Buried in The Telegraph India archives is an official note issued from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's office in 1956: “The Prime Minister…is not used to spice and chillies at all. While he eats meat, he does so sparingly and has far more vegetables. He likes a full vegetarian meal… Normally he takes coffee with hot milk in the morning and a cup of weak tea in the afternoon.”
Now imagine him -- dressed in his achkan and Gandhi cap, settling down at a modest eatery at Jama Masjid’s Gate No. 1.
The year is 1948. Partition wounds still raw, Old Delhi swelling with refugees.
And Nehru, the statesman, pauses for a plate of Mughlai food at an eatery.
Legend, firmly held by its current owners, has it that Nehru didn’t just eat there; he inaugurated the place. The founders, forefathers of three brothers, Mohd Akhtar, Mohd Akram and Mohd Asif, named the restaurant in his honour. “Our grandfather laid the foundation of this restaurant. This is the fourth generation who has taken forward his legacy,” reads their website.
Interiors of the Al-Jawahar restaurant (As seen in Zomato)
Today, Al Jawahar is a culinary relic that has stubbornly stayed where it began, both in geography and spirit.
While its more-famous neighbour Karim’s has multiplied into branches across Delhi and beyond, Al Jawahar has remained where it was.
Located on Matia Mahal Road, right at the mouth of Gate No. 1, its two-storey structure still echoes with steel clatter, the sizzle of the tandoors.
The food is unapologetically rich.
Mutton Nihari, their signature dish, is a ritual in itself...slow-cooked overnight, the marrow steeped into the gravy, only available till 10am. But the masala mix used in the Nihari is a closely guarded secret. The mutton stew and korma, too, follow traditional methods.
Picture: Instagram/@al_jawahar_restaurant_official
And yet, the restaurant remained largely unassuming in the food history of India until a Gandhi walked in.
On April 19, 2023, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Al Jawahar with journalist and food writer Kunal Vijayakar, as part of a food walk in the area.
At the place inaugurated by his great-grandfather, he enjoyed Sheekh kebabs and tandoori chicken.
That one visit was a nod to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy, culinary and otherwise.
The space inside Al-Jawahar remains simple. Air-conditioned but not extravagantly so. The waiters know the menu like the back of their hands....they will offer gentle warnings about what’s still available and what’s already vanished into morning orders.
They won’t try to sell you fusion. What you get is traditional Mughlai chicken curries, mutton burra with the right amount of char.
And Al Jawahar has stayed deliberately old. "We are loyal to our traditional recipes as the latest trend of Indian palette is getting more tentative, we try the conventional and original style "akhtar" food", the owners write in an anecdote on their official website.
Back when Pandit Nehru inaugrated and sat down at Al Jawahar for a meal, he probably didn’t imagine four generations later, his great-grandson would eat there on camera.
But food has its own memory. And Old Delhi never forgets.