From the moment you step into the newly opened Cabritoz Arabic restaurant, it feels as though you have been teleported to a Middle East land. The walls are cleverly peppered with photographs of intricate Arabic designs, ornaments and decorative mirrors. Arabic lamps descending from the ceiling add colours to the décor. Ditching the conventional fine dining methods, the restaurant has cabins veiled with curtains of pastel colours. The food is served in these cabins on low-height tables.
Our journey of the Arabian delicacies begins with a mutton soup. The thick-textured soup that was generously added with shreds of lamb would have been a perfect start had the chef been careful with the pepper. The spicy flavour from the pepper dominated the soup.
Arabian Nights A view of the cabins at the Cabritoz Arabic restaurant | Photo Credit: K_R_DEEPAK
Next on the table was the signature dish of the restaurant, mutton juicy mandi. With its roots in a classic Yemeni dish, the mandi is a traditional dish of meat, rice and spices. It is widely popular in Arabic peninsula and a now an integral part of their cuisine. Served in a thaal (a big plate), the mandi comes garnished with cashews, raisins, cucumbers and carrots. On a layer of saffron-flavoured rice are three pieces of mutton served with spicy condiments of tomato and mint. Traditionally, the meat in the mandi is cooked in a tandoor. However, the restaurant cooks it in a pressure cooker to keep the meat moist and juicy. The meat of the mutton juicy mandi, as the name suggests, was succulent and tenderly cooked in Arabic species. Both mutton and the rice had an underlying spicy flavour.
Visakhapatnam , Andhra Pradesh : 03/08/2018: Chicken Al Faham Mandi a dishe of Cabritoz Arabic Restaurant displayed at Visakhapatnam . Photo : K.R. Deepak | Photo Credit: K_R_DEEPAK
“Though pepper is an integral part of the cuisine, Arabic food is not very spicy and is largely bland. However, since people here prefer their food a bit on the spicier side, we add in more pepper to suit the local palate,” says Pawan Korlipara, owner of the restaurant.
Next in line is chicken al-faham mandi, which like the mutton mandi, is served with saffron-flavoured rice. Faham dishes consist of grilled or fried meat, which is usually chicken, mutton or fish. Biting into the chicken, marinated with Arabic spices and grilled to perfection on charcoal, is a delight. Apart from the mandi, the restaurant also serves tikkas and platters.