A truly fine meal is enjoyed not once but three times –in anticipation, in consumption and in remembrance. And the Indian specialty restaurant Made in India at the Radisson Blu MBD, Noida, which has come up with a new menu, provides ample opportunity for all three.
I would say that the new menu is rooted in the rich royal heritage of India. Chef Shams Parvez needs to be acknowledged for his thoughtful inclusions in the menu. He has tried to present a magical combination of the rustic and robust cuisine of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan and the delicacy and aroma of Awadhi cuisine of Lucknow, India.
After a warm welcome by Chef Parvez I wasted no time in starting my royal journey and ordered a shorba-e-barkush, a well seasoned and aromatic lamb soup. The tiny lamb dumplings in the soup were delicate and just melted in my mouth.
After the flavourful start I moved to the tempting starters. I left it to the chef and let him present his favourite delicacies.
First to arrive at my table was the chapli kabab. Chef Parvez told me that it is called ‘chapli’ as it is flat and has no shape. It resembled the kacche keeme ke kabab of Rampur in appearance but varied in flavour. Next was the Behari kabab made out of chicken supremes. I loved its marination of hand grounded spices and char-grilled flavour. Then came the Awadhi delicacies. The famed dora kabab whose preparation and presentation require nothing less than artistry, came first. The minced lamb is put on a sandalwood stick and char-grilled. Its flavours were just divine. The galauti kababs were also worth trying.
Now it was time to taste the main course. I started with the nihari with very low expectations as it is rare to find good nihari in a five star. But the chef, who has lived in Old Delhi for a decade, proved me wrong and I was finally able to taste a delicious spicy nihari in a restaurant outside the streets of Old Delhi.
Kundan kaliyan, an Awadhi dish, on the other hand was light and smooth in texture. I enjoyed both the curries with the kabalian naan made of sesame seeds. The Nizami murgh biryani made in dum handi was also tasty.
In meetha , the chef served me the malai kulfi. An interesting fact about it is that it is frozen after reducing 60 litres of milk to 20litres.
Meal for two: Rs.5000
