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Karim’s meets its match: Hail Al-Jawahar
Here’s my conclusion: There’s no contest.
The legendary Karim’s - that bastion of Ramzan delights, rich Muslim food and epicurean fantasies - is markedly inferior to its lesser-known competitor next door, Al-Jawahar.I say this with all humility on behalf of my vastly experienced taste buds, honed by years of eating meat of every animal, cut, grade and organ; spiced, boiled, broiled, baked and bland.
Crowds, lights, bargains and other delights on the lane opposite Jama Masjid's gate no. 1
I went to Old Delhi last night, stepping out of the Chawri Bazar metro station and making what must be one of the most startling transitions anywhere from the first world to the third.
The Chawri Bazar metro station was one of the Delhi Metro’s most prodigious engineering feats-the creation of a metro station under one of the world’s most congested markets. When you emerge, it’s hard to find motorised transport, not even an autorickshaw.
As always, we piled into cycle rickshaws and joined a human-powered convoy, rolling slowly along the incredibly congested avenue, which is a great destination for bargains in hand-made paper, gift packaging and sanitary ware.
This fine gentleman is the owner of a milk store nearby. The Ghalib era isn't fully dead
A few twists and turns later, and we were outside Jama Masjid’s gate number 1, the place to be on a humid Ramzan evening. Based on very little, I convinced everyone that we should give Karim’s a miss and try Al-Jawahar instead.
The name always intrigued me, and the gentlemen behind the counter confirmed the story I had heard: It is named after Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1947, India’s first Prime Minister had dropped by for a meal and thus did it become Jawahar.
I have no idea what it was called previously. At some point, they added the Al.
But a romantic name can only get you so far. Finally, it’s all down to the food.
Let’s see, we - five of us - had Badam pasanda, chicken afghani (well grilled non-spicy chicken for my good friend Javed), shammi kabab, kheema, tamatar ghosh (a revelation, quite non-oily), kheema nan, dal, and paneer masala (my wife is vegetarian, but she struggled along) and their roomali and wonderful tandoori rotis, much richer than the ones you get in snooty New Delhi.
The last seekh kabab. Nearly forgot to take a picture!
Oh, and how can I forget the seekh! Amazing. Soft, juicy and obviously made with a good cut of meat. We ordered it last, but it was the highlight of the meal. The shammis were okay.
I like the taste of a good meal to linger, so I refused to consider the phirni. But my friends said it was very good.
So, why is Al-Jawahar better than Karim’s?
1. The food is better. The spices appear fresher. The cuts of meat are definitely better. I just found it tastier.
2. The service is infinitely better. The staff is attentive, patient, careful and they smile a lot. Karim’s service is often sloppy.
3. It’s cleaner than Karim’s. We went to the third floor (second floor if you’re from Bombay) and the walls were freshly painted and the room efficiently airconditioned.
The remains of a fine meal at Al-Jawahar
After the Al-Jawahar dinner, we drifted out and spent a slow evening wandering through the market, ablaze with light, crowds, characters, colours and bargains.
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
Loading ...Posted by Samar Halarnkar on Friday, September 18, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Filed under Food, My Daily Bread · Tagged al-jawahar, Chawri Bazar, Delhi Metro, Jama Masjid old delhi, Karim's, ramzan
I don’t know about Al-Jawahar, but since my last few visits to Karim’s, I completely agree with you. I think the Karim’s experience is no longer what it used to be, and based purely on what I tasted the last two times I went there, I’d say it’s rather overrated. The mutton stew was average to say the least. It was supposed to be delicately flavoured, but I was unable to find much flavouring at all! The meat was very tough too. Again, the biryani (not a specialty, but one expects good stuff from Karim’s in general!) was greasy and the pieces of meat were very disappointing. The only thing that lived up to its name was the roti - soft and fluffy. Of course one still doesn’t feel very cheated at Karim’s if one goes in Ramzan time. The atmosphere and overall experience almost make up for what’s missing in the taste department. Thanks for the recommendation though - I think I’ll try Al-Jawahar next time!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
My sentiments exactly about Karim’s.
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HI
You are very lucky person. You are one of the rare people who enjoy good food and appreciate the effort behind it. And to top it, you are a good cook
All the best and keep blogging
hari
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
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Slurrrrrrp!
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samar- you seem to have wasted one precious piece of the seekh when it was so good!!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
It was eaten up immediately after the photo Vinod!
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Jawahar was very famous for its Biryani. Karim was famous for mutton korma. In mid seventies the two joints always vied with each other. Of late, Karim’s dishes have become too greasy. Jawahar suffered a set back during late ninetees when the restaurant almost shut down because of family feud. Of late haven’t been to either places in Chawri Bazaar. Your blog has tickled the taste buds. A meal at Jawahars should be followed by Daulat ki chaat. But for that you will have to walk down to Golcha through the by lanes of walled city !!
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Anil Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Just one more point. Karim is famous for its Nihari. You will not get it these days. Will have to come after Eid. It is available in the morning and most of it is sold off before 10.00 AM. Sunday is the best. After breakfast you can stroll in the walled city to explore other eateries. Jawahars some how does not find a mention in the HT city guide !!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Jawahar does Nihari, but only in the morning of course
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Must go to Al-Jawahar, but first have to locate it. Where, give directions from Karim’s. Want to eat Coorgi pork, where to find in Delhi?
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
As the third-line of the blog says, it’s next to Karim’s.
Coorgi pork? Find a Coorgi.
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Suman Bolar Reply:
September 20th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Kodava. Or Coorg. NOT Coorgi. They will kill you.
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I completely agree, there is no comparison, it is far more superior. Let me share another secret about Al-Jawahar - it is one of the few joints in the Jama Masjid area open even on the day of Id, it has been my personal experience during the last two years. The atmosphere is awesome !
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Indeed. You can get paya and nihari in the morning
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Arpana Kumar Ahuja Reply:
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Thanks to Nagendar’s post, we decided to finally go to Jama Masjid Area on Eid, and thanks to Samar’s post, we decided to finally try Al-Jawahar. We used to always wonder how this restaurant was on our several trips to Karim’s and well last night did away with the curiousity::-)….and it did not quite kill us but……was not as good as you and others said. I still maintain that Karim’s has better food and service too. The seekhs were not well well done, with the insides almost raw and despite our saying so they did not bother to have it rectified. The mutton stew came with a gravy in which the onions were undone (another dish under cooked!). Yes, I do agree that the meat cuts were good and very soft. I would like to give a benefit of doubt and put last nights experience down to them being short staffed due to Eid. So will go another time and then give final verdict:-)
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:40 am
Sorry to hear that Arpana. Maybe we got a good day and you got a bad one.
This is one, “moonh-mein-pani aa gaya” blog, Samar! Thanks! Will traipse down to Bade Miyan’s or Ayub’s tonight to whet the appetite! I used to think nothing could better Karim’s, but with your recommendation will definitely try Al-Jawahar.
Love the genteel man’s pic in all his finery. Reminds me of a Sufi whirling dervish!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:39 am
Thanks Pervin. He was a very pleasant gentleman and encouraged photographs. My wife told him, “Aap to bahut khoobsoorat hain. Photo khichen aapke saath?” He replied: “Arre, aap bhi to khoobsoorat hain. Aayien, baithiyen”
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I’ve seen the Al-Jawahar many times since I was Kapil Sibal’s only junior Chamber colleague and accompanied him all through his campaign in Chandni Chowk, but did not deign to visit it, though I went to Karim’s many times. I even suffered a bad bout of jaundice after his election, thanks to all the stuff that I ate there. I’ve been disappointed with Karim’s too and find this suggestion very valuable. Interesting stuff regarding Jawahar being named after Pandit ji… thanks for the trivia and the details.
One thing that you missed writing about is the transition from 21st century to the 20th century as you switch from Metro to the cycle rickshaw. Quite fantastic actually.
Many thanks to Suman Bolar for making a very apt intervention that’ll warm the cockles of every Coorg’s heart. But if you think there’s a sizeable number of people who would like to eat Coorg Pork, we could organise a food festival… Seriously! Incidentally, I sent out an invite to Mr. Harlankar on FB for a Coorg feast around 30th August, which did not recieve any response.
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Er Brijesh, I have written about the transition from 21st to medieval in this blog. Take a look.
As for your invitation on Facebook, I did reply much later: As I said, I don’t check Facebook regularly and I was on holiday with no access to any electronic devices. I’m most accessible on email: samar11@yahoo.com or samar@hindustantimes.com
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Hi Samar,
After the Rickshaw Run (remember I’d mailed you about it?) ended I was in Delhi for a few days. I went to the Nizamuddin Karim’s and it was pretty spectacular. Have you been to that branch? Is the Old Delhi one better. Will definitely try out Al-Jawahar next time!
By the way have you been to Novelty Bakery? It’s in Jungpura and serves the most amazing ham sandwiches. There’s a mini diner behind the main facade of the bakery and it was simply superb. I’m sure you’ve been!
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Hi Samar,
I hav always believed that Jawahar serves better food than Karim’s, nice too know that u agree.Btw der is a Jawahar and Al -Jawahar which one u believe is better
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Al Jawahar is competent with most of the stuff and, obviously, has better service. But Karim’s still scores on some of its dishes - ishtew, burra kabab, and both in nihari and paya (for Nihari and paya, I would admit that I have a low chilli-heat tolerance, and Al-Jawahar gets out of my league on that count). Their khamiri rotis are good as well. Biriyanis at Karim’s are horrible (they are horrible almost all around Delhi, specially at most famous places), as is their service (is ’supercilious’ the word?)
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