Located in the same area as Lamcy Plaza in Oud Metha, Punjabi By Nature offers you pretty authentic Punjabi food. I was on my fourth edition of #Nomwithme with Momna of My Taste Perspective and was very happy to have her company. It turned out to be a very interesting tasting, because we could then compare the Indian and Pakistani palate in terms of Punjabi food preferences. For those of you who aren’t aware, Punjab is a state that was split into east and west during India’s and Pakistan’s independence in 1947, with the eastern part remaining in India and the western part to Pakistan. It’s interesting to see that the cuisine has definitely evolved on both counts!
The outlet in itself is not very huge, but it is slightly quirky with funky posters everywhere, giving the otherwise plain outlet a personality.
We started off our meal with a little shot of their tongue twisting lassi (now try to read this really, really fast) Chatti wali lassi pede di naal.
It was full of sugary goodness and quite heavy in texture. What we had here was just a sample, but originally it comes in a big hunking glass, true Punjabi style. I really enjoyed it, but I suggest if you order it – share so you can sample the rest of the dishes.
We were then offered a couple of starters.
This included the hariyali chicken tikka (top left), the bhune aloo di chaat, the Amritsari paneer tikka and the Amritsari fish.
Out of these, I really enjoyed the tangy and flavourful bhune aloo di chaat. The dish is made out of tamarind and fried potatoes, which makes it delightful. I usually steer clear potatoes as a starter (unless its fries, of course) but this was a nice surprise.
The Amritsari paneer tikka was delicious too, not pillow-y soft, but still delicious. I found both the Amritsari fish and the hariyali chicken tikka too salty for my liking. Despite the defences from the chef and the manager that it adds to the ‘chatpata-ness’, the salt was too distracting for me and took away from the other flavours. They then offered the bhatti chicken instead.
Nailed this one. It emerged to be our favourite dish of the lot, and for me..definitely the winner of the whole tasting session. The chicken was tender and flavorful in every bite.
Bring on the curries!
We tried a selection of curries that included a rogan josh, wadiyan wala paneer, dal makhani and of course, the chicken tikka masala. Out of these, I really enjoyed the wadiyan wala paneer, which had these little, flavourful lentil dumplings in them. It’s definitely not something found on a Punjabi restaurant menu anywhere in Dubai. The dal makhani was lighter than usual, but I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to dal and I enjoy the heavy, butter adorned dal makhani. The chicken tikka masala was indeed delicious, the rogan gosh not as rich as I’d like it. They have a great many rotis that were quite delicious.
The owner mentioned that they import most of their ingredients from India in order to recreate the authentic taste of Punjab, which was understandable.
We closed our meal with a saffron firni, which I totally wolfed down. DELISH.
Overall, an enjoyable dining experience at Punjabi by Nature.
DISCLOSURE: Received a complimentary meal in exchange for a review.
LOCATION: Opposite Lamcy Plaza, in the same line as Barbecue Delights, Oud Metha
Update: As of May 2022, this establishment has been shut down.