I was happily sitting at home, wondering what kind of fries would go with our khichri that night, when I got a call. Someone was going to send me a food packet, I was told. Actually, they had called earlier, too, but I had informed them that I was going to be out of town. I was only back a day or two when they called again — and, before I could say Mughlai, had delivered an enormous food hamper.
My sincerest apologies to my friends, for if I had known that I was going to be swamped with so many kinds of dishes, I would have invited them all over. I did call a couple of friends home for a late-night dinner once the food arrived, but there was so much food that I wished I had called the neighbours in, too.
Excellent food
The hamper came from a new catering outfit called Mughalnama, which describes itself as “Bespoke catering concepts inspired from the royal cuisines of the kings and queens”. Even though the only King I know — and that from a distance — is B.B. King, I have to say right at the outset that royal or not, the food was excellent.
The food was laid out on the table — shammi kabab, chicken seekh kabab, murgh achari malai tikka, dahi ke kabab, paneer tikka, tandoori mushroom, nihari, chicken stew, dum aloo Kashmiri, dal Mughalnama, Lucknavi biryani, lachchha paratha, butter naan and phirni. There was even some saunf-and-misri as a meal ender.
Before I tell you more about the food, let me tell you something about Mughalnama. Run by a gentleman called Mohammed Khalid with an enduring passion for food, it has an office in 28, Babar Lane (011-48304830) and the centralised kitchen is in Noida. They have different price slabs, depending on how many people they are catering to.
The minimum of Rs. 5100 serves up to 10 people, it says. The Rs. 11,000-deal serves up to 20 people and comprises chicken tikka/chicken kabab (15 pieces), paneer tikka/soya malai chaap (15 pieces), mutton burra kababs/mutton seekh kabab (15 pieces), mutton biryani/chicken biryani with mirch ka salan (3 kg), mutton korma/chicken shahi korma (2 plates), murgh makhni/chicken methi malai (2 plates), dal Mughalnama/paneer pasanda (3 plates), mixed raita, lachcha paratha, butter naan, khamiri roti, phirni and shahi tukda.
I couldn’t eat everything — not even over two days — but the ones I ate were superb. I loved the nihari, which I could tell by the thickened gravy and the softness of the lamb pieces that it had been cooked over long hours. There was even a small container with browned onion slices, which I sprinkled on the nihari, over which I added a bit of lemon juicy — and the outcome was delicious.
The tikka was tender and juicy, and the kabab nicely meaty and spiced. The stew was different from the Delhi stews, for the gravy was rich and thick. I even enjoyed the aloo dum — which had a soft stuffing of paneer in it, and came in a sauce that was thick, a beautiful red and mildly sweet.
The biryani had a pickle-like taste that I am afraid doesn’t work for me much. Those who ate the vegetarian dishes told me that the paneer was good, but the mushroom a bit too dry. The phirni was nice, but again a little different from the Delhi version, for the rice in the sweetened and thickened milk dish was not powdered or grainy, but a bit chunky.
I am afraid none of us had the dal. Unlike Oliver, I was telling myself, “Please may I have some less”.
Mughalnama should do well — the food is good and the rates are reasonable.
Now that we have had a surfeit of sweets over Deepawali, let’s try out some of our old savoury favourites. Nihari and kababs, here I come. Goats, take cover.
