Walking into the restaurant the first thing we noticed was the large brass pots that wouldn’t have looked amiss on a Maharajas dining table. These were the buffet dishes, but they were mostly empty because it was already late in the evening and the buffet is a lunch-only affair.

Proceeding to the counter we were greeted by store manager Mahmoud Khan who kindly provided us with menus and suggestions.

Eventually we settled on a range of naan (SR2), the mixed grill (SR38), chicken briyani (SR17), butter chicken (SR25), chicken qorma (SR25) and for dessert gulab jamun (SR7).

The total came to around SR120, which was not bad considering we had just ordered enough food to feed at least six people instead of the two that were ordering for take-out. Everything was being prepared fresh, so it was a rather long wait.

Finally our food was done, packed and ready to go and we made our way home for the taste test. The aroma of the hot curries struck us as soon as we got in the car, the wafts of butter chicken and garlic naan overpowering any air freshener we might have had.

Unwrapping the aluminum and paper covered trays once back at the house, we realized we got carried away on our order.

But that’s what fridges are for! 

The mixed grill — from the “Special Day Treats” section of the menu also looked appetizing, although unfortunately for us this did not live up to its name. We preferred the two curries we tried. The meat had an almost mushy texture that left us a little unsettled when combined with its fiery bite.

The chicken qorma was delicious, a rich and creamy yellow sauce filled with boneless chunks of tender chicken. The butter chicken also impressed, though it was far from healthy — almost swimming in butter (But then this is hardly a surprise considering the name of this entrée.)

A fine side sauce of chopped green chili provided the perfect dip to the naan, and to spice up the curries if needed. A raita sauce of cucumber and yogurt was also available to do the opposite, and while good, it was a little watered down for our tastes.

The briyani was good, but nothing particularly special. As for the Naan: no complaints there. Hot, soft and addictively chewy, we avoided the paratha having already indulged in some oily curries.

To finish we had the gulab jamun — a sweet dessert that apparently originates from an Arabic dessert you might have heard of called luqmat al-qadi (judge’s bite), one that became popular in the Mughal era of the Subcontinent’s past.

Earlier at the restaurant, we attempted to establish if the gulab jamun was homemade. Our query was met with a sly “could be,” which we took for a “no.”

Later, when we finally dug into dessert, we were not surprised to find the usual tinned form of the small sphere of syrupy goodness — good, but it’s no match for home made gulab!

Overall Kashmir Nights impressed. We can highly recommend the chicken qorma, butter chicken and delicious fresh naan. One of the only venues in Jeddah that focuses on this type of cuisine makes it worth a visit.