Wakhra Swaad Ni! We Checked Out Desi North Indian Foodie Joint In Noida Called Wakhra Swaad

Our craving to encounter unique tastes makes us venture out to distinctive places, never heard, never seen but with the hope of relishing some sumptuous food. Needless to say, with every place we have distinctive memories attached. This time, we headed to the busiest lanes of Noida, rerouting multiple times to finally reach our destination, a place going by the name of ‘Wakhra Swaad’.

Located on the ground floor of Jaipuria Plaza, the place boasts of serving some of the best North Indian dishes and some lip smacking shawarmas. The surprising factor was its menu, which was vast (read gigantic) and an even more startling fact - they had each and every item on their menu available with them! 

The place is tucked between two medical shops and doesn’t carry a seating area. They’ve laid out long tables just outside the porch for their patrons to enjoy the delicacies offered here. Their kitchen is totally covered and considering the space constraint, almost the whole of the shop is dedicated to the kitchen. As you move up the stairs, you’ll find yourself in front of a small counter where they take orders. Hygiene seemed to be their top priority, which could be vouched for by the cleanliness maintained in the kitchen and the fact that all the employees were wearing gloves, including those who served us our order and also those who were working behind the scenes in the kitchen. Good going Wakhra Swaad!

Befuddled by their vast menu, here’s what we finally settled for:

Butter Chicken Roll

We guess the words ‘Butter Chicken’ release the same hormones as are released when we hear ‘I Love You’ (we see you nodding at that!). And history repeating itself, we were coerced by our hearts to go for this one! A crispy covering made of fine flour aka maida had a filling of butter chicken gravy along with diced onions, mayo, mint chutney, sauce and salt and pepper. 

A big bite into this roll manifested its true colors! Moist and pulpy chicken pieces were completely imbued with the spices of the gravy and were appetizing to the core. The presence of mayonnaise enhanced the flavour, making it a wholesome yet delectable dish.

Price | Rs 110

Afgani Veg Momos (Tandoori)

Veg momos are first baked in the tandoor before being stirred and tossed in a white sauce made of crème and mayonnaise. Eight sizeable pieces were skewered and tossed with great skill and were served to us after garnishing them with coriander along with mint chutney and a spicy chutney. That first whiff of the freshly cooked momos had us salivating. However, here’s the twist - the first bite of this dish told us we needn’t take another bite! All our expectations went down the drain. Though the sauce was aptly made, the momo drums failed to impress us and filling seemed stale and insipid. Thumbs down on this one!

Price | Rs 100

Butter Chicken

Still traumatized, we decided to opt for an item whose glimpse we’d already had. Quite a sizeable amount was presented to us. The luscious gravy, the traces of chicken being cooked in the gravy and an aroma that does not allow you to wait patiently was the scenario when our Butter Chicken was presented to us! The gravy had a decent level of spices and was a tad on the higher side on the sweetness quotient. 

It was quite hard for us to believe that it was the same gravy we’d had in the roll a few moments ago. The texture and the preparation seemed perfect, however, the flavour was lacking. Despite the chicken being tender, juicy and fully infused with the gravy, the sweetness gave away the taste, we felt.

Price | Rs 200

Dal Tadka

Being the safest option among all, we ordered the Dal Tadka. We were done trying new stuff and decided to stick to our regular orders. The dal was evenly boiled and properly cooked. The tempering was astounding and acted as a catalyst in amplifying the flavour of the dish. The spices were beautifully roasted in ghee and thankfully, not burnt. The texture of the dal was right up to its mark and needless to say, so was the taste!

Price | Rs 160

Churchur Naan, Lachcha Parantha, Lachcha Naan

Keeping everything aside, the highlight of the place has to be its breads! Fresh dough and a properly fermented one, transforms into one of the finest breads we’ve devoured. Their Churchur Naan carried perfect crispiness and was greased with butter and garnished with coriander, delicious! The Lachcha Parantha was equally palatable, slathered with ghee with dry, powdered mint sprinkled, we enjoyed every bite of this one. Still reluctant about trying new items, we went for the Lachcha Naan, something which was a lil uncommon. This time, our experiment yielded amazing results! The naan was prepared on the same lines as that of the Lachcha Parantha. We could easily dissect it into multiple layers and the naan also had a layer of sesame seeds on top (nice!).

Price | Rs 50 (Churchur Naan), Rs 30 (Lachcha Parantha) & Rs 40 (Lachcha Naan)

Though the place was too hyped, we found it almost congruent to a decent, regular place. However, the hospitality offered is worth praising! If going for a full-fledged meal, it’s always better to order-in as it may get a bit cumbersome to devour your meal there.

Overall, we loved the menu and the way our food was served. Even for deliveries, these guys make sure the packing is done right. It’s a great place to cure those hunger pangs haunting us, especially during the evenings after work! Happy munching!

Location | Shop 129, Jaipuria Plaza, Sector 26, Noida