Best Places in Chennai to Have Dal Makhani

If you are you a fan of rich and sinful Dal Makhani (mixed lentil curry), here are the best places in Chennai to have it.

1. Peshawari, ITC Grand Chola

The dish is called 'Dal Bukhara' at Peshawari, which is the flagship restaurant of the ITC Group. While this might be an expensive affair, the creamy and rich flavor sets it apart. 

Pricing - Very Expensive - INR 795 per portion

Other Dishes to Try:

They have a brief menu and almost every dish is spot on. While their kebabs are succulent and a treat to your palate, the main course is equally good. 

2. The Great Kebab Factory, Radisson

The restaurant operates on a sit down buffet model and the dal makhani is a part of this course.

Pricing - Very Expensive 

Other Dishes to Try:

Big fan of their lamb galouti kebab; it is easily among the best places to have it. Not the place to overdo the starters as their main course and desserts are equally good. 

3. Zaica

This is the restaurant that introduced me to the world of Dal Makhani. The dish is called 'Dal Peshawari' and is a signature dish of the restaurant. I have always had it as a part of their sit down buffet, but they also have an a la carte menu. 

Pricing - Moderate - INR 230 per portion

Other dishes to Try:

Their sit down buffet is a great value for money and I love the veg kebabs that are served as part of it. Their desserts include hot jalebis and jamuns which are reasonably good. 

4. Pakwan

The dish is called 'Dal Pakwan' at this newly opened vegetarian restaurant. 

Pricing - Moderate - INR 230 per portion

Other Dishes to Try:

They have an extensive menu which includes a lot of fusion food. My personal favourites are: palak kurkure chat, paneer dum anari (starter), kekhsan (main course) and shahi tukda (dessert). 

5. Salt

A restaurant that I frequent for a few of their other delectable dishes but end up ordering the dal makhani almost every time. Their dal makhani goes by the name 'House Black Dal'

Pricing - Moderate - INR 265 per portion

Other Dishes to Try: 

When describing the food at salt, I would always start with the dessert first. My staple order here is their Elaneer Payasam which is the best you would find in budget restaurants across the city (I am told Southern Spice at Taj is another good place to have it, but yet to try given the luxury factor). Egg biriyani is another staple order; while I don't order egg biriyani usually at restaurants, Salt is one place I would recommend trying if you ever want to (even-though recently it hasn't been inconsistent). 

This is my top five, lets hear your views and recommendations in the comments section.

P.s - Few of the images were taken from google and others are from my visits to these restaurants. 

Cafe Mozaic - Taj Vivanta, MG Road (3/5)

Was out with my colleagues for a couple of drinks and we decided to head out for dosa's post 1 AM. Given the limited options and the proximity to Vivanta- we decided to check this place out. 

Ambience (3.5/5)

The poolside dining was not open - and that definitely looked like a better dining view (get there earlier if you wish to have a poolside meal)

The interiors and seating is otherwise decent and typical to what you see in five star coffee shops. 

Pricing (3/5)

Expensive; there is very limited room for debate on this subject. 

Service

The food did not take long to be served. Otherwise nothing extraordinary about the service. 

Food (3/5)

I ordered a dosa with kakinada chicken. The chutneys and sambar tasted quite ordinary; sambar seemed to have a strong taste of readymade sambar powder.

The chicken was a little stiff and it wasn't the best side dish to order with dosas. Might have combined better with parotas or appam.

Mana Andhra, Nungambakkam (3.5/5)

Was visiting Chennai for a couple of days and after a heavy breakfast at home, I was looking for a light lunch. However, could not resist the temptation of trying this new Andhra restaurant which I happened to pass by. More so considering the dying scene of restaurants serving Andhra food in Nungambakkam and adjacent localities (Dakshin Spice closed down and Sankranthi moved to Anna Nagar). 

The restaurant is located in the basement of the corner building in the road connecting KNK and Wallace Garden roads. 

Service (3/5)

The staff were friendly and service was quick. However, their knowledge on some of the dishes was below par and this would be an essential considering their unique offering. 

Pricing (2.5/5)

The food is priced slightly on the expensive side. A veg meal cost us around INR. 350. Also, the chicken curry was over priced for what was served - it was an overload of bones in a spicy chicken gravy. 

Food (3.5/5)

Considering my limited appetite I was hoping to try out biryani or breads and curry combo. However, since they did not have either had to go with the meals. Not surprisingly, the meals had an extensive spread and was overbearing. The food was of good standard. 

1. The key items in the meals were:

Poori, kuruma, sambar, rasam, curd, dal, garlic gongura, aloo poriyal and variety rice. 

They had two powders (dal and dhaniya I assume). 

2. Chicken curry

The dish was from their side dishes cart. It was not served hot and had an overload of bones. 

Ambience (4/5)

The interiors are well planned of. Though simple, it brings out the theme of an Andhra restaurant. The seating is comfortable and they have andhra music and gemini tv playing to support the theme. 

Would recommend the place for its meals and I might revisit, with my family probably.

Punjab Grill, Koramangala (4/5)

Visited this place on a weekday for a late yet heavy lunch. Despite my heavy craving for biryanis chose this restaurant because of its easy accessibility from where I was working that day.

Food (4.5/5)

Considering the mood of the day, I decided to order a chicken dum biryani and a kesar pisteywali lassi for drinks.

The dum biryani would definitely find place among the best north Indian biryani's I have tasted. It had a luxurious serving of rice and meat - with at least five medium sized pieces in the dish. The curd (not raita) served as accompaniment was quite ordinary though.

The lassi was equally sinful and had a small piece of peda in it. It was garnished with nuts and served in a large glass.

A special mention on the portions: if not for the monster appetite I had- it is unlikely that one person could finish a biryani by them-self.

Service (4/5)

The service was quite prompt and the staff were quick in finding me a table, taking my orders, serving and clearing the dishes.

The staffs were courteous in their service.

Pricing (3/5)

This is probably the only possible reason restricting me from planning frequent revisits. The biryani and lassi order costed me about INR.1100 - which I would say is very expensive. However, considering the ambience, location and quality of food, the experience could be partially considered as deserving for the price they charge.

Ambience (4.5/5)

The restaurant has a beautiful outdoor seating filled with plants and greenery (it ks also the corner property and has a road facing view), a comfortable and classic indoor seating, live kitchen counter, private family dining area and a well stocked bar counter.

Would love to revisit and try more of their food offering.

Hotel Crescent, Nungambakkam

After an evening mallu movie with family was looking for some quick food before boarding my night bus back to Bangalore. After eliminating some of the regular south Indian restaurants due to non-availability of seats we decided to dine at Crescent.

Ambience (2/5)

The place is for hardcore non vegetarians and my SIL, who is a vegetarian had trouble dealing with the aromas of non veg food that was floating around. We sat at the non AC dining area- the seats were not too comfortable and the place could use a dullness check.

Pricing (4/5)

The food is priced very economically and I would definitely recommend this place if you are looking for a budget Kerala non vegetarian meal.

Service (3/5)

The staff was initially very cold and did not respond appropriately when we asked regarding availability of the dishes. However, thereafter he was forthcoming in letting us know about the delay in preparation of dishes and otherwise.

The egg curry and parotas were served in no time. However, the chicken roast took around 10-15minutes to be served.

Food (2/5)

We were visiting after 10PM on a Sunday night and there was no fish/prawn dishes available.

1. Classic parotas that was adequately crispy and soft. They were served warmed and was enjoyable.

2. Gravy - the gravy (salna in tamil) that accompanied the parota tasted ok. It had no traces of meat and was served in limited portion – that’s unusual.

3. Egg curry - was basically a few boiled eggs dropped in the curry mentioned above. Was surprised to find a slice of chicken in it (egg-etarians beware)

4. Chicken roast - we had requested for a dry/semi gravy dish. What we were served was a dry flavourless chicken (whatever limited flavour the dish had was limited to the outer layers) that had an overpowering taste of coconut oil. There was very little or no gravy at all, resulting in the lack of flavour.

Overall, a less satisfying experience except for the parotas; definitely expected better from this veteran Kerala restaurant.