Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra

Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra is a restaurant I had been wanting to go to since Oct 2014, when it opened its doors to foodies in Mumbai. I remember the times when it was fully booked out almost 2-3 weeks in advance. After my experience at Masala Library Dubai, I know why. Very refreshing flavours drawing inspiration not only from North India but also beautifully from South and East (read Bengal). Needless to mention the extremely appetizing plating, as is the case with some of the other restaurants in Dubai like Mint Leaf, Tresind, Carnival and Farzi Cafe to name a few.

This post covers

• Cuisine
• Location and Opening hours
• Our Order
• Service
• Ambience
• Cost for 2
• Rating on Food listing apps and sites(like Zomato)

• Cuisine: Indian with some molecular gastronomy. Combination of different flavours is what caught me. It is a refreshing spin on some of the regular dishes one is used to having like paneer tikka, jhal moori and dum aloo. The most interesting part is that it is not only North Indian and takes inspiration from Bengal and South India.
• Location, Parking and Opening Hours: In Dubai it is located in JW Marriott Hotel, in Business Bay. Opens only for Dinner from 6pm onwards. Make sure to check out the Ramadan timings in case you’re going around that time of the year. While there is valet parking, the waiting time for getting your car in the patio itself is easily 20mins and similarly the waiting time once you ask the valet to fetch your car is around 20-25mins again. So be prepared for a longish wait time.
• Our Order: It was our usual date night (Tuesdays or Wednesdays of every week, just Saurabh and I try one of the restaurants in the city, without the kids) so it was just the 2 of us directly reaching the restaurant from work and we decided to try all the chef’s recommended dishes:
  • Amuse Bouche: I wasn’t particularly blown by their amuse bouche as it felt more like a palate cleanser. A mango soufle ball in coconut water served in an egg shaped mini mug in a nest. A very symbolic representation of the concept of Amuse Bouche which basically means a glimpse into the style of the chef.  
  • Roasted cashew nut paneer, Dil leaves chutney: Not your typical paneer tikka. This one was thin layers of paneer wrapped around roasted cashew nut fudge/crushed and cooked. Strong flavours but not of the typical tikka masala.
  • Corn Khees popper, masala challi
    (Polento crusted corn and cheese mash, popcorn espumo): If you have ever been to Indore, you would have tried Bhutte ki kees (or the grated corn dish typical of Indore). This one is inspired by that delicacy found in the bylanes of Indore and given a Jiggs Kalra twist.
  • Aloor Dom, fresh ground kasundi
    (Wok tossed potatoes, puffed rice salad served in Bengal mustard curry): This one was a Chef’s recommendation and now mine too. The typical Bengali mustard flavor strongly came out and the concoction of puffed rice salad with flavoured potatoes in this curry was very refreshing.
  • For breads we decided to go for Malabari Paratha: the Malabari Paratha was super light and flaky completely deceiving of the kind of calories it would entail.
  • Jalebi Caviar, Pistachio Rabri
    (jalebi pearls, pistachio condensed milk and saffron air): For a change we decided to have dessert and the first thing that hit me was that it was a huge serving. The quintessentially dilli flavours of Jalebi and Rabri were brought to life in a beautiful manner. Each flavor spoke out to me. While I am not a rabri aficionado, I still enjoyed the dessert.

If there was one dish I would recommend of the lot we tried, difficult, I have to pick two. I loved their Aloor Dom and Roasted cashew nut paneer both.

• Service: Great service of not just explaining what each dish but also recommending. The service was spaced out so it didn’t feel like we were rushed not did it feel like eons before we got our food. Cherry on the cake part of the experience was them offering a drape as the AC was really chilly.
• Ambience: There is a certain largeness to that place. It was dark and soothing at the same time. There weren’t any bright lights but the place felt warm in terms of hospitality. The entrance is through a really long cavernous route leading to the main hall which suddenly gives the feeling of grandeur. Perfect for a special occasion, romantic dinners or even just catching up with old time friends.
• Cost for 2: For something like what we ordered it was around AED260
• Rating on Zomato