At Copper Chimney, most dishes emerge from a mother’s humility, from a small backyard in Lahore hearth, taken across the border to India in a train by a refugee. Crossing into India with only the essentials and a passion for cooking, this young refugee was able to scatter his childhood years in the world of cooking. Intent on keeping the taste of his childhood alive, young refugee or restaurateur JK Kapoor started the iconic Copper Chimney, which turns 50 this month.
The restaurant is old over the years, but what has become old are the secret recipes, formulations and cooking techniques of late filmmaker and restaurateur JK Kapoor. At best, each dish is a bridge to a childhood lost in the cracks of time.
To mark the restaurant’s 50th anniversary, a limited edition autograph menu has been created. The menu includes Kapoor’s secret recipes, new, great additions to the old menu, and 27 of Copper Chimney’s best-selling classics. In the spirit of celebration, during the entire month of November, a special 50% off dinner is being offered for the first 50 guests every day.
inside the menu
Sepia toned Kashmiri soda comes bubbling in a mason jar that tastes as good as it looks, tangy with just the right proportion of sweet and salt. The drink takes inspiration from the colorful fizzy sodas sold by street vendors in the streets of Lahore.
After soda there was a huge glut of delicacies. Starting with Kadak Rumali, Iranian Chelo Kebab, Burra Chops from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, Afghani Kabuli Naan, Vegetable Walnut Skewers from Kashmir, Himalayan Bunch Pulao , Raan Peshawari from the region of Peshawar, Royal Chicken Kofta from the Maharaja’s Kitchen in Punjab Province, Pashtooni Chicken Yakhni Pulao, the restaurant’s signature Cheese Kebab and Baked Dhoda from undivided Punjab.
Every dish offers a side of history and nostalgia. , Tender and succulent meats, melt-in-the-mouth cheeses, spices and their distinct smells and tastes that do not threaten to dilute each other’s essence, but bleed and blend into each other in a delicate synthesis. There are
Karan Kapoor, grandson of JK Kapoor and executive director of K Hospitality Corp, remembers his grandfather fondly. “I remember how meticulous he was about quality; They had a backbone of select suppliers and vendors to source material. He took a great interest in the communities around him and believed that food brought people together.
When asked how the secrecy of each recipe is kept, Kapoor comments that “the spices used follow a secret formulation and proportion that is not revealed.”
Apart from this, what stands out about the restaurant is the courteous hospitality that complements the food effortlessly. Not just that, for every order (including online orders) the restaurant has compiled a set of signature copper chimney recipes that can be replicated at home, taking the old recipes beyond the confines of the restaurant.