An Arabian adventure

Rich Blend

Raidan, which means restaurant in Arabic, serves the best from the land of Arabs in the City. The eatery was set up by Raju Micheal and his family, who lived in Saudi Arabia for some time, before moving here a couple of years ago.

After settling here, they realised that the large number of Arab students in the City were missing their home food. In fact, the realisation dawned on Raju after he saw the plight of West-Asian students in his paying guest accommodation. The students from Saudi
Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Syria loved the City but one thing they didn’t get enough was Arabian food.

Raju joined hands with Mubarak, an Arab national living in the City, to start Raidan.    
What instantly catches your attention when you enter the eatery is people sitting in a circle and eating from one large plate.

Explaining why everybody who comes to his eating joint likes to sit in a group and eat from one plate, Raju says, “This is a tradition that is followed in Saudi Arabia, where everybody eats from one plate, signifying that all are equal and none is above the other.
”
There are a range of items available in chicken, mutton, egg and they have at least 10 variations in the rolls category and their dessert section is enticing. Raju says that
malhoot is something that you find unique in Raidan.

“The rice is cooked in large pressure cookers that are brought especially from
Saudi Arabia. We don’t use any oil, instead, the rice is cooked in the oil from the meat. It is cooked on a low flame to make sure the meat and rice blend well,” he says.

Another must try is the chicken mandhi where the chicken is first marinated and then cooked in an oven with a plate under it.

“The oil, that drips from the roasted chicken, is collected in the plate and mixed with the rice. The chicken is partially roasted and the rice is cooked separately,” he explains. Mubarak, who runs the eatery with Raju, says, “We wanted to bring in the authentic taste of Arabic food to Bangalore.

The food is cooked in the spices that is brought from Saudi Arabia. We also use what is known as black lemon, which adds a unique flavour to the food. We don’t add anything extra to enhance the taste and use only olive oil,” says Mubarak.

The dessert section is especially interesting. There’s mahsoob, where the chapati is first mashed, then mixed with bananas, and topped with honey and fresh cream. “This is a dessert which Arabs eat along with the main course,” explains Raju.

 There’s also harika, which again has chapati, cheese and fresh cream. Among the rolls, falafel is fast-moving. “The channa is mashed and mixed with onion, spinach and
mayonnaise,” he says.

Raidan is at located at Kalyan Nagar, Ring Road, Chalikere Main Road, behind Indo Asian Academy, Hennur Cross and is open from 11 am to 11 pm. For details, call 9886501421.