Haven for Indian dishes

A table at Khyber Pass Restaurant. Photo by Ismail Kezaala

What you need to know:

Khyber pass. Experience Indian dishes

When it comes to better than average Indian eating joints in the city centre, not many come to mind. Confessedly, most of them are located in the suburbs which is another story altogether. Be that as it may, for as far back as we can recall, Khyber Pass Indian restaurant stands out as not only being authentic in terms of Indian cooking, but also offering good service, decent food and a favorable ambience. It goes without saying that in an ever increasing narrow and competitive market for up market exotic food, one has to be aggressive and not stand on one’s laurels and take things for granted.
From the moment one sits to dine at this establishment. the waiting staff are there to take one’s order and indeed they seem amiable, pleasant and knowledgeable.
It always helps to have an Indian manager on hand to guide one through the typically long menu that these places are wont to have.
It seems that no Indian place would feel content without a whole lot of variety and in most cases it seems to work out rather well. For starters, fellow trencherman ordered for the chicken lollipop which happens to be an all time favourite for many a Ugandan and non-Asian alike. This iconic entrée is made of deboned chicken wings that have been marinated in fragrant Indian spices such as garam masala, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger and is deep-fried with amazing results and accompanied with a medley of chutney garnishes viz. mango, papaya, coriander. I had the assorted vegetable starters which does a great job of grilled and marinated veggies for a change.

After savouring
For the main course we decided on the whole deep-fried fish which unfortunately lacked salt. Well better than too much or otherwise. We also checked out the butter chicken and this was done perfectly. The above entrees were accompanied with cheese naan and vegetable biryani rice and in the main we were pleased with the outcome despite the minor problem with the fish.

If you go…
Our Rating: Worth a visit
The Place: Khyber Pass Indian Restaurant
Address: Speke Hotel, Speke Road Kampala
The Space: A quaint al fresco setting offering limited indoor seating
The Crowd: People who love Indian food and are located in the city center
The menu: Chicken lollipop, chicken tandoori, chicken tandoori
Beverages: Juice, soda beer and wine
Recommended dishes: The mixed vegetable starter
The damage: At least shs 100,000 for a couple with all the trimmings
Sound level: Perfect
Parking: Available
Smoke free zone: Allowed on the veranda though strictly proscribed indoors
If you go: Daily

RATINGS: These ratings are purely the reviewer’s personal reaction to food, ambience and service with price being factored into consideration. The menu listings and prices are subject to change without notice.

Recipe: Saikyo grilled salmon

The salmon portions for this dish may seem quite large, but they will shrink after marinating and cooking. Serve with a salad, steamed rice or stir-fried vegetables.

Serves four
Ingredients
100ml (7 tablespoons) sake
100ml (7 tablespoons) mirin
150g (3/4 cup) caster (superfine or granulated) sugar
300g white miso paste
4 x 200g (7 oz) salmon fillets with the skin left on
Lemon wedges to serve

METHOD
1. Heat the sake in a large, heavy based pan and ignite it to burn off the alcohol. Add the mirin and sugar and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Carefully whisk in the miso paste, a little at a time, making sure the mixture is smooth. Raise the heat and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly the pan. Strain and leave to cool completely. This concoction can be stored in the fridge for up to a month.
2. Place the salmon fillets in a non-metallic container that is large enough to hold them in a single layer and pour some of the cooked marinade over them, making sure that the fish is completely surrounded; save a little of the marinade for later. Leave in the fridge to marinate for 24 hours, turning the fillets over once during this time.
3. When ready to cook, preheat an overhead grill (broiler) and remove the salmon fillets from the marinade, wiping off any excess. Place the fillets on a non-stick baking tray and grill, skin side down for 5-6 minutes, taking care that they do not get too dark or caramelized. Turn the salmon over to cook the skin side until nice and crisp. Serve with lemon wedges and a little of the reserved marinade on the side.