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Desi Aroma is a restaurant that you could visit or order from for a delightful food experience. Specialising in kebabs, biryanis and non-veg offerings, Desi Aroma is your friendly neighbourhood diner, with Indian and Indianised Chinese offerings. They also have a few regional dishes on offer with enough choices for each and every one. With Indian-type seating in one section of the outdoor area, and a well-lit comfortable chair-table set up on the other side, it’s a decent place for a quiet night with friends.

SERVICE: The staff is humble, and eager to serve all their guests.

FOOD: The start of our food journey was with a complimentary welcome drink made of orange and Indian masalas, which is served to everyone who visits Desi Aroma. We tried Adrakwale Bhune Tamatar Ka Shorba, Gosht Pudina Pata Tari and Zafrani Murgh Shorba. Traditionally, shorba is a broth of meat simmering in boiling water along with salt and flavoured with spices and herbs. Popular across the Middle East & Asia, it now also has vegetarian variants.

Murg Lebanese Tikka: Chicken Tikka served on a sizzler plate with Lebanese sauce. We preferred chicken tikka without the sauce as it tasted good on its own. The Chickpea sauce was a little undercooked.

Jalandhari Paneer Tikka: Big pieces of paneer marinated in Malwani Masala were alright, paneer lovers would enjoy this dish.

Butter Chilli Prawns: These were chef’s special for the week, big sized prawns, well marinated and well cooked, could be ordered.

Chicken Baida Roti: Minced chicken stuffed in a roti coated with a layer of egg, this is filling on its own.

Chilly Mushroom: A sweet and spicy preparation. We enjoyed it

Murgh Mirch Kabab: Marinated chicken chunks topped with roasted and pounded black pepper, the pepper added a zing to the dish.

Nalli Nihari: This was good in quantity and taste, and goes well with Taftan, a small fluffy roti made from dough kneaded with egg, banana, and a lot of ghee.

Murg Makahanwala: Classic Butter Chicken, goes well with naan roti or taftan.

Dal Desi Aroma: Whole black urad daal makhani with orange-coloured gravy, tasted about alright.

Karachi Karahi Paneer: Paneer pieces in thick gravy with roti or naan, it’s a delight for Paneer lovers.

Mongolian Noodles: We had veg and non-veg preparations with glass noodles slightly sweet in taste - could be skipped.

Biryani: We tasted the Murgh Matka Dum Biryani and the Sabzi Dum Biryani, both the Biryanis were the highlight of the meal, they were done really well, the rice was cooked well, it was flavourful and not overpowering with the Masala or Kewda. The aroma of the spices and ghee was just right, we went for seconds.

Malai Phirni: Thick firni topped with dry fruits and nuts, this was heavy and also a little sweet. Malai Kulfi: Tasty kulfi, not very sweet but creamy and delicious.

Shahi Tukda: Tasty and creamy rabri served on crispy fried bread squares, this was another delicious delight.

RECOMMENDATION: Do try the Shahi Tukda and Biryanis!

(Our food critic Vidhya Tiwari reviews restaurants, food, cafés etc in conjunction with team Pune Times Mirror)

Drop an email to relishingreviews@punemirror.com to get your restaurant reviewed by our experts

MEAL COST: Rs 1,200 for 2 people ADDRESS: Shop no 10/11 Aditi Mall, Baner Road, Baner, Pune TIMINGS: 12 PM TO 4 PM, 7 PM TO 1 AM