The  pita rules

Layla’s offers the rich taste of Mediterranean cuisine to Delhiites

When we say ‘pita’, the image that often springs up is not of one’s father, but of a piece of soft and folded bread. Like the pita, shawarma is so much a part of our food lexicon now that it is difficult to believe there was a time when few of us knew about these eastern Mediterranean or West Asian dishes.

Among the first to introduce Lebanese and related food was El Arab, which was on top of a Connaught Place restaurant that went through different avatars — from Cellar’s and Parlour to Degchi, DV8 and Pind Balluchi. El Arab exists no more, but in the last few years shawarma counters have come up in various parts of the city.

Despite the boom, there are few West Asian restaurants in Delhi. Once in a while, you can find some niche food delivery outlets offering delicacies from the region. I remember in particular the Yemeni mandi chicken rice delivered by Sassy Begum. This is a dish of fragrant rice, served with a large piece of roasted chicken. It caught my eye a few days ago while I was looking for something interesting to order for dinner. This was on the menu of a place called Layla’s Shawarma and Middle Eastern Kitchen (L 27, ground floor, Zamrudpur, Greater Kailash 1; and G 28 Green Park). The other dishes on the menu sounded good too. So I asked for a plate of the Yemeni rice (₹395), Lebanese fried chicken with hummus (₹245) with pita bread, juicy lamb with hummus and lafa bread (₹275), fattoush salad (₹245) and Layla’s special Lebanese cheesecake (₹275).

The food came with a complimentary helping of potato fries. We had a memorable dinner, for the food was light, yet deliciously flavoursome. I started with the fattoush salad — and thought it was simply superb. It had fresh pieces of lettuce in it, along with cucumber, tomatoes, black olives, and tiny rolls of crispy bread. It came with a syrupy pomegranate dressing and had a delightful minty taste.

The rice — aromatic and mildly flavoured with saffron and peppered with nuts — was splendid, too. The chicken that came with it was crispy on the outside, and juicy within. The lamb, shaved from the shawarma grill, was moist and mildly spicy. The chicken had been crumbed and fried,andthen cut into strips.

The lamb and the chicken came with a good helping of hummus, creamy and thick, yet light to taste. The pita and lafa were soft, and, dipped in the hummus, went very well with the meats. I ended the meal with a cheesecake, full of bits of dates, figs, and nuts and flavoured with honey (but a bit heavy).

I called up Layla’s the next day and was told that the GK outlet is purely for delivery or takeaway while the one in Green Park has a small sitting area, too. It is open from noon to 11 p.m. On the menu are, among other items, various kinds of shawarmas (with meats, or with falafel, harissa, and paneer), cheeseburger in a pita, pulled pork pita, and kababs. The prices are reasonable — I paid ₹1,539 including delivery charges.