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Karan Bajwa,
Nirvana Flavours of India,
Brampton, Ontario
By Gary Lipovetsky, President of MenuPalace.com
 Karan Bajwa is the Manager of fine dining restaurant Nirvana Flavours of India. Already in business for nearly 10 years, the restaurant stays true to preparing and serving authentic Indian dishes the traditional way. The establishment's commitment to the experience of food stretches far into the reaches of India, from where Nirvana's chefs are handpicked before coming to the restaurant's Mississauga location. For Bajwa, being in the restaurant industry is a lifestyle that has grown out of a passion for food: as a constant researcher for the next new dish and the best way to create a memorable meal, Bajwa's love of fine dining is a flavourful bond between him and his loyal clientele.
MP: What makes Nirvana Flavours of India a fine dining experience?
KB: We create North Indian cuisine from scratch - all our ingredients are fresh and our dishes take many steps to prepare in order to achieve authentic flavours. We take our time to do it the right way: for example, our Butter Chicken is extra-tender because we marinate the meat and first cook it in our clay oven before cooking in our special curry sauce, then we cook it again for a final time with fresh spices. It's this kind of attention to detail that makes all the difference in fine dining.
MP: What are some of your specialties?
KB: We are very proud of the Hare Bhare Kebab, which is unique to our restaurant. Hare Bhare Kebab is also our most popular vegetarian dish and it's a blend of vegetables including cabbage and carrots, fried to a crispy exterior. Another one of our specialties is the Chicken Dum Biryani, which we prepare and serve in the traditional way and, as far as I know, no one else in the GTA does it like we do. The dish offers tender morsels of boneless chicken cooked with basmati rice and individually steamed in a cast iron pot that is pre-seasoned. We unveil it at the table and it's a beautiful presentation and a deliciously authentic choice.
MP: What are some of your customers favourite dishes?
KB: The Palak Masala is very popular with our diners and it's spinach cooked with a blend of cumin, onion, ginger and cumin seeds. We also have a really succulent fish dish called Tandoori Pomphret, which is a whole fish marinated in a spiced sauce then slow-cooked in our tandoor oven. It's served as-is and it's simply sensational. Another very popular dish is our Jumbo Shrimp Appetizer: the shrimp are marinated in a mixture of curry spices then cooked to perfection in the tandoor oven.
MP: Your drink list is rather unique. Can you describe to me your drink selection?
KB: We recently added a comprehensive drink list that has more variety than what you typically see at Indian restaurants. Of course we offer smoothies and lassies in fruit flavours such as mango, peach, etc. but we're very excited about a new drink we created called the Nirvana Jaan Martini. This martini has lychee juice, gin and Jaan Paan, an Indian liqueur produced and bottled in Toronto, Ontario, which has been winning spirits awards internationally this year and in 2010. Jaan Pann liqueur has a smoky flavour and mixes nicely with the fruity martini ingredients to produce a flavourful pre-dinner Indian-inspired cocktail.
MP: How do you keep a focus on high quality food and authentically North Indian flavours when your restaurant is in Mississauga, Canada?
KB: Everything we prepare and serve is fresh: vegetables and herbs, and we only use fresh white meat; our lamb is the highest quality Australian lamb. My uncle personally goes to India and samples the food at restaurants and hotels in order to taste and learn what they're cooking and he comes back with ideas for new dishes for the Nirvana menu. It's also how we select our chefs for our restaurant: all our chefs come from India and are handpicked by my uncle. We only bring in the best.
MP: Who are your diners?
KB: We have many regulars who love our food so much that they come at least once or twice per week from as far as Oakville. We also serve a popular executive lunch buffet to the businesspeople in our community. The lunch buffet is $13.99 and served to the table: each morning we set a new menu with many choices and everything is made fresh that day.
MP: What makes your catering business so successful?
KB: We take a different approach to catering than most restaurants: when we cater an event, our chef is on site with all the ingredients and a clay oven to create the appetizers and main dishes up-to-the-minute fresh. We don't make our dishes ahead of time to bring them there; we believe in maintaining the high quality of our food at all times and we don't want to compromise that for an event.
MP: What inspires you to be in the restaurant industry?
KB: We have many guests who come regularly to eat at Nirvana and I like to sit down with them and get to know them and what they like. We offer many specials and we take special requests for dishes that aren't on the menu. No matter where you go, if you want to know about someone's culture, the easiest way to experience it is by eating their food. At Nirvana Flavours of India, we give a window into North Indian cuisine and culture and we're very proud of what you'll experience here. |