After sightseeing at the beautiful Lotus Temple and buying new gadgets at Nehru Place, walk into Singh Sahib, the Indian cuisine restaurant at Eros Hotel managed by Hilton; the restaurant has just launched its new menu, featuring some rare delicacies from across the border. It’s a culinary style that blended subtlety and substance with great panache — the cuisine of undivided Punjab. At Singh Sahib I discovered the magical flavours of Potohar, Sargodha, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Amritsar.
Feeling the heat, I ordered ananas da panna. A pleasant departure from the more common aam panna, the char roasted pineapple drink flavoured with roasted cumin and mint proved a good way to beat the heat. Following this up with the murgh shorba, a deftly spiced consommé of chicken and lemon, garnished with juliennes of chicken, I moved on to the starters, temptingly christened ‘Chaske Gallian De - The Street Food’. Though I had no intentions of trying the Shakahari section, on the chef’s request I tried the subz til de kabab and bhutteyan de kaebab, in the end I was glad to have tasted the corn delicacy.
Now it was time to explore the Maansahari section. With an unusual marinade, the juicy jheenga ganderi was finger-licking. Skewering the prawns on sugarcane and then cooking it on a griddle lent it a subtle sweet flavour. The trademark Amritsari machchi, kasoori murgh tikka and teekha sea bass tikka were delicious, too, with the kadak Multan murgh seekh being the clear winner.
Sargodha, known for its citrus crops, had its influence in Sargodhe di murgh tangdi. Chicken drumsticks braised with homemade lime pickle were tangy, best enjoyed with the plain tandoori roti. Peshawari murgh, with a yoghurt-based gravy, was delicious and had the perfect aroma. Every mutton lover should go in for meat beliram, tender lamb chunks slow-cooked with onions and finished with coriander seeds and pure desi ghee.
I sealed my dinner with the refreshingly cool khubani di rabri. One can also go in for the hot gud ki kheer.
