Just about any longer-term resident of Budapest has warmly welcomed the steady evolution of ethnic dining options. Not to be missed are the city’s excellent subcontinental offerings, well-reviewed in these pages before and now joined by Kohinoor Indian and Pakistani Restaurant.
Despite the fact that we at Budapest Funzine (and others) categorize the area surrounding Wesselényi utca in the 7th district as the “Jewish Quarter”, owing to its history as the pre-WWII Jewish ghetto and subsequently strong cultural heritage in the neighborhood, the unmistakable proliferation of Indian restaurants and markets are transforming it into what might easily be called Budapest’s “little India”. Kohinoor is the latest addition to an already bright selection of Indian restaurants, and brings with it a new take: the inclusion of several delicious Pakistani dishes that are not served elsewhere in the city.
Situated just a block outside of the Erzsébet ring-road and steps from the Wesselényi utca tram stop, the simple décor of this basement eatery belies a fine kitchen, which can concoct a huge variety of dishes. To Indian food buffs many will be familiar, such as Saag Paneer and Chicken Tikka, but to the uninitiated there will be plenty of simple and tempting options as well.
Arriving for a late lunch midweek, we found the place to be un-crowded and quiet, which, according to our talkative server, was uncommon. Tempting workers in the local area is a heaping plate of the rotating daily menu, made up of soup, one vegetarian and one meat dish, rice and bread for 900 ft. Wanting to try some of the more Pakistani dishes, we opted to choose a la carte, and started with the Faisalabad’s Dahi Barey, a remarkable yogurt-based appetizer containing chickpeas and other legumes, herbs, and several dumplings, with two excellent mango lassis. In one bite of this dish is contained a progression of tastes, from the cool yogurt to the bitterness of the peas and a slightly spicy herbed aroma.
Continuing on, we tried the vegetarian Lady Fingers (British English for “okra”) dish, a Pakistani specialty. Also a range of tastes, this one starts with the sweet sensation of the vegetable, then mitigated by the potatoes and finally turned up a notch with a spicy onion heat. My carnivorous companion spoke highly of her dish, the Akbari Korma, which is a non-spicy mix of extra tender lamb chunks and slightly-sweet rich cashew nut sauce. Also a must on any visit to an Indian restaurant is to try the tandoori dishes. We picked the cheese (paneer) tikka, which did not disappoint; the mild homemade cheese and accompanying vegetables thickly rubbed with spices and cooked to a firm texture in the tandoor oven. Accompanying this trio we picked the chana pulao, golden rice with chickpeas, nuts and exotic spices, and two kinds of naan: the cottage cheese variety and a new kind, khabli naan, with mashed chickpea puree.
While vegetarians will find plenty to like at Kohinoor, to really get a taste of Pakistan one should really be a meat-eater. Highly recommended came the Karachi Nihari and the Haleem Khass, both beef dishes. The latter is a lentil-and-minced-beef stew that is slow-cooked for 5-6 hours before serving.
While Indian desserts are usually the weakest part of the menu, Kohinoor makes a valiant attempt to correct the problem, serving homemade ice creams and several other delicacies. We took a scoop each of the mango and pistachio ice creams, finding the former a creamy and cold version of its excellent liquid cousin, and the latter a scrumptious nutty delight. With it we drank the interesting Pakistani tea, which is made by brewing black tea, cardamom, milk and sugar together in the same pot. With the consistency of café au lait, it had a nice bite due to the spices.
With affable if casual service and similar décor, the “experience” at Kohinoor may not impress your business colleagues, but the food is sure to please just about anyone. The restaurant offers free delivery to the 5th-9th districts and takeaway is perfectly acceptable. Coupled with extremely reasonable prices mostly within the 1,300-1,800 Ft range, Kohinoor is truly the diamond in the rough that its name suggests.
Text and photos by Daniel Freeman
Appetizers
Faisalabad’s Dahi Barey
Mains
Lady Fingers
Akbari Korma
Karachi Nihari
Haleem Khass
Desserts and Drinks
Mango Lassi
Mango and Pistachio kulfi
