Building a Restaurant from Scratch
Fifteen years ago, Edin Macanović and his wife, Edina promised each other they would open their own restaurant. They made good on that promise with the Taj Mahal, a charming restaurant in the Old Town. Starting with a tiny kitchenette in a former fisherman’s storage room, this Bosnian couple worked tirelessly to create a unique dining experience. They overcame obstacles to make their imaginative menu stand out among the competition. Using only the freshest ingredients, they crafted dishes that were out of the ordinary and irresistible. To this day, Taj Mahal continues to shine as a testament to the Macanović’s passion and dedication.
The Taj Mahal restaurant has come a long way in just 15 years. From humble beginnings, they have become the talk of the town. They’ve expanded their Old Town restaurant and opened Taj Mahal 2.0 in the Hotel Lero in the Lapad area. But that’s not all – they also took over a local butcher shop from a well known butcher who was retiring, just to ensure their guests get the best quality meat. This is a true testament to the power of hard work, dedication, and patience. The Taj Mahal team has proved that with the right attitude and effort, success is within reach. Their journey is one that inspires and motivates others to strive for greatness, no matter how small their beginnings may be.
Beautiful Bosnian Decorations
Edin and Edina have created a real sense of Bosnia in their restaurants. With a keen eye for detail, they’ve adorned each venue with traditional Bosnian decorations, transforming them into stunning and welcoming dining spaces that embody the authentic Bosnian way of life.The decor is complemented by soft Sevdah music, which provides a cosy and intimate atmosphere for guests to enjoy their meals.
Embracing Authentic Bosnian Food
Taj Mahal’s vision is to deconstruct the narrow belief that Bosnian food is limited to Čevapi and Burek. The restaurant offers an immense array of entertaining and refreshing dishes based on traditional Bosnian recipes and high-quality fresh ingredients from all over the region. Bosnian food is a mix of inter-knitted cultures and flavors, with a clear emphasis on fresh herbs, vegetables, and meat, combined in perfect proportions.
A Menu Catering to All Tastes
The restaurant’s menu caters to even the most demanding palates, offering vegetarian options alongside their traditional Bosnian dishes. They also provide a special selection of sweets, such as Baklava, Tufahija or Hurmašica, as well as liquors for guests to enjoy.
In order to provide their guests with a true taste of Bosnian cuisine, the couple has developed a network of suppliers from all over the region. Sometimes, their recipes call for ingredients directly from Bosnia, Turkey, or Serbia, which they source from trusted suppliers to ensure the essence of Bosnian food and lifestyle are present in their dishes.
Meat Boutique Taj Butcheraj
In order to ensure the best quality meat for their restaurants, Edin and Edina took over a meat shop that was about to be closed due to the owner’s Njego retirement. Today’s it’s one of Dubrovnik’s best meat boutiques called Taj Butcheraj, established to make it easier for them to source the meat from trusted suppliers for their restaurants but also to cater to all the citizens of Dubrovnik. Taj Butcheraj soon became a favourite shop for all the meat lovers.
An Authentic Representative of Bosnian Cuisine in the pearl of Adriatic
Today, Taj Mahal stands in line with Dubrovnik’s most famous venues as a respectable representative of fascinating Bosnian cuisine. Their authentic food, beautiful ambience, and use of both usual and exotic regional ingredients have made Taj Mahal a must-visit dining destination in the city. Their quality was recently crowned with the Michelin Guide recommendation.
Taj Mahal is a testament to the passion and dedication of Edin and Edina, who have worked tirelessly to create a restaurant that offers delicious and authentic Bosnian food in a beautiful and inviting setting. Their story is one of hard work, determination, and a love for the rich culinary traditions of Bosnia.
Cicvara recipe
As a special treat we bring you a recipe for traditional starter dish Cicvara, that Edina shared with us. This is sure to delight your guests and bring a touch of Bosnia to your dinner party.
Cicvara
Serves 2
Ingreedients:
500g Corn flour
50g Butter
200g Kajmak (Bosnian cream cheese)
Pinch of salt
Preparation:
Melt the butter in a pan and add Kajmak.
Stir on medium heat until blended, add flour and salt.
Continue stirring until it begins to separate from the pan.
Bosnians say, when the cook starts to sweat the Cicvara is finished
Use a spoon to form large dumplings and serve them sprinkled with Torotan cheese (cheese from the bellows), put a scoop of Kajmak on top of it and decorate with chili fibres.
Kajmak is a traditional Bosnian cream cheese made of raw milk, heavy cream and salt.
If you cannot get a hold of it, any mild cream cheese, such as mascarpone, can be used, just be sure to salt it a bit.
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