Awadhi Cuisine has a special place in my heart, reasons being as I took my baby steps in the Culinary world a few years ago , Awadhi Cuisine was one of the first Indian Cuisines we were made familiar with while I was studying in culinary college.
The origins of kebabs and Tikka’s started here and in some regions of Lucknow and Awadh they still practice the authentic techniques of making their Kebabs and Tikka’s.
Awadhi Cuisine belong to regions of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, the Moguls got this try of cooking masterclass with them to India that changed the face of how food evolved over the years. Awadhi Cuisine of course as it belonged to the Nawabs and Moghuls their food was and is often heavy and rich with usage of ghee, cream, nuts and meats.
I can still remember the spices we used to grind, the meat that used to be marinated, the aromas floating around the kitchen and of-course the whiff of Awadhi Zaika floating around the restaurant during service, so when I got the chance to review The Awadhi Festival happening at Baluchi one of the best Indian restaurants in the City which is part of The Lalit Group Mumbai overlooked by Master Chef Mohd Rais Ali along with the expertise of the Talented Executive Chef Parimal Sawant and Executive Sous Chef Sujeet Bhoir it only brings back memories of my teenage days of learning to cook.
The Food Bloggers Association of India along with The Lalit Group hosted some esteemed Bloggers, food enthusiasts and professional photographers to try their Awadhi Food.
The Menu for the night saw us taste some unbelievably fabulous dishes, crafted for the taste buds fit for a King to remember.
On Arrival we were served a Welcome drink:-
Rose Water flavored Welcome Drink.
A Rose flavored Welcome drink, a nice way to cool down and cleanse your palate to start off with the food on show. More like a Rooh-Aafza sorta Sharbet which is a way of welcoming people when guests come over for lunch or dinner.
Starters:- We were served the
The Famous Gelawati Kebab
A beautifully curated Gelawati Kebab, a Legend which needs no Introduction, lamb mince ground several times with spices and condiments along with lots of clarified butter that melts in your mouth with each morsel. This dish had a strong presence of Kewda essence and Rose Essence with each bite.
A light, aromatic way to start proceedings. The Kewda was a bit overpowering in the end but overall an all time favorite dish. The Veg variation is made of Rajma beans ground fine into a paste like its non veg version and taste’s equally better, if you are a vegetarian you will not miss out.
Murg Parchay
A mild creamy variation of chicken breast pieces marinated with cardamom and mild spices, finished with cream, cheese and pan seared to give it that crust on top. Like the marination, the flavors are very mild, not overpowering and so I suggest you try this dish ahead of other more flavorful kebabs and Tikka’s Mild flavors of Cardamom along with Coriander powder stood out in this dish.
Mawa Mewe ki Seekh was a mild, flavorful seekh kebab, made of Mawa and Chenna both are byproducts of milk, the cardamom and Saunf flavors stood out, this is on the sweeter side as one can guess there is Mawa in this dish. If you are looking for a vegetarian option in Kebabs this is one way you can enjoy a mild Seekh kebab. This is a Lucknowi Peshkush as they say it, one often misinterprets Awadhi cuisine is all about meats grilling over charcoal and the hot griddles. Awadhi cuisine also has a variety of vegetarian dishes to cater to the ones who do not consume meat.
Singada aur Baans ki Subzi
This was an absolutely outstanding dish. The Chef is a real star here, This dish was not part of the actual menu, but I cant thank them enough for serving us this vegetarian dish. This is a Chefs dream, the creaminess of the nutty gravy with the bite coming from water chestnuts( Singada) and Bamboo Shoots( Baans), its called Baans because it resembles the Flute which is called Bansuri hence the term Baans comes from there, both are my favorite ingredients, ideally used very less in our cookery, it is high time other places also start thinking on these terms as well. This was a Bang on 10/10 dish. beautiful flavors coming through. Who needs Butter chicken when you have a Singada and Baans ki Subzi. Try it with a Butter Roti.
The Mix Veg Korma, as expected a beautiful melange or coming together of various flavors, primarily sweet and mildly spicy. A Korma traditionally is a gravy made with a Nutty base of cashews or melon seeds and finished with cream, it is a rich dish as one can see and a variety of vegetables have been used. This goes perfectly with any Indian Bread.
Bhune Pyaaz aur Mirch ka Murg
Bhune Pyaaz simply translates to a gravy with the base of browned onions, it adds more flavor to any meat dish if you’ve cooked them with caramelized onions. This dish too was a perfect example of a cooking masterclass, there are so many elements in this dish. There is the tinge bit of sweetness coming from the onions, the tang from the tomato based gravy and the spiciness of the chilly and spices. The chicken was marinated and cooked perfectly, the dish is not very spicy so one can easily enjoy its flavors and textures coming through.
Shahi Gosht Nalli Nihari
One of my all time favorite dishes. I have an obsession for this dish to great levels, this dish required patience and also the time required to cook this dish authentically puts some of the best Chefs to sweat. I loved this dish as a Nihari is ideally a mild Lamb curry cooked overnight with trotters and marrow where the shanks of the lamb or beef shin used authentically flavor the gravy to give it that velvety gloss and acts as the butter to this dish, full of flavor. This dish was exactly how I expected it to be. Lightly thickened with a bit of flour.Ideally have this with Rice as the gravy is runny and will spread all over the place. The Lamb is perfectly cooked, falls off the bone and is a dream come true for any lamb or meat lover
Another Dal Makhani which is made in the restaurants signature style, every Indian Restaurant will have their version of the Dal Makhani, this was no different, wonderfully creamy and tangy black lentil Dal Makhani goes perfectly with both steamed rice and or Roti of your choice.The Dal was cooked perfectly the lentils were mashy, the tangy and mellow flavors of the Dal came through perfectly.
A perfect way to end the Royal Zaika-E-Awadh Festival with two signature desserts, the Shahi Tukda is an all time favorite, the bread is poached in Ghee to give it that wonderfully nutty flavor and soaked in sugar syrup finished with cream or Rabdi. The dish is not overly sweet and the serving portion is perfect. The Rabdi layering was just perfect not too thick nor too thin, one can feel all the flavours and textures come together the bread, the Rabdi and the sweetness of the sugar syrup with rose essence and flaky bread used along with the ghee.
Gulkand Phirnee
A Phirnee with the flavors of Gulkand which is basically a rose petals jam made by adding sugar to rose petals and formed in layers, exposed to sunlight for weeks and after having perfect consistency it is sealed in an air tight container for use, ideally used in another Indian after meals called Paan. The Phirni as we know is a rice and milk pudding famous across India particularly in the North. The flavors of The Gulkand come through mildly with the sweetness coming from the stick rice.
Paan Shot
This was an unbelievably good way to end the meal, the Paan shot was perfectly made and practically cooled us down and gave us reasons to savor the dish, one can feel the Paan flavoring was quite dominant, the creaminess coming through of the cream and Creme De Menthe used along with Mukhwas like Saunf to give us the crunchy texture too. I have never had such a good Paan Shot anywhere else. Just Divine.
Overall the experience was a super 4.5/5 for me with regards to the service as well as the overall experience of Royal Awadhi Dining.
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