Each and every time one thinks of
Royal Cuisines in India, it is more than often associated with the Mughal cuisine.
Coming down to regional cuisine, the erstwhile Hyderabadi royal cuisine plays a
dominant role. However other regional royal cuisines seems to have been lost
with time in spite of the region being home to several famous kingdoms.
Thanks to one of the leading
luxury brand of hotels, we may now have a glimpse into these long forgotten royal
cuisines. The ITC group of hotels are conducting a pan India food promotion
titled “Kitchens of India – Royal Repast” that showcases regional royal
cuisines. Keeping in line with the theme, ITC Grand Chola in association with
the Nawab of Arcot bring us to glimpses of the Nawabi cuisine from this region.
In order to provide a truly royal experience, the family chefs from the Arcot
Nawab’s house tirelessly worked along with the expert chefs from ITC Grand
Chola’s Madras Pavilion restaurant to bring their cuisine in an ITC style.
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| (Badami Shorba) |
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| (Paya Shorba) |
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| (Nawabi Shikampur) |
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| (Mahi Talko) |
The evening started with two
Nawabi styled Shorba – ‘The Paya Shorba’ and ‘The Badami Shorba’. Both Shorba
had royalty embodied on them as they were both rich and flavourful. This was
followed up with four different varieties of Kebabs – two non veg and two veg.
The non-veg kebabs of the evening were the ‘Mahi Talko’ and ‘Nawabi Shikampur’
while the veg options were ‘Subz Gulkhand’ and ‘Palak Anjeera’. The ‘Nawabi
Shikampur’ is very similar to the Shammi kebab except that it’s made using
chicken instead of mutton. Although it was flavourful, I would have loved it
even better had it been a little juicier. I skipped the other kebab as it was a
grilled fish and I’m not too keen on fish kebabs. On the veg, I only tried the ‘Subz
Gulkhand’ as it seemed intriguing to find how the flavour of gulkhand would be
used. It was nothing to be wowed about but was a bit different in comparison to
the different varieties I’ve tasted over the years.
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| (Arcot Biryani) |
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| (Non Vegetarian Curries) |
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| (Paneer Amir Shah) |
Coming to the mains, the
highlight of the evening was the ‘Arcot Biryani’ and the regular accompaniments
such as ‘Raita’ and ‘Bagarhe Baingan’. On the curries, it was a trio of lamb,
poultry and seafood with ‘Goolare Gosht’, ‘Murgh Shahi Korma’ and ‘Laal Baingan
Jhinga’ and for the veg it was the ‘Paneer Amir Shah’. Coming to the curries
first, I liked the Murgh Korma better than the rest as it was packed with
spices that emanated a rich taste along with the rotis. The Jhinga and Gosht
were equally good but the Murgh was better. However the Paneer was a
disappointment as the core ingredient itself was very chewy and hard. I assume
it could be because of being on the counter for quite some time. Now coming to
the highlight of the day, the ‘Arcot Biryani’ was truly outstanding and the
chefs have probably got this spot on from the Nawab’s chef. With a tinge of
saffron and well cooked meat the biryani had all characteristics of a true
royal meal.
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| (Double ka Meetha) |
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| (Badam Halwa) |
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| (Meethi Dahi) |
How can a royal meal be complete
without some great desserts? The desserts on offer for the evening were ‘Double
ka Meetha’, ‘Badam Halwa’ and ‘Meethi Dahi’. To start with, the ‘Double ka
Meetha’ was just one word - YUM. The bread were soaked delectably in milky
sugar syrup while still retaining some crunchiness. I loved it so much so that
I helped myself with two servings of the same. While the dahi was not unique,
the halwa was great in its own way. Not being very heavy on the palate, the
halwa had a nice texture and a very comforting feel. Overall the Arcot cuisine on
that evening had a few misses but the plusses made up for more than that. Simply
the Arcot Biryani and the Double ka Meetha can keep one going on and on.
The food promotion is part of the
regular buffet menu at the Madras Pavilion and is on till the 14th
of September. The buffet is priced at ₹ 1950 plus taxes on all day for dinner.
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