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A feast fit for royalty – Asha’s new limited ‘Live Like a Maharaja’ menu is pure decadence

Probably one of the best experiences you'll ever have at an Indian restaurant.

Danny Jones - 18th July 2024

We’ve tried a lot of Indian restaurants around Greater Manchester in our time, especially in this very lucky line of work we find ourselves in, but very few meals have compared to the feast the fine folks at Asha’s served up when we tried their new ‘Live Like a Maharaja’ menu.

This limited-time-only offering from the much-loved Manchester restaurant, bar and globally renowned Indian franchise is inspired by the royal cuisine of Rajasthan and it certainly lived up to that billing on our visit.

Located just below the boutique hotel, Forty Seven, Asha’s boasts seven sites worldwide including their location here in the city centre and has regularly attracted glowing reviews and famous faces in equal measure as their reputation has grown.

Countless celebrities such as Heston Blumenthal, Amir Khan, The Rolling Stones; Priyanka Chopra and Tom Cruise have eaten at Asha’s since it was first founded back in 2002 and, more recently, Travis and The Killers stopped into the Peter Street site on their trips to Manchester.

With that in mind, it’s fair to say our hopes were pretty high. They didn’t let us down – not one bit.

From the moment you walk into the luxurious entrance of Asha’s Manchester, you’re immediately met with a sense that you’re not just here for a meal but something special; from the warm welcome to the cosy but classy and stylish surroundings, we should have guessed we were in for a little something extra.

Namesake and founder, Asha Bhosle, deep-dived into how she came up with the menu through memories of her early childhood, where she spent years travelling around with her father’s theatre company.

“The company all had food together”, she explained, “with my father presiding at the head of the table. I enjoyed watching the joy on the diners’ faces as they savoured tasty delights… Over the years, I attempted to learn the diversity of Indian food, which changes from region to region. India is the land of countless religions, cultures, languages, dialects and taste buds.”

But we won’t dilly dally around the dressings up for too long – we can’t lie: the thing that bowled us over the most was the pure indulgence of the spread laid out before us as we sipped on two delicately balanced and refreshing cocktails with just a hint of the South Asian spices we were about to sample.

We were fortunate enough to get to try the whole menu and we’re not exaggerating when we tell you these were some of the most plentiful, flavour-packed and beautifully presented plates we’ve had at a curry house in a long while.

Each dish had big notes that you could discern from the next; the gravy base for every sauce was as thick and creamy as the last, but with the first mouthful of each you could instantly tell how the profile of, say, the rich chicken Jodphuri was entirely different from the lighter, more aromatic prawn Jaisamandi.

We spent most of the meal trying to decide what we preferred most and it was genuinely overwhelming at times with the embarrassment of Rajasthani riches before us that we couldn’t help going back for more of. Even the rice options were so fragrant we kept grabbing another spoonful just for the sake of it.

And then there were sides and meat dishes that accompanied the curries: the Royal tandoori chicken, the larger Rampuri chicken biryani for sharing (complete with dried fruits, lentils, whole eggs and all), the frankly addictive almond patty battles, and not forgetting the saffron-stained tail-on Jaipuri prawns.

The Jungli maas was certainly the most fiery item on the menu, with some genuine heat going on amidst the slow-cooked pieces of lamb and spicy sauce, but we have to say that it was another lamb dish that proved to be the ultimate showstopper: the parda biryani.

Comfortably up there not just with the best biryanis but the best dishes we’ve ever had at an Indian restaurant full-stop, if this menu is supposed to be fit for a king or a queen, then this is undoubtedly the jewel in the crown.

From the sheer pageantry of lifting back the dough lid to reveal the steaming gold pot of succulent meat, spices, yoghurt and fluffy basmati rice, to peeling off a piece of that crust kissed with the perfect amount of char and caramelised sugars that made for a perfect mini-flatbread wrap, it was exquisite.

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Our mouths are genuinely watering just reliving what we’re now calling a culinary core memory and though the whole grand banquet may have been designed for India’s bygone royalty and their endless stomachs, even trying one of the dishes with a side or two would leave you beyond full and content.

But Asha’s ‘Live Like a Maharaja’ menu isn’t just about serving up very good food, it’s a whole experience where the description of the background, herb and spice blends, as well as the all-round attention to detail, is just as much a part of your meal as the eating is.

Even the cookware and crockery were specially crafted not just for this restaurant but for this menu only, designed, burnished and maintained to the highest standard as only a Maharaja or Maharani would expect. We’d happily eat all of this out of a takeaway box but getting the full treatment was a real treat.

Asha’s has created seven truly divine dishes to be served up in the most decadent manner with the Maharaja menu and you won’t be disappointed whatever you decide to order, but this special selection of Rajasthani gems is only available for a limited time only, so we urge you to try it while you can.

As the lady herself puts it: “The menu is inspired by the offerings of great chefs that I have met and I sincerely hope that you, your family and friends share in my family secrets and enjoy the recipes of my heart.” You can enjoy ‘Live Like a Maharaja’ now – bookings are advised.

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