This was once a beloved haunt, but then work took me to the other end of town and the place became less and less frequented. But when has it been easy to forget one's true loves. The succulent and delectable kababs that I recurrently tasted at The Great Kabab Factory in Gurgaon for years is an experience that has never been easy to trounce. Last week, the same place had decided to host a Lucknow food festival and I could not resist the temptation sans the tribulation of braving the teeming roads which lead to the suburbia.
The most popular delicatessen at Park Plaza had perhaps chosen the most befitting culinary school in consonance with its standard gourmet spread. The cuisine which evolved in the centre of Awadhi culture was seasoned through centuries by the nawabs and chefs of the city alike. In fact, the various improvisations of the Mughlai cuisine enjoyed in rest of India is largely on account of the aristocratic and plebeian diaspora of Lucknow, which spread in far corners of the country especially after the retribution meted out for the 1857 uprising.
Interestingly, to attenuate the authenticity of the fare the restaurant has flown in chef Arif from Lucknow. Apparently, he has since his childhood learned the culinary arts in the lanes and by lanes of Lalbagh and trained under masters no less than Rizwan Ali, the grandson of the famous Tunday Kababi.
Now to the food. There are seven different varieties of chicken and lamb kababs that are being served. The signature kababs of The Great Kabab Factory — galouti and kakori — also adorn this festival menu. And why not? When the tender pieces of lamb melt inside your mouth and the flavours burst on your palate, the experience turns into an unforgettable memory.
The sweet and fresh sole which is used for the noorani macchi tikka is another delight, the excellently marinated fish is juicy and soft. So are the two chicken kababs; the tepid bird is served with bones as murgh khada masala and without that hindrance as nazakati murgh tikka. However, neither disappoint with their succulence.
The kababs can be enjoyed at this 75-cover restaurant with either the dips of mint, yoghurt, tamarind or tomato or one can try them out with the delicious dal makhni and a host of freshly prepared characteristically Lucknawi breads like the baquarkhani, ulte tawe ke parathe, sheer mal and roomali roti. The dum biryani and gosht quorma which follow the ‘appetisers' sumptuously uplift you with their aroma and authentic delectability.
The vegetarians too may enjoy a mutual share of goodness in the subz galouti or achari aloo or malai kakori kabab or makai mewe bhare tamatar. The vegetarian kababs and biriyanis match the same fine and exotic tastes which are enjoyed in their meaty counterparts.
If one can strain his abdomen any further, the light and fluffy phirni or the heavier zarda, which is a sweetened supreme of rice with kesar, cardamom and other spices, or a portion of the paan ice-cream or matka kulfi await a pleasantly sweet comeuppance. The kababs are marinated overnight in yogurt and carefully selected spices — small cardamom, anees, khus roots, cinnamon, Irani zeera, bay leaves, rose petals… they are thereafter prepared on the sigri (a sort of barbeque) or mahi tawa or clay oven (tandoor), depending upon the type of kabab which is being readied.
The service is unobtrusive and helpful, the waiters are willing to go that extra mile in helping the guest with his choices of food and spices, perhaps one of the main factors which has over the years turned this place into an institution of sorts. The meals here are fixed, at the end of which one can go back home swearing, but this time for a round of rare, exotic, original and impeccable epicurean finesse, which is rapidly becoming a rarity in a world of inexorable spuriousness.
(The festival concludes today, is on till the 27th, and a meal is priced at Rs.1,299 per person without taxes.)
