Kitchens of Kangan@ The Westin, Goregaon, Mumbai

Kangan is the signature Indian restaurant of The Westin chain of  hotels which specializes in cuisine from the North Western frontier. The hotel has its branches all over India and at times it becomes a challenge to cater to all its patrons who come from a wide base of culinary diversity. They have, therefore, designed a concept called the ‘Kitchens of Kangan” where they invite the chefs from three of their star kitchens from different parts of India to design a special menu, not just limited to North West Frontier cuisine, which showcases their lovely creations. This festival takes place periodically at all their restaurants throughout the chain.

I recently had a chance to try this menu at the Kangan of The Westin Goregaon. The 18^th floor restaurant shares its space with another restaurant called Seasonal Taste which offers multi cuisine fare. Both the restaurants collectively offer a spectacular view of the Mumbai skyline and one can’t stop feeling mesmerized by this breath-taking view.

We started our tasting with a sampling of the Ghosht Nezze Kebab (Rs.1200) which was essentially Shami kebabs with a distinct nutty flavour from the pine nuts. What made it stand out were the cheese and the onion crunch which came as an added element to the otherwise soft melt in the mouth nutty kebab. It surely set the right mood for the rest of the evening. Nalli ke Kebab (Rs.1650), served next, was a bit denser in flavour as compared to the simplicity of the Nezze Kebabs. Kalmi Kalandar (Rs.1000), a Tandoori chicken drumstick dish, was well made. The tangy spicy marinade had properly impregnated the meat. The Tawa Surmai Churan Masala (Rs.1300) was a bit too oily for my taste despite being right on the spice quotient.

The chef had also brought us a portion of Dahi ke Kebabs to taste which I found to be much better than the ones served at restaurants around Mumbai- very soft with subtle flavours of cardamom. The scene, however, was completely stolen by the Kacchi Haldi and Churan ka Parantha (Rs. 200) which the chef served with this kebab. A very flaky parantha doused with some haldi and churan mix which created a tangy, crispy medley inside the mouth. Absolutely must try! Another great was the Khatte Meethe Aloo which was exactly how the name suggests. This is part of their regular menu.

The Khatte Daal ka Shorba brought a smile to my face as it took me back to an old friend’s recipe of Mulligatawny soup. The sweetish soup with a tempering of garlic and ghee was extremely well balanced and a perfect dish for the soul on a dreary winter evening.

In the mains, the Nalli Nihari (Rs.1300) was well made where the meat was tender and literally falling off the bone and the gravy soft and mellow with its intense flavours. The Daal Adhaal (Rs. 750) was a very homely preparation of green daal from Punjab. I personally didn’t like the ginger and onion pieces coming in my mouth but it certainly took me back to my nanihaal in my childhood days.

Daal Kangan (Rs.800) is the traditional makhni daal cooked over slow fire and is quite comparable to the famous Daal Bukhara – this was served along with a bunch of breads from the Kangan kitchen of which the Multi Grain-Jalapeno parantha (Rs.250) was one which I found most unique and delicious.

The star of the meal, most certainly, was the Hyderabadi Kacche Gosht ki Biryani (Rs. 1150). This biryani came in its own sealed haandi and I fail to describe through mere words, the intense aroma that wafted from it the moment the haandi was opened ! Despite having eaten several dishes by then, the stomach growled and rumbled at the sight and smells of this beautiful masterpiece. Long grained basmati married with tender soft mutton pieces and aromatic spices – a match made in heaven.

We closed off our massive meal with a Hyderabadi Khubani ka Meetha (Rs.550) and a very interesting Gulab ki Kheer (Rs.550). The desserts were very well done, but my culinary orgasm had been reached with the biryani itself – hence, I couldn’t enjoy these desserts as much as I would have liked to though I did polish them off.

All in all, it was an evening well spent in the glorious company of the new Executive Chef of Westin, Rahul Dhavale and the genius troika of chefs from the Westin kitchens of Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune dishing out some extremely memorable dishes. With a menu that’s priced quite reasonably, the restaurant gives all the correct reasons to diners to go give it a dekko.

Ratings (Out of 5)

Food: 4 | Ambience: 4 | Service: 3.5 | Overall: 4

Meal for two: Rs.4500| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Timings: 12.30 pm am till 1.30 am

Happy Hours : 7.00 pm till 12.00 am | Wheelchair Access : Yes

Address: 18^th Floor, The Westin Mumbai Garden City, International Business Park, Oberoi Garden City, Goregaon East, Mumbai

Tel: 02267361830, +91 9004661088

This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgment and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review, but readers need to consider this review keeping this fact in mind.