Indian catering · Dubai
Indian catering in Dubai, from the people who have cooked it since 1985.
Dum biryani, tandoor, slow-cooked curries, the regions of India and plated modern Indian, at any scale from twenty to three thousand five hundred.
The Royal Orchid Group started with Kwality, Abu Dhabi's veteran Indian restaurant, in 1985. Everything else, fourteen restaurants, nine brands and the catering division, grew out of that kitchen. Indian food is the reason the company exists, and today it runs Kababs & Kurries, Chhappan Bhog and Bombay Canteen alongside the catering division that serves Dubai.
That shows up in the details that go wrong elsewhere: biryani cooked on dum rather than mixed, tandoor fired on site rather than reheated, a South Indian counter run by a South Indian cook, and a sweets kitchen, Chhappan Bhog, that holds the 2019 Guinness World Record for the largest display of sweets.
It is the kitchen chosen for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Emirates Palace, and whose tables Farah Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Shekhar Kapur, Sania Mirza and the late Lata Mangeshkar have sat at over the years.
The range
Classic, regional and modern.
- Dum biryanis, cooked sealed and opened at the counter.
- Slow-cooked curries across North Indian, Mughlai and regional styles.
- Tandoor and charcoal barbecue, fired live at the event.
- Plated modern Indian for sit-down dinners and tasting menus.
- Street food and chaat counters, assembled fresh in front of guests.
- Mithai and plated desserts from Chhappan Bhog.
The regions
All of India, cooked by specialists in each.
Most caterers in Dubai cook North Indian food with a dosa counter added on. That works until the guest list is actually Indian, when half the room is eating someone else's regional food. Because our catalogue is regional, a menu can be weighted towards the families in the room: a Gujarati wedding, a Bengali reception and a Hyderabadi dinner each get their own food.
- North Indian and Punjabi: tandoor, dal, slow-cooked curries and breads fired on site.
- Mughlai and Hyderabadi: dum biryani cooked sealed, kebabs, korma and haleem-style slow cooking.
- South Indian: dosa, uttapam and appam with stew, from a live counter.
- Bengali and eastern: fish preparations and the sweets that go with them.
- Gujarati and Rajasthani: dhokla, farsan and the full pure-vegetarian thali tradition, vegetarian by tradition rather than by subtraction.
- Street food and chaat from the chowk, assembled live.
Most ordered
What Dubai hosts actually order.
These are the Indian dishes that come back event after event in our own order book, with the counts from past bookings. Any of them can be swapped for something else from the full menu.
| Course | Dishes |
|---|---|
| Starters | Peri peri chicken tikka, pav bhaji tikki, beetroot peanut kebab, hara bhara kebab, Nawabi mutton seekh kebab, mutton galouti kebab, murgh malai boti |
| Mains | Dal Bukhara, paneer lababdar, butter chicken, mutton rogan josh, kadai paneer, paneer tikka masala, Bombay veg biryani, palak corn |
| Live counters | Live jalebi with rabri, dosa station, live tandoor and barbecue, mutton tak-a-tak, keema pav station, kulfi falooda |
| Sides and breads | Cucumber raita, mango mustard salad, kachumber, mixed achaar, assorted bread basket, garlic chilli naan, lachha paratha |
| Desserts | Gulkand gulab jamun, moong dal halwa, gajar ka halwa, mango kulfi, shahi tukda, chenna payesh |
A sample dinner
What a Premium Indian dinner looks like on the plate.
The Premium package at AED 180 per head allows six starters, four mains, two sides, a dessert and one live counter, with rice and breads included. This is one way to fill it from the most-ordered list; the online builder lets you swap any line.
| Course | On the buffet |
|---|---|
| Starters | Pav bhaji tikki, beetroot peanut kebab, hara bhara kebab, peri peri chicken tikka, Nawabi mutton seekh kebab and one seafood starter from the catalogue |
| Mains | Dal Bukhara, paneer lababdar, butter chicken and one fish or prawn curry from the catalogue |
| Rice and breads | Zeera rice, steamed basmati and an assorted bread basket |
| Sides | Cucumber raita and mango mustard salad |
| Live counter | Live jalebi with rabri |
| Dessert | Gulkand gulab jamun |
For your guest count
An Indian dinner, all in.
Totals on the Premium package at AED 180 per head, which includes one live counter. They include food, waiters, the AED 500 catering setup (transport, chafing dishes, plates and cutlery) and 5% VAT. The Classic package at AED 140 per head comes in lower.
| Guests | Premium, all in | Classic, all in |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | AED 4,620 | AED 3,780 |
| 50 | AED 10,290 | AED 8,190 |
| 100 | AED 19,740 | AED 15,540 |
| 200 | AED 38,955 | AED 30,555 |
Dietary
Pure-veg, Jain and vegan on a separate line.
Jain menus carry no onion, no garlic and no root. Pure-vegetarian and fully plant-based vegan menus are cooked on a separate line rather than adapted from the main service. Dietary marking on the buffet uses text labels alongside colour dots, so guests are never guessing.
Our kitchen does handle nuts, dairy, gluten and shellfish elsewhere in the facility, so we note allergen requests and prepare them with care but cannot guarantee the absence of traces.
Occasions and places
Where the Indian menus go in Dubai.
Diwali and festival dinners at home, birthdays, pujas and kitty parties, corporate lunches for mixed offices, and weddings across the whole week from mehndi to reception. The same catalogue serves all of them; what changes is the package, the service style and the number of live counters.
We cook across all of Dubai, from villas in Dubai Hills, the Meadows, Arabian Ranches and Jumeirah to apartments in Downtown, the Marina and JLT, and on to Sharjah and the Northern Emirates. In an apartment the live counters run on butane; tandoor and charcoal need a garden or terrace.
Common questions
Answers before you ask.
- How much is Indian catering per person in Dubai?
- From AED 140 per head on the Classic package, AED 180 on Premium and AED 210 on Luxury. Add the AED 500 catering setup, AED 150 per waiter and 5% VAT. Minimum 20 guests and AED 2,500 order value.
- How much is Indian catering for 50 people in Dubai?
- About AED 10,290 all in on Premium, with one live counter, or about AED 8,190 on Classic. Both include two waiters, the catering setup and VAT.
- How many dishes should an Indian buffet for 50 guests have?
- The Premium package allows six starters, four mains, two sides, a dessert and a live counter, with rice and breads included. For fifty guests that is a full table without waste; the Classic package trims it to four starters, three mains, two sides and a dessert.
- Do you cater Indian food for small parties at home?
- Yes, from 20 guests: villa and apartment dinners, birthdays, pujas and kitty parties, with the same menu and service as a large event.
- Do you cater Indian weddings in Dubai?
- Yes, across the whole week: mehendi, sangeet, the wedding and the reception, each with its own menu.
- Do you cook biryani on dum?
- Yes. Dum biryani is a catalogue staple, cooked sealed rather than mixed after the fact.
- Do you cater South Indian food in Dubai?
- Yes, including a live South Indian counter serving dosa, uttapam and appam with stew. It counts as one live station.
- Can you cater a Gujarati, Rajasthani or Bengali menu?
- Yes. The Gujarati and Rajasthani catalogues are pure-vegetarian by tradition, Jain versions are cooked on a separate line, and Bengali fish dishes and sweets are on the menu for receptions and family dinners.
- Can you do a pure-vegetarian Indian wedding?
- Yes, including full Jain menus with no onion, garlic or root, cooked on a separate line.
- Do you provide live Indian counters?
- Yes: live tandoor and barbecue, tak-a-tak in vegetarian and mutton, live chaat, South Indian dosa and appam, keema pav and live jalebi. Premium includes one station, Luxury two, and each extra station is a flat AED 250.
- Who cooks the sweets?
- Chhappan Bhog, one of the group's own brands, which holds the 2019 Guinness World Record for the largest display of sweets.
Keep reading
Related to this page.
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- GuidesWhat catering costs per person in DubaiWhat catering in Dubai includes and what it comes to all in: about AED 10,290 for 50 guests and AED 19,740 for 100, with staff, setup and VAT.
Ready when you are
Compose your menu, course by course.
No commitment and no phone call. Choose every course yourself in about two minutes, then send it over and we'll take it from there.