Aagri mutton thali.
The menu at Lower Parel’s new Maharashtrian restaurant Aagri Culture Express ought to come with the following disclaimer: Proceed with caution! Heartburn ahead. The agrarian Aagris who populate Thane, Raigad and Mumbai depend on chilli to flavour their dishes like East Indians rely on bottle masala, and to diners like us unexposed to the community’s cooking, this came as a blazing surprise. The cuisine’s Scoville ranking would be similar to that of Kolhapuri or Sri Lankan fare and the Aagris employed in this kitchen make a meal here a challenge worth accepting with their earthy, spice-rich cooking.
The chicken sukka (Rs175) was a portent of the dishes to follow. The best way to devour the dish enriched with roasted desiccated coconut and garlic is with their huge rice bhakris that moderate the impact of the red chilli in the Aagri masala that also contains garlic, ginger and coriander. We were thrilled to find that Agri Culture Express uses the more flavoursome baby shrimp as opposed to the jumbo variety preferred by most restaurants. Their kardi tel kanda (Rs120) is an appetiser in which bead-sized shrimp are spiked with Aagri masala and heaped with curry leaves and caramelised onions that impart sweetness to the dish.
The real merit of Aagri food lies in the slow clay pot cooking. The Aagri mutton thali (Rs195) was a focused affair of just bhakri and rice accompanying tender mutton on the bone luxuriating in a tongue-numbing broth inundated with roasted fresh coconut and Aagri masala. The spice level thankfully dropped a notch in the vegetarian thali (Rs80) the composition of which changes daily. Ours was made up of a cabbage sabzi, moong dal and a pigeon pea or whole arhar dal gravy. The sabzi was a standard homestyle preparation, but the dal and the pigeon pea were elevated by a savoury smokiness, which the cook said is a result of a burned garlic tadka and the use of clay pots for both.
We sweated profusely and glugged jugs of water through the meal but didn’t earn much sympathy from the folks running the restaurant. They’ve stayed adamantly and commendably true to their community’s cooking. So true, that they don’t serve dessert, but only semi-apologetic smiles and consolatory sugar-coated mints while presenting the bill.
Get: Everything! Aagri mutton thali (Rs195), chicken sukka (Rs175), kardi tel kanda (Rs120), vegetarian thali (Rs80).
It is our policy to review restaurants a week to ten days after they have launched.
Prices include taxes. This review was conducted anonymously.
Open daily, from 11.30am to 4pm and from 7pm to 10.30pm. Aagri Culture Express, across the road from the Anita Dongre showroom, opposite Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel. Tel: 84259 02219. Get directions here.