A food festival not for the calorie conscious

When a food festival proudly declares that it is celebrating Punjab, the land of feisty people who love hearty meals dipped in dollops of desi ghee and makhan, it is prudent to leave the caloriemeter at home and dig your teeth in some spicy kukkad (chicken in Punjabi), aromatic dal, winter staple sarson da saag, and some more. Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka has rolled out the Amritsari food festival at its restaurant Indus Express, having especially flown in chefs from the holy city of Punjab, to make Delhi salivate on “authentic” Punjabi food, one that’s cooked after slogging in the kitchen for hours, and one that is not just about butter chicken. Chef Amarjot of Taj Swarna, Amritsar has curated a delectable menu that comes straight out of Punjabi kitchens where sumptuous meals are dished out loaded with calories and love. The four-course dinner reflects the simplicity of Punjabi dishes that thrive on robust flavours, and of course affection. So we have Punjabi kadhi pakora, a typical Sunday meal in any Punjabi household, kulchey chholey, fish Amritsari, makhaniya lassi- sweet buttermilk finished with a relish of butter, bhuna ghosht, aloo vadi among others.

Be warned that this rollercoaster of traditional Punjabi cuisine is not for weight watchers as dawned on us the moment we took a sip of the lassi. Mildly flavoured with kewda and seasoned with dry fruit, it was served in mitti ke kasore to make the experience as real as it comes. The butter in it left a nice, creamy after taste, and we stopped at one given the calories. This was followed by nalli kharode ka shorba. It is a winter delicacy in Punjab. The clear soup made from goat trotters and served with chunks of meat was just the right thing to set the appetite going — nutritious and flavourful. As chef shared that with no professional training, he picked up the finer nuances of cooking by observing his mother in the kitchen, and most of the recipes in the menu are heirlooms-passed on from generation to generation. “There is no written word on the measure of spices, ghee and other ingredients used in the dishes. It is added with andaz, which is something inherent,” he smiles.

Next came bhatti ka murg in starters followed by the famous Amritsari fish and Jalandhari seekh kabab. The chicken was wrapped in aromatic spices. The tangri was well done and retained the flavour of coals. The kabab, however, felt pale in comparison as its spices overtook the taste of meat. This can be given a miss and so can the fish. Though a speciality in Amritsar, and sold across the length and breadth of the city, it tasted average.

The crowning glory of the meal was undoubtedly the Amritsari Dal. A departure from the dal makhni which sadly is the only dal people associate with Punjabi khana, this was green lentils mixed with little bit of chana dal. Covered in layers of ghee with jeera and onion tadka, the dal was a delicious reminiscent of langar ka khana. The baingan ka bharta was not as appetising as the kababs as the spices drowned the smokiness of the vegetable, making it difficult to identity what we were eating. The saag had a dominant flavour of garlic in the tadka, which may not be savoured by all. 

For dessert, we decided to take a teaspoon each of fruit cream, phirni and moong dal halwa. The fruit cream was light. Again a winner here. The halwa was coarsely grinded and had a delectable aroma of shudh desi ghee. Jostling for brownie points was the phirni too which won our hearts because of the right amount of sweetness and kesar in it.

Where: Indus Express, Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka
When: Till October 20, 7 pm to 10.30 pm
Meal for two: Rs 2500 plus taxes