Chef Mohammad Javed’s galouti and seekh kebabs, nalli nihari and gosht parda biryani will introduce you to the flavours of the royal era. The chef spoke to Divya Kaushik about the must-have ingredients and traditional methods of cooking
Be it a day–long business trip or a week stay in lucknow, what most of us don’t forget on our return is to get kilos of tundey and galouti kebab packed for the lesser–fortunate ones who didn’t get a chance to roam in the lanes of Aminabad, full of smoke and aromas of clay–oven baked and coal roasted delicacies. The texture and flavours of the ‘lucknow special’ kebabs is almost impossible to find in Delhi, may be this was one of the reasons why Sous Chef Mohammad Javed thought of coming up with the food festival Dastarkhwan E Awadh at the Singh Sahib, the Indian speciality restaurant at Eros Hotel managed by Hilton, Nehru Place. The chef, who belongs to lucknow started his training at home under his father, who too has been a chef. Javed’s new menu will take you back to the royal times and you can actually feel what eating like a king or a queen is really like.
“If you follow the traditional Awadh ka khana, you will find out that it is the method of preparation and the rich ingredients used in the cuisine that makes the dishes special. There is a khus ki jad which is used with the garam masala for most of the non-vegetarian dishes. Use of saffron for the aroma in the biryani and other curries is well-known and a lot of spices like cardamom and nuts like almonds are used in the cuisine,” shared the chef and introduced us to his special menu, which is divided into vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections. Each section has soup, starters, main course, special breads and desserts.
Starters, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, have been a favourite with the guests. “Especially galouti, kakori kebabs. Galouti kebabs are a favourite with the foreigners too who cannot believe that lamb can melt in the mouth. Kebabs were a favourite with the rulers and some who got old wanted something that simply melts in the mouth, without the use of teeth. So the khansamas (the royal cooks) came up with the recipe of galouti kebabs. The sign of a good galouti is that it is not overloaded with spices, rather smoked with spices, and it simply melts in the mouth,” explained the chef. The other delicacies on the list are aatishi jhinga — jumbo prawns marinated in spices, shredded lamb and meat, and murgh ki shami, minced chicken and lentil cakes. Though it is tough to imagine a variety in vegetarian starters in Awadhi cuisine, but credit chef Javed for coming up with equally mouthwatering kebabs and appetisers in the vegetarian section, served with mint and coriander chutney. There is subz galaouti, pan fried and prepared from the mashed vegetables like yam and ripe banana. The texture that’s so soft that it crumbles in the hand, even when you hold it, is achieved by mixing well the vegetables. To replace the seekh kebab, there is subz sabudana seekh, which is again prepared with the mix of vegetables and to give it a crunchy crust, fried sabudana or sago is added to the base. Aaloo katori chaat comes with the base that resembles the lachcha tokri chaat. The katori made from extremely thin potato wafers is prepared inhouse and is filled with what resembles aaloo tikkis. “Baby potatoes are used in the preparation are not peeled to make the tikkis more crisp. Nothing in the awdh cuisine is too spicy but there cannot be any compromise with the flavours. We still ground our chutneys and masalas on the stone. During the era of maharajas, the khansamas started preparing for the masala for the biryani and other special dishes at least two days before it was supposed to be presented for the meal,” said the chef.
The main course comes with shorvey wali mirchi — sole fish cooked in sour and spicy gravy, famed nalli nihari — lamb shank curry, nimona, it is actually the aaloo matar that we regularly cook at home. The difference is that the green peas are mildly crushed in the dish. There’s murgh Awadhi korma too and the vegetarian replacement for it is paneer mewa kofta- a round, rich, creamy dumpling soaked in thick yellow gravy. A special mention should be made about kevati dal — a mix of moong and arhar dal cooked with the paste of green chillies and stir fry onions. There’s also gosht parda biryani and subz parda biryani. lauki too tasted delicious too. It’s cooked in golden fried onions and cashew gravy. The accompanying breads are the roomali roti, sheermal — a flour bread with saffron and milk, fluffy break tahftan and tawa parantha. No matter how stuffed you are, desserts are a must-try. Be it the shahi tukda, zarda (sweet rice) or sheer korma (sewain kheer), each leaves you craving for more.
