Jahanpanah tussi great ho, Tofu kabool Karo !

Rating – 4.5/5

While not asking the reader to frame a visual from the famous Hindi movie about the above dialog I just want to emphasize the fact that they are true to their name i.e. a Jahanpanah of their trade of Lucknawi food ! This was a special tasting for me as well as being the Agra Foodsters Admin this was my first Agra Foodsters event in 10 months !! The occasion was big and Jahanpanah didn’t disappoint either the veg or the non veg folks and played perfect host to this momentous Agra Foodsters outing.

First things first I am the sort of foodie who just wouldn’t care about service, ambience, customer service, prices or any such aberrations as long as the food getting served is fabulous. To be really honest Jahanpanah still after 3 years of my foodie association still have their heart at the right place and I would love to go back to their food time after time.

Following is my experience of their food with increasing order of my likeness for the individual items:

Tawa Mutton Chaap – Needed to be a bit more gravied than what it was and the meat was a bit dry as well. This is not yet launched in their menu and the Foodies provided the relevant feedback and I am sure once it’s launched it’s going to be a huge hit.

Tilwaale Aloo – The very reason that I have rated this ahead of a mutton dish speaks volume about the preparation, with a tasty cheese stuffing this is your sure shot veg starter – a usual departure from Paneer based starters for my veggie friends.

Nargisi Mutton Kebab – Wow and wow this was a typical shami Kebab preparation enhanced by coating of egg batter and stuffing of raw onions that have this a crunchy bite – a delight in every bite indeed !

Kalmi Murgh – This is your goto chicken starter if you’re looking for something that isnt very spicy, yet is flavourful, mild and tender all at the same time, loved it ❤️

Dal Makhani – Not quite the frosty thick types and overpowered with cinnamon this was one drool-worthy preparation that had the perfect balance of spices. The fact that the humble Dal Makhani finds itself ahead in front of so many non veg preparations should again say a lot about this delicacy.

Mutton Galawati Kabab – The absolute melt in the mouth Mutton Kababs, I can only say the only better ones I have had are from Tunday Kababs, Aminabad – Lucknow so these are pretty relevant in the Agra Food scenes and among the top ones IMHO.

Akbari Phirni – Well if you have tasted the phirni of an extremely successful and biggest barbeque chain of India and feel that they absolutely murdered the preparation and you get nightmares as soon as someone mentioned the word “Phirni” then you should taste this. The Phirni here would restore your faith in humanity once again and you might end up ordering more than one👍🏼

Mutton Boti Masala – The best Mutton gravy preparation I tasted in a while, the first bite sent me into a fountain of flavours and it was so good that everyone just gobbled it up without even waiting to click the pictures as is the religious norm for bloggers these days. It seems to be the only item whose image you won’t find in any of the reviews so that’s one more reason for you to visit Jahanpanah for this and the preceding item if not for anything else.

Mutton Biryani – A typical and simple Lucknawi Biryani devoid of any serious spices that do many places just sprinkle for the sake of it. As they say beauty lies in simplicity and this was one beauty I have every time I am in Agra and the trend will continue in the years to come.

Four delicately spiced tender mutton pieces in flavourful basmati rice using a typical Dum preparation gives this the best dish of the tasting tag and Lucknawi biryani for me can’t get any better than this at this price point !

The Verdict – Overall they are an absolutely awesome place to have some authentic Lucknawi food, the rest of the parameters like location, service, parking facility and value for money quotient are pretty decent as well. Go for it and if you’re serious about your Lucknawi food whether Veg or Non Veg then this is absolutely it !