Once in a while, even street food writers move away from the pavements towards the glittering lights. Last week, I decided to give my weary limbs some rest and, instead of traipsing down the lanes of Old Delhi, have a nice meal ensconced in the comforts of a luxury hotel in New Delhi.
Actually, I readily agreed to an invite from the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mansingh Road because I wanted to meet the new chef who has joined the Delhi hotel from Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad. To top it, executive chef Arun Sundararaj was going to present a Hyderabadi meal for us. Old readers will know that I love Hyderabadi cuisine – and have always been a loyal advocate of the region’s kachchey gosht ki biryani.
It was a fairly small gathering at the Taj that evening. Most of the invitees were bloggers, and a few were food writers from the print and electronic media. The ambience at Aftaab was rather nice – we sat around a long table while, across the room, the Nizami brothers from Nizamuddin sang some soulful qawwalis.
The food was served course by course by the most attentive of staffers. We started with a dahi ka kabab – a soft yoghurt kabab – and then had a delicious Shikampuri kabab – minced meat with a yoghurt heart. The patthar key gosht – meat marinated for 48 hours and then grilled on a hot piece of granite – was juicy and moist.
I love my haleem – especially if it comes from Hyderabad. The chef’s haleem – wheat and meat mixed — was a little different, but superb. The ingredients had been mashed well, which gave the dish its special taste. Haleems are often doused with ghee – but this one wasn’t oily at all. Then, it had been very lightly garnished with fried onions and garlic. It was served with a piece of bread, but I like to eat my haleem as a full meal in itself, so I ate it just like that – and enjoyed it immensely.
Then came the dum ki nalli gosht – melt-in-the-mouth pieces of shank cooked on steam. The biryani was the way I like my kachchey gosht ki biryani – light and full of the aromas of whole spices. Just to prove that I am not a pure carnivore, I tried the khatti dal – nicely cooked with tamarind.
Hyderabadi cuisine has a lot to offer to vegetarians, too. On the menu, for instance, was jimmikand ka shikampuri kabab. The haleem had turned vegetarian with vegetables mashed with wheat. Then there was Nizami handi – vegetables in yoghurt gravy flavoured with shah zeera (caraway) seeds, along with a steamed biryani cooked with vegetables.
I ended my meal with some sweets the cuisine is known for – such as khumani ka meetha and double ka meetha. I like the latter — bread in syrup – and ate it with relish.
Chef Sundararaj wields a mean hand. I find that his food is light, yet doesn’t compromise on taste. And that is quite a feat.
He has promised to cook for me dishes from the Goan Saraswat cauldron. But more of that later. Right now, I am still wafting in the flavours of Hyderabadi cuisine.
