Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XXIII

8 8 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Many regions of India are represented as well. Normally, Indian restaurants tend to be predominantly North Indian; that’s what most people around the world expect when they think of Indian food. Tamba’s menu does have North Indian influences, but includes flavour profiles and ingredients from regions of southern, eastern and western India as well. For example, it may be surprising to see raw fish dishes on the menu – but there are parts of India where people do eat a lot of raw fish. It’s not something you’d normally associate with an Indian restaurant, but it’s a perfect example of the unexpected delights to be found on the Tamba menu – Indian at its heart, but with a fresh new perspective. Indian food has always been about sharing, especially among families. But the typical sharing meal tends to be two or three large dishes: a biriyani, a vegetable or meat dish, perhaps some rice and bread. The sharing concept at Tamba is very different, more akin to a tapas style of dining. Rather than large main courses for one, the plates are smaller. For instance, a table of two might order six or seven dishes; a table of four could certainly go up to twelve. It’s a wonderful opportunity to really explore many different flavours and textures, to sample, share and compare an array of amazing tastes, lending itself perfectly to the social aspect of dining. To develop the menu, Team Tamba invested a lot of time in researching culinary scenes around the world, from New York to Delhi. In the UK, they visited all the top Indian restaurants in London, including Michelin-starred ones, as well as other types of cuisines, to understand what’s happening at that level. They went to Delhi and Mumbai to immerse themselves in real, authentic Indian flavours, fromhigh-end restaurants to the incredible Iranian street café culture in Mumbai. And of course, they frequented the many fabulous options cropping up around the UAE’s burgeoning foodie culture, including the Indian restaurants as well as Japanese French, and other popular cuisines in the Emirates. From the first bite, it’s clear that a lot of energy and thought has gone into the choices of ingredients and making sure that flavours and textures work together to create something spectacular. Sometimes, on the trendy food scene it can all seem to be smoke and mirrors: change for its own sake, or new twists on old favourites that sound interesting in theory but don’t actually work in execution. Tamba, on the other hand, integrates a creative yet rigorous approach to the menu, a focus on great flavours and high- quality, fresh ingredients, and a true passion for culinary innovation. For a perfect example of how Tamba has taken inspiration from typical Indian fare and elevated it, start with the king crab puri. Traditionally, pani puri (or golgappa, depending on what part of India you’re in) is a semolina shell stuffed with potato, onion, chickpea, tamarind sauce and a spiced water. Tamba takes that dish and completely reworks it – replacing the spiced water with spiced air, so you get the same flavour but without the water. And instead of the potato and onion, there’s succulent king crab leg, which has been pulled apart and stuffed inside the pani puri shell – it’s a wonderful modern take on a traditional street food classic, as well as a unique way to present king crab.