When the weather is nice, there are lots of nice things we want to do. One of them is eat a nice meal. With that thought, Qube Café at Siesta, Hi Tech thought ‘how about a food fest that complements the weather and makes you feel you are at jannat . What better than a Kashmiri food fest. A mini shikara loaded with flowers welcomes diners and guests at the lobby. Inside the restaurant, flowers and fruits hanging down from the ceiling show nature’s bounty in Kashmir.
The fest is headed by two in-house chefs who are doing their best to carve out the best dishes possible. A few dishes have been also tweaked consciously to meet the expectations of Kashmiri food lovers. So, the mutton rogan josh isn’t a light runny gravy but a thick one, best enjoyed with a naan , or maybe the Bakharkhani .
The chef says the reason for the customisation is to satisfy the taste buds of local diners, even though they are aware that they are breaking the rules of authenticity.
The buffet spread for dinner has a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes as well as Goshtaba and Yakhni preparations.
The starters, which are an array of kebabs, are simply delicious. But it is the Tabakh maaz that needs a very strong palate or a palate that relishes meat that cooks in its own fat. The kukur khizra tikka is a mind blower. These juicy chunks of meat cooked over a bed of coal come with a mild smoky flavour and needs no dip to relish them.
The paneer tikka which the Kashmiris call, Kandhari Tsaman Tikka comes with a hint of mustard and was a delight to taste. The surprising dish was the Rajma Kababa; it’s filling, non-oily and fluffy to the point of being brittle.
The main course is anything but light. The gravies are rich, the meats generous and chunky and the goshtaba are quite a mouthful each. Tsaman Kahkashan , Ala Musullam Shaheen and Kashmiri Dum Aloo will woo vegetarians. The Ala Musullam Shaheen is made by stuffing sliced bottle gourd with crumbled paneer. Quite a tedious task but a new dish to the palate.
If one has to distinguish the gravies, then it is the yakhni and goshtaba that stand out. The rogan josh might be a corrupted version but it was good none the less. And it was a delight relishing it with the butter naan that had a lot of dry fruits and fruit bits. Another corrupted version? The chef admits it is, with refreshing honesty.
The same was done to the pulao because on the first day of the fest, a few guests raised objection on not seeing pineapples and cherries on it. “We are cooking for our people to eat and we want them to go happily and satisfied. So, if they want sweet pulao , so be it,” he smiles.
For desserts, they are going against the norm by rustling up a beetroot halwa. And then slyly offers a kahwa (a traditional green tea) to see that smile of satisfaction on the faces.
The fest at Qube, Siesta, Hi tech hotel ends this Sunday.
