On Khana Khazana

Surprising to a complete ignoramus on the subject (i.e., yours truly), Uganda has a relatively large Indian population and influence. Apparently, this is not uncommon of former British colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa, as the Empire brought over individuals from British India to work in the sartorial and banking businesses, where they were kept forcibly by British colonists. The (predictable?) result of this Western arrogance was a backlash by the Ugandan government in August of 1972, when Idi Amin, President of Uganda at the time, gave all of Uganda’s Asians—who were mostly Gujarati Indians—90 days to leave the country. Despite the expulsion in the early ‘70s, many Indians have returned to Uganda and their influence is noticeable.

It will shock all of you to know that I first detected the manifestation of said influence in the prevalence of Indian cuisine. According to The Eye magazine, a Ugandan published reference guide, there are ten Indian restaurants in Kampala. This is compared to one Ethiopian place (a more accessible cuisine, one would think), two Cuban joints, seven Italian restaurants, two Japanese, one Korean, one Lebanese, one Mediterranean, three Mexican, etc. The list goes on.

Anyway, I give this background for a very specific reason: apparently there is a rivalry among Ugandans and local expats regarding which Indian restaurant in Kampala is the best. Anne first described this rivalry to me over drinks at Jack’s in DC, and it has been confirmed numerous times by locals here. It is commonly accepted that the rivalry falls neatly into two camps: those who believe that Khana Khazana is the superior eatery, and those who favor Haandi.

Now, this past Wednesday night, I dined at Khana Khazana with my new friends, Jonathan and Annet, whom I met through my Aunt Carol. Though the company was indeed wonderful, for the purpose of this post I will stick to Khana. First, the restaurant is gorgeous. Relatively simply done yet extremely elegant, it has white floors, candlelit tables placed on differing levels throughout restaurant, and a non-intrusive waterfall against one of the back walls. As Anne had depicted, there were about 3 members of the wait staff per table, waiting to advise on both quantity and type of food.

The food itself was incredible. It was not as heavy as that of many other Indian restaurants at which I’ve eaten, and it was spiced to perfection. The three of us ordered appetizers and entrees, shared everything, and each walked out with a sizable doggy bag. Much to my excitement, I discovered at the end of the meal that Khana does take-out! This is both a wondrous and dangerous piece of information, as my dining experience at Khana was certainly not the cheapest I’ve had yet in Uganda. Perhaps only for special occasions, such as Wednesdays…

Of course, stay tuned for a post on Haandi. I must be egalitarian before choosing a camp!