It was an honour to be invited for the Shahjahanabad classics food festival
hosted by renowned food critic Osama Jalali
at the Le Meridien Gurgaon. The festival revived old classics from the walled
city and thankfully Osama took out some time to explain the nuances of this cuisine.
The menu is curated and even cooked by the man himself along with his wife and
mother. There could not have been a better setting than Latest recipe to enjoy this rich food that is redolent of history
and culture.
My initial
apprehensions of the festival being meat centric were put to rest by the menu
which exhibited a variety of vegetarian dishes as well. It was a kebabilicious
beginning with 3 of them being served. These were devoid of artificial
colouring and I could hear my waist thanking them for not being too greasy .The
kathal ki galouti was silky smooth and
melt-in-mouth while the French beans
shammi tasted unlike anything I’ve had before. However, it was the meve ke kebab which stood out with its
textural contrasts & nutty flavour. The mains comprised of the classics
associated with the capital city.
The bharwan
baingan with its rich flavours was inspiring; the chane ke dal ka bhurta with its creaminess was impressive. The Mughlai paneer with its with its subtle
and light flavour was a digression from the usual fare. The best thing about the food
was no two dishes tasted alike and thankfully we were not being served the same
old tomato-onion gravy with different ingredients. The carnivores on the table
had a field day with Nihari & chicken stew. All this was served with the
khameeri roti and sheermal (which was so yummy I had some
just like that).
I was flabbergasted
at the thought of aloo ka zarda, since like most people I don’t associate this
tuber with anything sweet. The zarda turned out to be rich and delectable
though. The coconut in the gulathi sets it apart from the phirni and it had
comfort food written all over it. The shahi tukda was every sweetlover’s sinful
indulgence with its multiple layers of ecstasy. The food brings to life the
magnificence of the old city which has sadly not been preserved in all its
glory. Thankfully, seemingly some effort is being put in to revive and restore its
glory atleast through food .
Comments
Post a Comment