(Updated again on October 28, 2011. Scroll down)

I love Andhra food and when my friend told me a few weeks back that a new Andhra restaurant was set to open in Al Khuwair, I was mighty thrilled. Back in Bangalore, I used to frequent the likes of Bheema’s, Nandhini and Nagarjuna quite often to savour the succulent chicken dum biriyani or the tangy chicken 65 or plain meal which comes with fiery chutneys and mouthwatering rasam. Not that I love super spicy food regularly, but somehow Andhra cuisine has been a favourite with me.

Sankranti is the new restaurant in town serving authentic Andha and other Indian cuisine. Located in Al Khuwair (behind McDonald’s), the restaurant is tastefully done in terms of décor, seating and lighting. I was very impressed with glass bangles decked as part of lighting on the ceiling along with colorful pieces of silk cloth with kancheepuram zari border to give the place an ethnic touch.

The restaurant has two floors including a party hall on the top, but as of now only the ground floor is operational. Sankranti is part of a chain which has restaurants in India and Singapore. Since we went for dinner on a weekend, the place was packed. We had to wait for sometime before we were led to a cozy corner of the restaurant.

We wanted to have Hyderabadi dum biriyani, but since it was a weekend and moreover we went there after 10pm, the waiter informed the biriyani was over. We settled for Bhojanam (veg meal), Sankranti Special (non-veg meal) and Malasa Tawa Fish Fry.

Veg meal had chapati, rice, different types of chutneys, curry, sambar, rasam and a small bowl of dessert. The non-veg meal is ditto except that it comes with egg masala and chicken curry. The meals were super tasty and reminded me of the Andhra restaurants in Bangalore. I was so impressed that I opted for extra servings of chutneys and rasam. The king fish fry was well made.

I checked with the waiter why the food was not spicy like they have it in restaurants in India. He said based on customer feedback over the last few days, they decided to go easy on the spices. The friendly waiter said they change the menu for meal everyday.

The food was very delectable and tasty – something different from the regular fares dished out by other Indian restaurants in town. Next time, I have decided to go early and try the dum biriyani and other Andhra-specific delicacies. Probably, their North Indian food will come last in my scheme of things.

The Bhojanam costs RO 2.5, Sankranti Special is RO 3 and the Masala Tawa Fish Fry is priced at RO 3.5. With friendly staff, neat ambience and tasty food, it is value for money deal. The restaurant is currently proving an inaugural discount of 10% on the bill.

If you like Andha food, then look no further. Sankranti is the place to be. Restaurant can be contacted at: 2448 8884.

Update (October 28, 2011)
We were at the restaurant today for lunch to try out chicken dum biriyani. The biriyani was decent, but the service sucked. We had to call out the waiter to take the order, to get mineral water and to get the bill finally. The waiter was available on call only. With a harassed look, the chap did the job like a robot, but finally refused get finger bowl towards the end saying he can’t get because the restaurant was crowded. Huh, this kind of attitude doesn’t serve well for a restaurant that is not even a month old.

When my friend said he would like to take me to a restaurant near Muscat City Centre (MCC) which offered great seafood, I quietly nodded. We landed up at Al Makan Café, located just next to MCC, on a sunny afternoon. This place is a well known name among shisha aficionados and I could see smokers enjoying their shisha pipes by watching a live soccer match which was being shown in a giant screen.

We made into a quiet corner of the hall. The air was filled with different shisha flavours emanating from dozens of pipes dotting the place. Since it was a working day, we decided to have a quick lunch. The waiter was pleasant, and unlike other Arabic restaurants in town, could converse well in English. We zeroed in on hammour grill, hammour fry and a couple of fruit juices.

First came the juices, and the food order took almost 20 minutes to arrive. The hammour grill was delicious and well made. It had along assorted veggies, fries and a dip. The hammour fry was crispy and nice. You get fries and a dip along with it. A plate of garlic bread came along with the order. I loved the grill and fry. Unlike other bland Arabic grills in town, the hammour grill and fry were mildly spiced and it worked wonders on the palette of a person from the sub-continent. The fruit punch was nice too. We were too full, and there was no scope for desserts.

On the whole, I liked the food at Al Makan Café. Only downside is that the place gets too smoky and I feel families with kids may find it tough to sit through the stuffy atmosphere for long. May be during winter, I should visit the place again and try to experience the shisha bit as well. The restaurant has a huge seating area outside, and that should be a perfect place to tuck into some nice grilled food in the cooler months.

Since my friend paid the bill, I not too sure of the exact prices. Juice costs around RO 2 while grill and fry were in the range of RO 3.5 or something. You should go to Al Makan Café for a quiet dinner with loads of time at your disposal. It is definitely not the place for quick working lunches.

Before I landed in Oman almost six years ago, the concept of Arabic food was alien to me. Though there are a few places where Middle Eastern cuisine was served in my hometown Bangalore, I never got an opportunity to try out the food. My tryst with Arabic food began with the popular Shawarma (which I am told originated in Turkey). In fact, most of my dinner in those few months I spent without my family consisted of two shawarmas.

I was in awe of the very idea of shawarma, basically a sandwich made using khubs (Arabic bread) with meat (shaved off a large rotating cone of layered meat) and other condiments. If this was how Arabic food tasted, I knew there was a world out there to discover. Once my family joined me, the foodie in me resurfaced. I (with family) began restaurant hopping and tried out every cuisine available from different parts of the world. The best part has been that most of these dedicated restaurants serve traditional dishes from the part of the world they come from.

During one of my discover-the-world cuisine drives, I landed at the famous Istanbuly restaurant in Al Khuwair. A friend had recommended Istanbuly’s signature shawarma. I must admit it has been one of the best shawarmas I have ever had – juicy and melt-in-your-mouth experience. I graduated to their grills and found that yummy too (I am not a red meat eater, so chicken and fish is what I tried).

Having discovered a little more about Arabic food and having thoroughly enjoyed the experience, I was quick to react when a friend suggested the Turkish House restaurant in Al Khuwair. I went there the very next day.

Until today I have never had a bad experience there. Over a period of time we have regularly enjoyed awesome salads, mezzes, fluffy Turkish bread, grilled fish and chicken kebabs too. I love their sheesh taouk. The delicacy is made of char-grilled cubes of chicken marinated with the chef’s secret recipe and cooked on skewers. They served it on
bread coated with sesame seeds and it is a great experience. But what takes the cake is the seafood there. I must admit, Turkish House is a must visit place for sea food lovers in town. You can actually choose the fish from the counter where it is displayed and they will cook it for you. Within minutes you will get a very healthy option of a nicely grilled fish. If a foodie gets amazing food at affordable prices what else can he can ask for?

If you’re in the mood for a good Arabic food experience, I would also recommend Automatic, the Lebanese restaurant in Shatti Al Qurum. Their chefs really know how to tease your taste buds. Their falafels and grilled hammour are awesome. But, the best falafels I have had till date are from Musandam Café in Muscat Intercontinental Hotel. Crispy to core, it was an experience I will never forget. I remember gorging on eight falafels in one go. I am waiting for the day to try out authentic Omani cuisine and I am told they have an interesting range as well. From my experience, Arabic food is very healthy since it primarily focuses a lot on soups, green salads, grilled food, fresh juices among other things. To make it more healthy, the shawarma makers should keep out the mayonnaise and French fries out of those yummy sandwiches.

I have done my bit to popularise Arabic food among my friends and family circle. Indians and people from the subcontinent in Muscat are quite infamous for sticking to their food during eating out sessions. But once you get them to sink their teeth into other cuisines, then they get hooked on as well. I have tried that with my friends and it has worked.

‘Eat in Arabia as Arabs do’ is my second advice to all those who love eating traditional foods. Bring a touch of tradition to the culinary experience and you’ll enjoy it more. I am not done yet with my Arabic food experience in Oman. There are more than half-a-dozen places on my wish list which serve specialties like Mutabbal, Baba ghanouj, stuffed vine leaves, Eish al saraya and Fried kebbeh and much more. Unfortunately, the list keeps growing with a new restaurant opening in the town every other day.

Wish me good luck. Bon Appétit.

(This piece was published in Times of Oman’s Art of Cooking – Flavours of Arabia. PDF link here)