When I hear the name “Karama” the one thing that springs to my mind is this small residential locality in Dubai I visited, which is home to Indians, Pakistanis and Arabs,a wonderful close-knit community living in peace and harmony together.

Maybe Karama means dignity as per the actual Arabic translation but in my opinion this restaurant aims to that bring together the best of the Arabic, Karachi and Indian cuisine in similar harmony under one roof for us Bangaloreans.

Karama is a sister concern of the Empire group of Hotels who are known for their kebabs, biriyani, shawarma albeit being pocket friendly.

Having been here once before with a large group I did not have the opportunity to try many of their signature dishes and jumped at the opportunity to come here again during the FBAB meet up with fellow Bloggers and Foodies.

My only grouse with eating out in Frazer Town is the lack of parking and I must say they have that well covered with option of a few parking slots in front of the restaurant and a valet service at night.

The ambience is quite pleasing especially when one enters as they have thoughtfully displayed their signature dishes be it breads, gravies, biriyanis or desserts. This serves dual purpose of food décor as well as food presentation to customers who are unaware of what they would like to order.

They have 2 floors of service where the ground floor caters mostly to large groups or families with the traditional Majlis where cushions are placed on the floor and the entire group sits together on these cushioned areas and have their food together. They also have large tables with regular chairs and a sofa area to accommodate those who prefer to have food the usual way. The top floor is absolutely a delight especially for a first timer as the hanging lamps and glass wall décor makes the place look like something from a different region altogether.

BEVERAGES :

At the outset, to welcome our gathering we were Served Qahwah and Mexican Soda.

Mexican Soda –  a mocktail, was interesting with a bright green colour and a full green chilly adding some spice to the entire concoction.

Qahwah – is an Arabic coffee which is basically a black coffee but a milder version than what I am normally used to. That said, the coffee was just right, as a stronger coffee would just quell your appetite.

SOUPS:

What we call soups they call Shorbas were next in line. We were served Yakhni chicken, Tomato dhanya and Dal Shorbha. All the Shorbas were served in nice looking bowls though not necessarily soup bowls, it was nice to see the effort put in by their team in trying out different things. Though I liked all the shorbas, I personally liked the Chicken Shorbah which had yummy small pieces of chicken and was not too filling.

SALADS:

Now I would never order a Salad especially when I come to a restaurant like Karama to devour their hard core Non vegetarian dishes. But I must say that the salads they served made me rethink my entire outlook about eating vegetarian here.

Salads served were – Fattoush, Tabouleh and Russian salad.

The first 2 salads were something quite different for me and I completed enjoyed them. The Russian salad was also very good adding a bit of a Euro feel.

STARTERS:

This is one course, which absolutely cannot be missed and is always eagerly awaited.

Since we had a good mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foodies, they served a combination to suit both.

VEGETARIAN

Among the veg I only tried the Dahi kebab and it was very good.

DAHI KEBAB

CHEESE HARA BHARA

SPICY POTATO

NON VEGETARIAN STARTERS

AL FAHAM DAJAJ

BBQ FISH BONELESS

RUBIYAN MESHWI (PRAWNS)

DAJAJ FAJITA

Being a hard core non-veggie, I did have all the non veg starters with the top stars going out to the Rubiyan Meshwi as I am a prawn lover and of course the Al Faham chicken.

MAIN COURSE:

Sometimes you just want to skip the main course and either have more starters or jump ahead to desserts. I ensure you that is a big mistake as these guys have some mouth watering veg and non veg gravies served along with the famous Karachi Naan.

The Karachi Naan is quite large and though deceptive looking, the taste is excellent and texture is soft and fluffy. This was served with Dal Makhni which is a personal favoutire and I must mention that this Dal Makhni was possibly one of the best I have tasted in years.

Other side gravies were Rogan Josh, Rara Murgh , Tawa Bheja, Palak Paneer.

Among these dishes, the Bheja was quite good though it is an acquired taste and even many non vegetarians do not have the stomach for it.

The Murg gravy was also excellent and a great combination with the Karachi Naan.

Other breads served were Alu Kulcha and Kheema Naan. Both breads can be had as standalone items or with any of the gravies mentioned above.

They also have great number of rice options on what we normally call Biriyani and they call Kabsa and Mandi.

We were served the best of the lot – Karachi Biryani, Mandi Biryani, Punjabi Chicken Biryani, and Matar Pulao. All the biriyani’s had their own special flavour but I really liked the Punjabi Chicken Biriyani .

JUICES / MILKSHAKES:

To complete our meal we were served milkshakes and juices – Anjeer Milkshake, Abudi and Lebanese mocktail. Since I am lactose intolerant and cannot have milkshakes, I could not resist a small sip of all 3 drinks and must say the Lebanese drink was the best of the lot. Not too far behind was the Fig (Anjeer) milkshake.

DESSERTS:

No meal however rich or filling is complete without atleast a bit of something sweet and they did not disappoint.

Must try – Doodi ka halwa, Gajar halwa, Gulab jamu, Jalebi and Malpua with rabdi.

I must mention that our group of 16-17 foodies though a boisterous bunch was well looked after especially on a very busy Sunday afternoon.

Kudos to the management and staff as they are pros at handling large crowds so don’t forget to drop in here on your next family / group get together and I assure you they will not disappoint.

A personal thanks to Mrs. Ruhhi Singh, CMO of the Group whose enthusiasm is infectious in a wonderful way!