United Kitchens Of India
I heard about this place for the first time when a good friend and food lover- Nazeef was invited for a Zomato foodie meet up to UKI. He sat for some time explaining the ‘no-garam masala‘ food experience.
Prelude to a weekend, I had 3 restaurants in mind for dinner-based on the type of cuisines served- Parsi, Bengali and then when it came to UKI- 7 types of Indian cuisines served under one roof!!! It had to be UKI (although I intend to visit the former restaurants in the coming weeks).
UKI is located on road no 45, Jubilee Hills- a calm and peaceful locality. I would suggest making a reservation especially when you’re planning to visit in numbers. Getting a table would be a little time consuming- why wait and lose your appetite?? The ambiance is splendid with a footbridge leading to the entrance- you can also walk alongside the bridge (nice location for “selfies”). The dine-in was spacious- there was also the section where you could dine-out on a sofa/couch- typically when you visit in a group. We were seated in a table of four, close to the door which lead to the outdoor section- this way I was able to click a few pictures of the former. The server/service was prompt/polite and helped us recommend most of the things we ordered. Let’s start with the “Gulp” experience-
Virgin Mojito– I could have tried other mock tails or soda (varieties of flavored soda which were available) but this has long been my alternative to drinking a cocktail (it’s all in the head). Yet again, the mojito prepared was very refreshing and sweet; In fact I had two of these.
Soup
Sweet Corn Chicken Soup (Chinese)– There are times when the flavor of a soup can go wrong and times when it can go right, but almost remote are the chances that the taste can be sapid, extremely well prepared, hats off to the Potager.
Starters: ** Munch experience **
Kodi Roast (Telengana/Andhra)- stir fried chicken with curry leaves and pepper corn – It is a no-brainer that there are very few ingredients in Indian cuisine that can turn a foodie on than the piercing smell of fried curry leaves- this dish was cooked to perfection, chicken was soft and cooked just right, spices were optimum to deliver the authentic Andhra flavor.
Seekh Kebab (Punjab) – Without a doubt, this is the best “Seekh Kebab” I have tasted in my short but exciting food journey in Hyderabad. Take a bite into it and the taste of the ingredients like coriander, cumin, chili were apparent and heavenly- also the meat was really tender.
Curry Leaves Marinated Prawns (BBQ) – Although this dish figured in the BBQ list, the part ‘Curry Leaves Marinated‘ was very much Indian. The fried garlic multiplied the taste to a whole new level- but then again there was this slight acidic taste which may have been because of the lime juice(In my personal opinion could have been avoided).
Main Course
Sambar Rice with Dal Wada (Andhra/Telengana)- I decided to try this after reading a good friend and big-time foodie’s review. One of the few times I would experiment on vegetarian food yet, this was really delicious; the Dal Wada served as a side was cooked beautifully- crispy and soft on the inside.
Dessert
UKI Insanity Trinity Cake
The list was short but featured appealing names like the famous Panna Cotta- which I did not try after reading a review that it wasn’t great. After having such an amazing experience so far, the foodie in me was inclined to not experimenting any further. I tried their “Must Try” trinity cake which again would have been heaven for someone with a sweet tooth. For me, it was alright considering that I had a very “spice-filled” main course/starter experience earlier.
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Here I was all set to give them a 4 on 5- very few restaurants get that from me. I must say that this restaurant quite comfortably hit my “foodie” checklist and more, because of the fact that UKI flaunts cuisines from 7 diverse regions of India, you will have to visit this restaurant multiple times to taste all of that is on the menu -So, I am definitely coming back. A heads up, the next time around I’m planning to try some Kerala food.
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