Located on the ground floor of picturesque Ajman Hotel, award-winning fine-dining Indian restaurant Bukhara is one of my favorite spots for delicious, authentic Indian cuisine sans all the modern-day gimmicks many other places tend to adopt these days.

Haven’t been to Bukhara yet? I have some great news for you… Bukhara has introduced a limited edition Summer Brunch that runs every Saturday from 1 pm to 4 pm. The menu changes every week, and features many menu favorites for as low as AED 150 per head. 

You can also upgrade to the alcoholic package for AED 180 which covers unlimited house beverages including beer (Beck’s and Foster), Rostov vodka, Gilbey’s gin, Old Monk rum and whiskey by William Lawson and Grant’s. They also do an interesting Jaljeera Gin cocktail that is ‘chatpatta’ tangy-sweet and covers up the strong hint of gin beautifully well.

 

We started off with the Chaat Corner where you are encouraged to make your own chaat. I had my fair share of Pani Puri, and my friend put together an interesting bowl of nibbles drizzled with tamarind sauce.

 

Two decadent platters of kebabs were sent hot and fresh out of the tandoor to our table. One was the non-vegetarian platter which featured an assortment of spicy skewered kebabs and battered fish fillet. The other was the vegetarian platter which included tandoori paneer, a vegetarian patty and battered mushrooms. The kebabs were succulently soft and well-marinated, but I have to admit I enjoyed the vegetarian platter even more, and especially so the mushrooms. The staff are happy to refill on the items you loved best.

 

The main-course had seven items including Jhinga (prawn) Biryani, Home-Style Chicken Curry, Shikandari Raan (Bukhara’s specialty leg of lamb), Daal Bukhara (slow-cooked buttered black lentil), Muttar Paneer (cottage cheese and peas curry) and Aloo Gobi. The menu is well-balanced for vegetarians and non-veg alike. The variety of items are not overly large but just adequate enough for diners to have a try of everything without being overly full.

My favorites from the main-course included the sinfully buttery, slow-cooked Daal Bukhara and the deliciously spiced, shredded lamb meat from the Shikandari Raan.

 

The dessert corner is beautifully colorful, and features some lesser seen items like Bengali Bhappa Doi (steamed sweet yogurt) and Falooda cups. The star item from the dessert corner was the Ras Malai. The saffron-infused milk had just the right amount of sweetness, and the milk dumplings just melted on the palate.

 

I ended my meal at Bukhara with a hot cup of Masala Chai along with a crisp Jalebi from the dessert corner.

We left Bukhara satiated and full, and thankful it was a Saturday allowing us to have a long, relaxing siesta right after.

Starting at AED 150 per person, the Summer Brunch at Bukhara is great value for money and the food here is really high-quality for buffet standards. Take a long, scenic drive to Ajman; on a Saturday afternoon it won’t take more than an hour from Dubai. The brunch runs from 1 pm to 4 pm every Saturday. Bon appetit.