Why there's only one Bukhara: The mystique of the iconic restaurant endures

Within a year of its launch in New York, the Bukhara was shuttered. Despite a good start, the restaurant never really managed to emulate the success of the original

I first ate at the Bukhara way back in 1986. That too Sikandari Raan cooked by the legendary Chef Madan Lal Jaiswal. Honestly, I had never tasted a lentil dish quite like Dal Bukhara till then. I was amazed that dal could taste so delicious. The menu was fairly spartan — the Barrah Kababs were there, and even back then, it boasted Tandoori Aloo, the Naan Bukhara and Phirni. The experience of an open kitchen was a novelty in the 1980s. The interiors — a harmonious blend of rustic elegance, featuring stone walls adorned with traditional carpets, rough-hewn trestle tables,