Delhi’s temperatures might have gone down but not the spirits of the good old Delhi foodie. And a good testing ground for the same is ‘The Poush Festival’ at Singh Sahib, Eros Hotel managed by Hilton. On till January 20 at the Indian specialty restaurant, the Poush festival brings the flavours of Kashmir down to the Capital.
Poush means the flower of saffron which is pre-dominantly used in Kashmiri cuisine, says chef Mujeebur Rehman who along with his team from Kashmir has prepared the menu for the promotion.
The good thing about it is one can enjoy the food in buffet as well as a-la-carte. I went for the a-la-carte.
Keeping the winters in mind, the menu should have had a soup in it.
But the chef thought otherwise and straightaway started with the appetizers. One starter which is amongst my favourites across any cuisine is the Tabak Maas and I always look forward to it with much enthusiasm. But I was disheartened when I was served a soggy piece of Tabak Maas. The piece was too big and lacked the crispiness in the meat.
I wondered what would happen to the rest of my dinner if the chef could go wrong with a starter.
But I was surprised when I tasted kukur kabargah which was excellent. Chicken drumsticks were juicy and tender and had nice subtle flavours. I requested the chef to serve one portion of Kabargah with my main course as well. Nudru Kabab was tasty and worth a try for any vegetarian. After the Tabak Maaz set back my hopes relied on Roganjosh and gushtaba.
The roganjosh was tasty; it had the perfect spiciness and flavours. Even the texture and colour of the curry were on par.
I felt better that I got the Kashmiri roganjosh, which I was looking for, but my feelings didn’t last for long when I tasted the gushtaba. Although quite tasty, the dish was made from minced meat rather than the pounded spongy gushtaba. It would have scored a perfect ten had they called it kofte and not gushtaba.
Nadur haak was delicious and so was the dum aloo.
Chef’s special anjeer pulao was quite flavourful and tasty, the maas dum pulao not quite. The saving grace of the menu was its desserts — especially the innovative mutter ka meetha and paneer ki kheer. Never imagined that a halwa could be made from green peas!
Meal for two - Rs 2500
Buffet - Rs 1500 per person
