You can sample Kabul to Kolkata at a highway food fest at JW Marriott. Team Viva does a rapid sampling
New Delhi Aerocity was glistening rain-washed when we entered K3 lounge of JW Marriott. And we were glad to be on a dry highway, an earnest attempt by Executive Chef Vivek Bhatt to trace the rich culinary traditions along the world’s oldest trade route, the Grand Trunk Road.
The recipes were researched and curated from key cities on this highway like Kabul, Peshawar, Amritsar, ludhiana, Delhi, Banaras, Kolkata and more. “Highway food in India is all about finding the best dishes to eat, even when you are on the road. From the succulent tandoori paranthas to deluxe thalis — an assortment of vegetable curries, dal, roti, rice and desserts — food becomes a part of the travel experience on highways as well as on roads less travelled,” said chef Vivek.
Appropriately enough he had created the right ambience, be it the jute cot, earthen pots, highway milestones, Asif da dhaba or pickle counter. We were welcomed to the food table with bantas. Then, they served us the appetisers. The barrah kebab came specially flavoured. Then there were machchi ke pakode, bhatti ka paneer and shallow-fried aloo vadi ki tikki mildly spiced with green chillies, coriander and carrot. But it was Banarasi paan ke talwan kebab, fried betel leaf coated with besan that was a pure delight. It had a subtle tang and kick making you wonder why betel was reserved as a freshner instead of being a strter in our menu. It is not overwhelming but lends a distinct fullness that’s very comforting.
Moving to the main course, we had spicy tawa gosht, murgh tawa biryani, which was full of saffron flavour, kadhai paneer, missi roti, bharwan paranthas with stuffed aloo and lachhedar parathas. We would rate it as the usual favourites but they work because of an unending demand.We also tried Indian cocktails. Our favourite was the one served in a 250 ml Old Monk bottle, rum punched with Coke, mint, cardamom and lemon. As they say, one for the road!
— On till August 13