Zura, a bistro and bakery, has been in operations for a couple of years ago in Sector 29 SCO, which till Cyberhub opened, was Gurgaon’s hub for eating out. When the proprietor Nidhi Wadhwa suggests I taste their Navratri platters, my first reaction is a resolute no. Not only am I not keeping Navaratri fast, my previous encounter with Navaratri Thali was not a very good one. But Nidhi persists, and before I could change my mind, despatches Zura’s European Navaratri Platter and the Indian Navaratri Platter to my home. Left with no room to manoeuvre, I do taste the platters, and to my surprise, like some of the dishes.
Let me start with the European platter (Rs 599). It has Rosti potato with spinach ragout, oven roasted pumpkin hummus with crispy kuttu chips, grilled vegetable skewer with spicy cilantro salsa, basil stuffed cottage cheese steak with tomato coulis, baked potato and a fruit salad. What immediately stands out is the superb quality of the paneer which is fresh and moist. The pumpkin hummus is an interesting experiment. The basil stuffed paneer steak with tomato coulis is quite an enjoyable dish. Baked potatoes are a sinful treat. Kuttu chips are good time pass material. Cilantro salsa brightens up the platter. However the grilled vegetable skewers are too dry, and the rosti potato fails to get the right texture.
Coming to the Indian platter (Rs 499) it has Jeera Aloo, paneer aur tamatar ki subzi , pumpkin raita, navratri rice, Sabut Dana Kheer, navratri vegetable pakore, Kuttu Ki Poori. The paneer tomto sabzi is delicious and so is sabudana kheer. The buttermilk is refreshing. The rest is what one would expect in a competent Navaratri thali.
So, in a nutshell, if you are keeping Navaratri diet and have had a bit of an overdose of the usual suspects, here are some options that can be considered.
Timing: 12 Noon to 11 PM| Address: SCO 40, Sector 29, Gurgaon | Phone: +919971930078 / +91997347799
