Nawabi sojourn

This month has been a bonus of travel, gluttony, and of course, my weight. Definitely, a few kilos up, but no regrets. I will soon work on that. After going South last week, the holy culinary crusade brought me to the city of Lucknow.

I totally dig and get that vibe of the Nawabs - how they ate, drank and entertained with true enthusiasm. Anyone would have, if they had the access to master chefs of Awadhi cuisine. Kebabs are the integral part of Awadh. Lucknow is proud of its kebabs There are several varieties of popular kebabs in Awadhi cuisine - Kakori Kebabs, Galawati Kebabs, Shami Kebabs, Boti Kebabs, Patili-ke-Kebabs, Ghutwa Kebabs and Seekh Kebabs are among the known varieties.

The kebabs of Awadhi cuisine are distinct from the kebabs of Punjab in so far as Awadhi kebabs are grilled on a chula and sometimes in a skillet as opposed to grilled in a tandoor in Punjab. Awadhi kebabs are also called 'chula' kebabs whereas the kebabs of Punjab are called 'tandoori' kebabs.

An awesome blend of spice, aroma, technique, science, and tradition are the characteristics of the cuisine.

People in this city love their food, and are very proud of it. I had brain-washed myself to go into old Lucknow and Chowk area where it all happens. The walk into that area gave me flashbacks of Mohammed Ali Road, Do Taaki and the Crawford Market area.

Tundey Kebabs is where I headed first. Established 1905, it is said that the Godfather of this institution was one-handed genius (that's how it got the name Tundey), who created the best kebabs ever for the ruling nawabs. The Galawat, as the Lucknowis say, is almost like a pate-consistency in the center and crispy exterior. I enjoyed them with parathas as my first Lucknowi meal this time. The melt-in-the- mouth situation and that smokey flavour of clove, ghee and charcoal add a completely different take to this glorious kebab. The meat is ground twice to a paste into which raw papaya, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, spices and salt are added. This is left to marinate for a few hours and after which roasted channa dal powder is added into the mix. It does not finish here, as this mass is now smoked with ghee, charcoal and clove. Then finally these are formed into small balls and shallow fried in a very heavy bottomed Mahi Tawa made of copper. They are cooked for a few minutes on either side in clarified butter and have to be consumed ASAP. What a treat! Thank you God. I stood by in absolute astonishment watching these cooks effortlessly churning out these by atleast a 1000 every day.

Breakfast was a treat at Mubeen's, another institution famous for their Nihari and Paya. The master stock, in which loads of spices and trotters is cooked over coal all night and savoured in the morning with the special Lucknowi style kulchas. This bread is a combo of a naan dough and another kind of puff pastry style dough, which is pressed together and then shaped. It is cooked in a tandoor and the result is a ultra crispy top with a soft rich bottom. What a marvel. I polished it off totally, dunking it into the nihari and slurping down the meat and cartilage around the bone.

My absolute favourite is the Lucknowi style biryani. Lucknow biryani or Awadh biryani is a form of pukki biryani. Pukki means 'cooked'. Both meat and rice are cooked separately, then layered and baked.

First the meat is seared in ghee and cooked in water with warm aromatic spices till tender. The broth is drained. Second, the rice is lightly fried in ghee, and cooked in the meat broth from the previous step.

Third, cooked meat and cooked rice are layered in a handi. Sweet flavours are added. The handi is sealed and cooked over low heat. The result is a perfectly cooked meat, rice, and a homogenous flavour of aromatic meat broth, aromatic spices and sweet flavours.

And then followed the sweet endings with Phirnee and Chanakya ki kulfi, made all in the house in a very traditional way (not to be missed).

What a life! Felt like a Nawab for a couple of days.

Back to reality, and oh yes, my treadmill too.