Tandoori Omakase makes a debut in South Delhi

INJA at The Manor fuses Indian and Japanese food, sourcing high quality ingredients like Jakhiya (wild mustard) from the Himalayas, black garlic from the North East, sesame from Khasi hills, and morel from Kashmir

Located inside The Manor — a luxury hotel in the South Delhi enclave of Friends Colony — where Indian Accent once stood, INJA has taken up a spot that not many have dared to: it is far away from any commercial activity.

But this is exactly why Dubai-based Atelier House Hospitality’s (AHH) chose the location for its debut project in India. (The group is known for its upscale restaurants in the Middle East North America region with award-winning brands, including Michelin-starred 11 Woodfire, Marea Dubai, Mohalla, RSVP, and Tides Bar.) “We had been thinking of coming to India for a long time. When we found out that Manav Thadani, our India partner, was looking for someone to run the restaurant space at The Manor, we knew it was time,” says Panchali Mahendra, president of AHH.

It took a year for the team to transform the space with architect Samar Zakhem. While the structure is sparse, Panchali has personally worked with local artisans to create art and accents that add warmth. Shibori wall pieces, pottery and ceramics, as well as a custom wallpaper with Japanese motifs, reflect the coming together of Japanese and Indian sensibilities.

A marriage of Indian and Japanese

“INJA was born when Chef Advait Anantwar came to us with the idea of introducing a tandoori Omakase menu. After many deliberations, it evolved into a concept that brings together the best of Japanese and Indian cuisines,” says Panchali. It is hard to visualise an Indian-Japanese menu until you actually taste it. We try it at a preview dinner shortly after the opening.

The first dish on the 10-course curated menu, Alaskan King Crab Raj Kachori, is an amalgamation of mango chutney, avocado espuma and ito togarashi inside a raj kachori casing; the kachori shell adds the crunch, and the salmon roe, ikura, pops in your mouth.

The other two cold plates include papad and achaar, made with a base of mushroom and rice papads, seabass tartare and fermented mango pickle. The accompanying cocktail, Ume Highball, made with Umeshu whiskey, gondhoraj lemon and pomelo, is tad sweet but goes well with the food.