For the past few weeks, Charcoal Eats has been a name often discussed, either due to the excitement of a new cafeteria on campus or for it's wallet-emptying menu. We, at Spoon, decided to try out the choicest dishes and here's what we think!
BIRYANIS
Diliwale Butter Chicken Biryani (INR 200):
This biryani had one of the best aromas when served. The rice is well cooked, with some divine caramelised onions and authentic butter chicken masala. The dish is really good and all the flavours blend quite well, and we had a wonderful start to our biryani-sampling with this dish. However, some might wish it was spicier to taste.
Afghan Veg Biryani (INR 139):
"There is nothing like veg biryani, it's called pulao" is actually true for this dish, as it literally contains white rice, caramelised onions and some veggies, like baby corns. We weren't too pleased with it, to be honest, but the quality of the ingredients was quite good. Read on to find out how we used this dish to the maximum.
Awadhi Chicken Biryani (INR 179):
Charcoal Eats' "THE BIRYANI". This was our favourite biryani and we absolutely loved it. The aroma was enticing, and the dish was quite flavourful with quality ingredients and a lot of saffron! the quantity of chicken was quite good too. It was blissfully spicy and left us wanting for more. #Protip: We fulfilled that wanting by mixing this with the Afghan Veg and made it double the quantity.
Paneer Makhani Biryani (INR 199):
In our opinion, this dish is not worth the money charged. It wasn't that great to taste and the paneer pieces were too little. The gravy didn't taste much like paneer makhani and the baby corns in it stood out, and didn't blend well with the biryani. We wouldn't recommend it.
Classic Chicken Biryani (INR 179):
The good things about this dish were the beautifully caramelised onions (an essential feature of every Charcoal Eats biryani) and the chicken was the best in this biryani, compared to the others. It was soft, cooked really well and had a wonderful texture. However, the rice bit reminded us a bit of the Afghan Veg. It's a bit sweet to taste and out team had mixed opinions about this.
PIZZAS
We were confused, more than anything, by the pizzas. The pizza base here is puff pastry. The menu does not give you any disclaimer about this, so you will only find out about this if you ask before ordering, or only after ordering. We tried two vegetarian pizzas:
Peri Peri Vegetarian Pizza (INR 169):
The taste was underwhelming because there was not even a hint of peri peri flavour. The base was puff pastry, and even that was quite charred (burnt, rather). It is priced at Rs. 169.
Exotica (INR 169):
While eating these two pizzas, it was difficult for us to differentiate between the two. The toppings on this one were also so-so, the mushrooms were cooked well, and the olives brought the dish together. This pizza costs Rs. 169.
ROLLS
The rolls have paratha base, filled with sauces and cheese and have an array of options to choose from:
Paneer Tikka Roll (INR 159):
The taste of the curry and paneer in the roll was very authentic, and the paneer was very well cooked and flavoursome. It was soft and the overall roll was enjoyable. There was no overuse of cheese (which sometimes happens to overpower the taste of everything else).
Chicken Seekh Kebab Roll (INR 139):
We had mixed feelings about the roll. The sauce could have been better; the pairing of cheese and mayo with seekh kebab is not very pleasant. The taste is not something everyone is going to like, because the combination is odd. The kebab was also quite dry, and the roll was overall what you'd call random.
Overall, our standouts were the fries and their chicken biryaani. You can't go very wrong with the fries, the quantity is very satisfying and the price is worth it. #protip: think about the pizza's puff pastry base before you order it. The rolls are hit or miss, so ask about the sauces in the roll before you order it. Another fun thing about this place? Your dessert is sorted, because they also have Havmor ice-cream!