Why there is only one Bukhara

I first ate at the Bukhara way back in 1986. That too Sikandari Raan cooked by the legendary Chef Madan Lal Jaiswal.

- SANDEEP GOYAL

Honestly, I had never tasted a lentil dish quite like Dal Bukhara till then. I was amazed that dal could taste so delicious.

The menu was fairly spartan—the Barrah Kababs were there, and even back then, it boasted Tandoori Aloo, the Naan Bukhara and Phirni. The experience of an open kitchen was a novelty in the 1980s. The interiors—a harmonious blend of rustic elegance, featuring stone walls adorned with traditional carpets, rough-hewn trestle tables, wooden stools, along with the warm glow of copper pots and urns, contributed to the restaurant's unique aesthetics. The Hussain painting that hangs on one of the stone pillars these days was yet to be gifted by the mercurial artist to the famous eatery.

The food and beverage team at Maurya wanted the now-famous wooden menu to be redesigned. I was a rookie at the ad agency HTA then. Anil Channa, the general manager of the hotel, was there himself at lunch to brief me. To my untrained and still inexperienced advertising mind, fiddling with the wooden menu seemed like an unnecessary exercise.