Very Nawabi

This awadhi culinary fest brings you sinful dishes straight from the royal kitchen

We might have taken over their seats of opulence -- their palaces and forts and massive cars and jewellery. But even the extravagance of the grandest star hotels cannot match up to the lives and the lifestyles of the erstwhile Nawabs.u00a0


Aloo bukhara aur gosht ka quarma

It's not often that us mere mortals get a taste of what they ate. Especially if the cuisine comes from the erstwhile Nawabi state of Awadh which is seeped in history and has been prepared by a bawarchi whose predecessors whipped up those delicacies for the royalty of Awadh.
Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

Raising the tempo
I started it slowly, with kebabs like Mahi tikka (barbecued fish) and the vegetarian Shikampoori kebab which was made of stuffed cottage cheese. Delicious. Time to raise the tempo. The main course was a buffet spread of a wide number of vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies. I went for Achari tinda (white gourd cooked in pickle spices)and badami kofta quarma (cottage cheese and almond dumplings in quarma gravy).

I have never had the courage to try tinda before, but I got so hooked to this one that I actually went for a second helping. Ditto with the kofta. The cottage cheese was fresh and though the food was rich, it wasn't laden with oil and spices as is generally the case with such cuisines. The chef also told me that none of the spices were readymade, off-the-shelf types. Rather they were all hand pound and pasted in the kitchen itself. Sounded quite exclusive.u00a0

heavenly delights
But I was yearning for my fill of meat. So off I went to the counter, this time to load my plate with all things meat.

Though the name was quite amusing, the sight of prawns made me pick up quite some helping of Jhinga fry kata kat which was tawa-fried spicy prawns. The prawns were very fresh, unlike what is served at most of the Capital's eateries which go with the frozen stuff. The Sufaid quarma, which was chicken cooked in almond and poppy seed gravy was also nicely cooked, once again sans the oil.

But what I loved most was Tursh chops -- mutton chops marinated in tamarind and curry leaf paste -- which were totally to die for. The Badami kofta qaliya or meat balls in almond gravy tasted a bit like the sufaid quarma, probably because of the almond gravy.

And all this, with some heavenly badami pulao, with the fresh aroma of Basmati and yummy Sindhi biryani. Go for it!

At: WelcomHotel, Saket
On till: Till October 2
Timings: 12.30 pm to 3pm (for lunch) and 7.30 pm to 11.30 pm
Ring: 42661122
Price: Rs 1,800 plus taxes per person