Restaurants to talk about: Dhamaka

If you remember in one of my earlier posts, in "4 Unique Indian Chefs Abroad", I talked about Chef Chintan Pandya and his restaurant Dhamaka, and how I wanted him to hire me so I could work under him. Well, this one is another pretty shameless attempt at that. But, this time I am more prepared...

Jokes Apart, I have wanted to write about Dhamaka for a long time, purely because it represents a non-bullshitting restaurant that doesn't want to complicate things between its kitchen and its diners. It is one of the few restaurants, if not the only, to serve authentic regional Northern Indian cuisine which is unknown to most of us. Take it as you may, their food is even appreciated by Indians from India abroad....that says something.

Image Credits: Dhamaka's Official Website

I say what I say and I say...."HISTORY LESSON!"

Dhamaka was started in February 2021 by founders, Chintan Pandya and Roni Mazumdar. It belongs to the company "Unapologetic Foods" which also owns two other restaurants. Adda, and also Semma, which specialises in unapologetic South Indian cuisine. Dhamaka and Semma have been awarded "Bib Gourmand" and a "Michelin Star" respectively by the Michelin Guide in 2022.

As I spoke earlier about Dhamaka, they serve authentic regional dishes and their menu even shows a map of India, highlighting the regions where a particular dish is from. Truth be told, as an Indian and a self-proclaimed food enthusiast, I didn't even know half of these dishes existed, much less hear their names even remotely. Their idea is to be different from the rest of the Indian restaurants in America. Their menu consists of many dishes from all over North India which can be considered as that particular region's "Best Single in the Album" or "Song of the Year". Chef Chintan even said in an interview that instead of doing 100 things at 10 per cent, he would prefer to do 10 things at 100 per cent.

Image Credits: Dhamaka's Official Website

Some of the famous dishes on their menu are Nalli Biryani, Champaran Meat, Gurda Kapoora (which is made of goat kidney and testicles), Paneer Tikka, Butter Pepper Garlic Crab, etc. They have changed their menu recently but kept a section of their menu untouched, known as Shikar (Hunting Meals) on their website. Now this particular menu section.....this is different. It currently consists of only two dishes: Rajasthani Khargosh and Lamb Shoulder Mussalam. Both of these dishes are considered to be enjoyed by the royal kings during ancient times. They only serve one of these per night, and a customer has to place the order 48 hours or more in advance and pay for the dish if they want to savour it. This is because these dishes take so much pre-preparation that the staff can only make one per night.

Earlier, Dhamaka only used to serve only one dessert, the Chhena Poda, which as I have mentioned in another post, is similar to that of a basque cheesecake. This dish is made out of cheese, eggs, sugar, vanilla, flour, and many more things that I am too lazy to search for right now... Oh! And speaking of cheese...

Dhamaka makes its paneer and they are very proud of that. They use a special milk for making this delectable Indian cottage cheese and it took them months to arrive at this secret formula. They are so confident in the quality of their paneer that Chef Chintan says, "If you can get a better tasting paneer anywhere in America after eating here, I will pay for the meal you have had at Dhamaka if you get me the receipt". In an interview with The Quint, he also said, "If anyone from India comes to America and eats the paneer here, they will go into depression."

I have asked myself many times what draws me to this restaurant, "Is it the fact that they use steel plates and 50-cent glasses from IKEA for serving?" or "Is it the fact that they serve the dishes in the vessels in which they are cooked in?" or "Is it Chef Chintan whose humble and calm persona on-screen makes me aspire to be like him? and work for him....perhaps? If he agrees.....". But, no. Although all of those mentioned above have played the role of trapping me in Dhamaka's magic, it is the fact that they stand for what they believe in and be true to themselves irrespective of outside judgement or speculation. This is what Unapologetic Foods claims to be....unapologetic in their culture, food, and beliefs.

They claim that Indian food is spicy and it is meant to be that way. In their restaurants, they don't offer the option of making something medium spicy, mild or other terms which are used in Indian restaurants in the UK. They also prepare their dishes in their simplest and most authentic form to be enjoyed without changing anything about their flavour.

This might come off as elitism to some, but proper Indian food has never had a chance to reveal itself on a global market and in a city like New York, it is the perfect opportunity to show the world what Indian food actually is. Dhamak represents the essence of Indian cuisine in the most no-nonsense way possible on a global scale and has received worldwide recognition...and will continue to do so.

It is only more exciting and intriguing to see where the staff at Dhamaka will be taking it to the next level because as Chef Chintan said, "Indian food is as colourful as the people of India".

That's it for this time. See you next week!