Food review: Alibaba Café and Restaurant in Bangalore

Alibaba Café and Restaurant
69, 1st Floor, M M Road, Fraser Town
Price: Rs600 (Meal for two)
Cards accepted

As you look out the not-so-tasteful drapes of Alibaba Café and Restaurant, you get to see half a strip of MM Road, nearly empty on a Sunday afternoon. A few minutes away from the Frazer Town mosque, this restaurant takes you to a different time and ambience. In fact, for a moment I wasn’t too sure if I was in Bangalore at all. The décor of the restaurant is extremely old world, with a lot of focus on the word ‘old’. There are little knick-knacks, collected from various parts of Persia, Iran, and a lot from Dubai, all of which bring in the Middle-Eastern element into the restaurant.

But what piqued my interest were the names of the dishes. After all, it does take some style to convert a salad of cucumber, onions, tomatoes and green peppers with parsley, dried and crushed mint and of course the zaatar and call it the Salad Shirazi — and I bet that no matter how closely I can replicate this at home, it would always be a little different at Ali Baba. 

The Koobideh Kebab, where lamb mince is grilled on skewers and then served with blanched and peeled tomatoes and some sumac on the side was my first tryst with divinity. The tarty spice, in a dark brick red hue, adds the chutzpah to the dish. Use your hands, forks take away half the flavour, and one of the owners, who will probably be the one to take your order, will tell you how to take a bit of the kebab, tomato, a sprinkling of sumac and then pop the whole thing in your mouth. The texture of the meat, the gentle spicing of it before driving a skewer through it and the unusual flavour of the sumac can be quite a potent combination.

With that, there’s always the trusty hummus and kuboos (pita bread). The bread is always cooked after you order it, so it’s soft and absolutely fresh. The hummus, with a dash of olive oil on top, along with the bread and the kebab — there couldn’t be a better way to start lunch. Don’t forget to get some drinks on the side; Alibaba doesn’t serve alcohol (for obvious reasons) but you could get yourself a Doogh — something like buttermilk but made with yoghurt and soda. It’s refreshing and helps with digestion too. The other beverage, which I have a feeling children might like, is the Tausha Sharbat. They take cucumber, de-seed it and add sugar to it and just a dash of water — again, a very refreshing drink.

As for the main dish, the Turkish Stew is not remotely close to a stew that you might make at home. Large chunks of mutton, marinated with coriander paste, a bit of mint leaves, parsley and tomatoes — it’s all stewed in a pot for a while. In fact, if it’s not prepared ahead, be ready to wait for at least 45 minutes to an hour before it’s served. It’s normally served with Turkish bread, but that afternoon, we had to settle for some more pita.

It’s hard to navigate such large pieces of meat and it’s best shared between three medium-eaters; the stew looks extremely full-bodied but the flavours are subtle and endearing. There isn’t much gravy to go with, but the juices of the meat and the spices settle around it on the plate — enough for you to dip your bread into.

When you’re done licking your fingers and suppressing the odd burp or two, order yourself some Irani Chai before you ask for the bill. The gently spiced tea, sans milk, is perfect when it comes to the absorption of excess grease. And I believe it’s the Middle-Eastern version of manna because once you leave the restaurant, you’d be smiling and probably for no particular reason.