An ongoing festival, Amritsar on a Platter at Dilli 32, leela Ambience Convention Hotel, is bringing back the true flavours of Amritsar as part of their Grand Trunk culinary journey. Shrabasti Mallik tries out the spread and learns that chef Ashwani Kumar Singh had travelled to Punjab to acquaint himself with the cuisine
Punjabi cuisine needs no introduction. From Amritsari macchi to the most famous sarson da saag and makke di roti - this Indian cuisine in particular is in one word “an overload”. Spices, condiments, fat, cholesterol - you name it and they have it. But even then it is undeniable that it has few of the most delicious and delectable dishes in India.
The leela Ambience Convention Hotel, of late, is running a special Punjabi menu in its restaurant Dilli 32. The organisers and curators of the feast has termed it Amritsar on a platter, as it traces the Grand Trunk Route experience. “And Punjab is our first stop before we move on to Delhi and travel to Varanasi and other places before ending our trail in Kolkata,” said Rohit Tokhi, executive chef of the hotel.
Adding to the whole ambience of a typical Punjabi setting, the area outside the restaurant has been transformed into a dhaba, sans the charpai of course. There was a replica of the front part of a truck and machines that squeeze out sugarcane juice apart from a buffet counter. But the place, since it is open, is only suitable for dining.
Chef Tokhi led us inside the restaurant and told us that the Chef de Cuisine, Ashwani Kumar Singh, had travelled to Amritsar to not only bring back the authetic recipes but also to learn about the dishes. To increase our appetite, we were served the popular kanji with a papri size toasted roti with a topping of soya nuggets. The kanji although refreshing, lacked that punch. But it was a good start to the hearty meal that was to come.
When you sit to savour a Punjabi cuisine, you cannot be too sophisticated and use your fancy cutleries. You have to go all hands in and there lies the pure joy of relishing every single bite. Our starters plate was, within seconds, filled with tikki rajma diyan, bhutte di kebab, macchi Amritsari, lawrence road de tawa de tikke and bhatti da murg pind wala. The chef told us that he would have us try almost the entire menu and advised that we only take one bite off each dish which we could not do because the macchi Amritsari and tikki rajma diyan were exceptionally tasty, not to mention the tantalising flavour of the lawrence road de tikke. While you are there, try out their Multani paneer tikka and tandoori gobhi.
All these were accompanied by complimentary side dishes, without which no Punjabi spread is complete, — red chillies, onions soaked in vinegar, achaar and papad.
As our starters plates were cleared, we were offered the popular gola or what we usually refer to as chuski. We were told beforehand that some of them would be spiked with alcohol. But, if you choose to visit the restaurant, you also have the option to order it without alchol. We were almost on the verge of finishing our little kala khatta flavoured ice ball when the main course rolled in.
Now, there is only a certain amount of dishes that you can accommodate in your plate but Punjabi cuisine seldom allows that. Punjabis are hearty people and believe that no matter how much you offer your guests, there is always place for something more. So we did not mind our plates filling up, one by one, with choley, langar di daal fry, kadhi pakori, paneer bhurjee, baingan bhurta, sarson da saag, rara champan, magaz masala taka tin andsaag gosht.
Choley in particular were quite good and had a perfect balance of spices. The chef told us, “Unlike what many people would like to believe but Punjabi food is not that heavy on spices. It is like your regular ghar ka khana.” The sarson da saag was a smooth paste and tasted quite different from the saag which is not beaten smooth. However it went well with masala kulcha, which is half a meal in itself, and chupri roti. You can also try their lasuni naan for a different taste.
We were particularly impressed by the non vegetarian dishes that the menu offers, especially the rara champan. The succulent meat, mixed with a host of spices was a treat in itself. You can either have it with pulao or biryani, which again was a perfect blend of fragrant spices and well-cooked rice.
No Indian dish can come to an end without something sweet. But by that time we were literally stuffed beyond our capacities but we still had to make some way for the three different sweet dishes that were brought to us — gur ka halwa, flat gulab jamun and phirni. Needless to say, it was sweetness overload but the amazing thing was that it did not feel heavy at all even when we had it all. We savoured every bite we took of the super soft flat gulab jamun and the phirni, which was mildly sweet. You can also try their kulfi falooda, liquid pedha and gajrela.
Overall, our culinary journey through Amritsar came to a wonderful stop. The chef told us that the entire festival will culminate its journey by the end of the year in Kolkata.
A very interesting thing that we discovered in the menu was that every dish was priced in a unique way — ending with 32. “It is because the restaurant is Dilli 32,” the chef chuckled.
Every other month, the restaurant will roll out a menu specific to the place where they will stop. “Thereafter, we will take a break for a few days before curating the menu for the next place,” the chef pointed out.