without fail in an Indian street food restaurant, well it is Pani Puri. Sitting under the Mohalla Cart section on the menu, it says this dish comes on a trolley and offers live action. However, I was slightly disappointed when we received the dish just like any other restaurant, with stuffed puris and the different chutneys on the side.

In terms of taste though – they were absolutely fab! The potato stuffing was generous, and so was the size of the puris. And like I always say, always judge the pani puri by the green water that comes along with it. The green water at Mohalla was beautifully spiced. Ask them for a live presentation of the chaat – you might be luckier than me.

Vada Pav

The next round of starters were all seated under the Small Bhook section of the menu. Again, one of my must have items, the Vada Pav was an quite an obvious choice for me. The portion was definitely good, and in all honesty, had we not split just one piece between the two of us, we would have not been able to eat anything else on the table. The potato vada was both crispy and non-sticky. It didn’t feel oily at all (neither did most of the other dishes), and it was only later that the chef would explain us why.

While vada was great and the cucumber and carrot salad on the side very unique, I found the bread to be a little dry. An extra helping of red and green chutneys on the side would have added much more flavor and moistness to every bite.

Chili Paneer with Crackling Spinach

Also a part of the Small Bhook was this Chili Paneer with Crackling Spinach. An IndoChinese marvel, this cottage cheese starter was totally lip-smacking. It was not only the tender inside crispy outside golden paneer pieces, but the very mix of sambal chilies and soya sauce which made the coating so irresistible. I loved the crunchy spinach garnish – was the perfect cheery on top for this dish. If you like, you can also choose this dish with chili chicken instead of paneer.

1965 Buhari

Our fourth starter and well, the last starter before we headed to the mains, was the 1965 Buhari. This one, in all honesty, was my favorite favorite dish among every starter we had. Mohalla’s fried edition of the classic chicken 65, this dish was almost like chicken pakodas sans the oily greasy feel. The chicken was supremely tender. And the outer crust, which felt like a batter of some sort, was so crisp, it was that situation where ‘once you pop, you can’t stop’.

Nilgiri Chicken

Moving on to mains, while the options are comparatively lesser than the starters, they are nonetheless quite varied. Marked as Big Bhook, our first choice from this section was the Nilgiri Chicken. A spicy gravy based dish, this features bone-in chicken cooked in a mint and coriander paste, and garnished with fresh ginger julienne. The gravy was brilliant. It reminded me of my childhood because it tasted exactly like the ‘green chicken’ my mom used to make. And well, I guess that’s the whole point of their menu – bringing sub-regional dishes from different households in India to the wider audience.

My only pet peeve here was the fact that it wasn’t mentioned anywhere that this would be a bone-in dish, nor were we informed the same by the staff member who took our order. I am particularly very scared of tiny bones that could possibly get stuck in my throat, especially when I am eating it wrapped in some roti or naan. It sort of ruins the experience for me. I would strongly suggest they offer the same dish with boneless chicken too.

I recommend having the Nilgiri Chicken with garlic naan as an accompaniment.

Deccan Chicken Biryani

Although we asked the staff member to help us decide between Deccan Chicken Biryani and Lucknowi Seekh Kebab Biryani, deep down I knew I wanted to go for the former. And that’s exactly what they staff recommended!

My first reaction as soon as the dish was brought to the table – wow, what a huge portion! The portion was good enough for 4 people if not more. And the dish it was served in was so simple, yet brought a very homely comfort food feel with it. My favorite part of the biryani – well there was more than one. Cashews, lots of them, beautifully decked the spice-laden rice, along with chunky pieces of boiled potatoes and tender flavorful chicken.

My disappointment here was the pace of their service. With four starters already on our table, and us not being even halfway done with it, our biryani was brought in way too soon. I usually have this fear of my dishes being brought too early if I place the order for them all at once, and this time it just came true. I guess the staff certainly needs to be more understanding of making sure the starters are cleared off before bringing in the mains. Our starter plates were almost taken away had we not stopped them midway!

Jalebi with Rabdi

Finally it was time to indulge in some sweet temptations. We wanted to try out their Ras Malai, but unfortunately it wasn’t available, so we settled for the Jalebi with Rabdi. The Jalebi was noticeably less oily and less syrupy, which made it really desirable for me. But it was really the creamy rabdi that took the cake. Made with mawa/khoya (reduced dry milk) I suppose, the rabdi had a dense, almost ice cream like texture and the sweetness level was just right.

Mohalla has a few other desserts like Jigar ka Thanda, Phirni and Kulfi as well which you can opt for if you like. Remember the portions of everything we tried were quite generous, so tweak your appetite accordingly.

Mohalla

Location: Building 5, D3, Dubai Design District, Dubai
Contact: 04 4272855

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