When we were invited to try the newly opened restaurant Kairali AlTanoor, we were expecting all Kerala food which I had recently fallen in love with as a dear friend was stuffing me with her mouthwatering appam, potato stew, kalathappams, puttu and a whole range of coconut laced delicacies. But though the name suggests originally from Kerala, it’s a Manglorean based restaurant chain which is actually a multicuisine restaurant. Now, mind you, when they say multicuisine they mean it! You will find here an extensive menu covering the whole range of cuisines from South India – Kerala, Mangalorean coastal cuisine to North India and Chinese.
With 700 dishes and some that are quite unique and others you rarely find elsewhere in Qatar, you might have a hard time choosing what to order. Feel free to take suggestions from their smiling, attentive and well-informed staff.
Thankfully we were trying out a set menu for dinner. First arrived a piping hot chicken lemon and coriander soup however this was only lukewarm on the tastebuds.
But just wait as I start on the starters. The chicken cheese rolls were presented as their best seller. Two bites into it and then as the lovely cheese came oozing out and mixed with the perfectly balanced sauce enveloping the tender chicken rolls, you will without a doubt know why it is and should be a best seller. A big hit!
Next up were the Prawn in butter and garlic. Good stuff again only mildly paled against the mighty chicken rolls. Both of these into Chinese dishes were MSG free to boot too. (Most of their dishes are MSG free as we were informed)
Once we were done relishing, we reached for the main course (First to take pictures of course!)
The chicken patiala was quite a surprise with the incredibly tender chicken breast covered in a layer of fried egg. Served over were two gravies one red and one green from the spinach. Delicious with the naans.
For rice, they chose chicken chola rice for us to try. It was strongly reminiscent of our home made hyderabadi chicken biryani and hence totally hit home with us. The heat was only from spices and the chicken pieces were marinated with a base of cheese and simple salt and white pepper. Dotted generously with nuts, served with raiata and lemon pickle, you will definitely not go wrong if you order this one.
The Chief Food Architect of the place, Mr. Rashad Rahim informed us about his venture here in Qatar. They serve up their huge range of menu items all through their 7 restaurant chain with chefs handpicked from different regions of India. They specialise in sea food and you will find every locally available grub from the sea on their menu. (Did you hear of Doha’s first mussel biryani? Am excited to try that soon!)
As of now we were full Alhamdulillah save for dessert. We were suggested to try their homemade kaju ice cream and kaju rabri. Yum! How can anything with cashews not be good. However we found the cashew rabri to be on the sweeter side. It seemed like all our comments were taken quite seriously so hopefully when you try it it will be just right. They were adept with the level of spices as well, accommodating our request for medium heat level in all the dishes. They even got the lemon soda right! I didn’t have to ask for more syrup or more salt or something as I usually have to.
To finish we topped it with a colourful fruity refreshing and very filling Kairali Falooda. A perfect dessert for a great meal.
Prices: Once you have accepted the fact that eating out in Doha is an expensive affair you will feel that the prices here actually mean towards reasonable.
Also check out their launch offer for 10 riyals for a lunch thali. The mister already has plans in place for trying it out the next time I oversleep and don’t pack him his lunch as the restaurant is quite near his workplace.
It’s a great place for family dining. Their family section is well secluded and can be screened up for more privacy. A must visit place.
Discalimer: We were invited guests of the restaurant. Our meal was free but this blog post is not. It requires time, effort, money and opinions. All of which belong to the author.