The delectable royal spread from the city of nawabs -- Lucknow -- has now made it to the plates of Delhi food connoisseurs with "Sham-E-Awadh" food festival.
Silken kebabs, tender mutton gravies, dum-pukht Biryani and more is on offer at the food festival, all churned out from the kitchen of chef Sadab Qureshi, at Westin, Gurgaon.
"... When I landed in Delhi, I went to a few of the renowned places to try out the Awadhi food. While there was quite a lot of variety, the true Awadhi flavour was missing.
"The food was either very spicy or the meat was undercooked and that's not all, some places had changed the recipe entirely and given it a modern twist. There are several things we've taken for granted, it seems, that are variations on the original dish," Qureshi, who was recently appointed as the Indian masterchef for the hotel chain, told PTI.
The extensive buffet spread encompasses a variety of decadent Awadhi-era delights like Gosht Dum Biryani, Murgh Changezi, Murgh Adraki Korma, Nalli Nihari; well complimented with the sumptuous array of all-time favourite kebabs such as Galawat ke Kebab, Murgh HariMirch ke Seekh and much more.
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According to the chef, "no tampering" whatsoever was done with the flavours, and
all the ingredients including "whole spices, meat, dry fruits and vegetables" were hand-picked by him and his team from Lucknow.
"My team and I went to Lucknow to buy the copper utensils like Mahi tawa and the Dum from Yahiyaganj, whole spices were procured from Nakhas market. Each recipe is a 'secret' handed down generations, and no spice mix is store-bought," said Qureshi, whose grandfather and father were cuisine masters themselves.
Born and brought up in Lucknow, Qureshi is quick to intervene if someone, even by mistake, confuses the richness of Awadhi cuisine with that of its counterpart Mughlai.
"Awadhi and Mughlai cuisines are vastly different from each other. The former relies more on the dum style of cooking, which means cooking on slow fire, and is lighter when compared to Mughlai and focuses more on spices," he explained.
He further added that "the fragrance of dried herbs, roots, spices and flowers, the spluttering of charcoal in the specially treated tandoor, kebabs resting on racks and layers of aromas, tastes, flavours and textures is the essence of this centuries old cuisine and culture".
The pleasures of savouring the spices from Lucknow are not limited to non-vegetarians alone as the menu boasts of an equally well curated list of vegetarian delicacies also, including Subz Lifafa-e-Khas, Paneer Rosali Handi and Panchphoran Saag Subzi.
But how can a meal be qualified as a "cherished meal" without a good dose of mouth-watering sinful desserts, right?
And the 34-year-old chef knows it all too well. Hence, he saved his signature dish "Shahi Tukda" and "Zafrani Kheer" for the last, along with crispy jalebis with rabdi.
It also had live counters serving the much famous Lucknowi chaat and Aminabad ki kulfi.
The feast goes off the table on August 18.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
