The nawabs were true connoisseurs of the good life — be it music, attire, grand soirees or an evening of poetry. And it certainly held true for what pleased their palate — a romance of spices, a wedding of flavours.

Rich, aromatic and lavish cuisine from the hinterlands of Uttar Pradesh comes knocking at Eros Hotel, Nehru Place that has organised a food festival “Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh”, offering a ceremonial dining spread consisting of specialities from the Awadh region, or modern day Lucknow.
Elaborating on Awadhi cuisine, Head Chef Surinder Gautam says, “Awadhi style of cooking owes its lineage to the food prepared in the royal kitchens of the nawabs. Its richness is visible not just in its variety, but also in the wide range of ingredients used in preparing the dishes such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, saffron and countless other exotic, fragrant spices.”

Kebabs form an integral part of Awadhi cuisine. Some of the popular ones include seekh kebab (prepared from beef mince), kakori kebab (minced lamb and special spices), galouti kebab (smoked lamb mince patty seasoned with spices) among others. “One of the most popular variety is tunde kebab, a speciality of one-armed chef. The tunde kebab is said to comprise over 160 spices,” shares Executive Chef Mohammad Javed.
Awadhi cuisine uses a selection of distinct utensils such as degchi, lohe ka tandoor and ulta tawaa. “Even the techniques of cooking the food are unique like dhungar that involves a smoky procedure used for enhancing the taste of meats, raita and dals. There is baghar technique or the addition of dollops of ghee, cream or butter to add richness to the dish, ” explains the chef.
For the non-vegetarian palate, delicacies such as aatishi jhinga (jumbo prawns marinated special spices and cooked in tandoor), murg ki shaami (red chicken and lentil cakes infused with spices and naali nihari (lamb curry infused with cardamom) among several other specialties stand out.
Vegetarians must try Nimona (crushed green peas cooked with loads of spices), kevati dal (lentils cooked with red onions and dry red chilli), laziz louki (bottle gourd filled with tangy spices in cashew gravy), which go very well with the improvisation of roti made in several different ways including roomali roti, sheermaal (sweetened naan) or tahftan (flour bread).
“Addition of saffron, ittar (perfume) and chandi warq add to the flavour of desserts like sheer korma (roasted vermicelli in milk), shahi tukda (crisp bread fritters topped with reduced milk) or zarda (a traditional sweetened rice dessert enriched with ghee and saffron),” points out chef Javed.
The cuisine makes extensive use of dum style of cooking. “Dum Pukht cooking employs a handi (round pot), where the food is cooked on a slow fire for a long period, which ensures the finest taste and gradual release of each and every flavour,” says chef Javed.

Galouti Kebab
Ingredients:
500 gm boneless mutton
100 gm raw papaya paste
50 gm ginger-garlic paste
40 gm garam masala
30 gm yellow chilli powder
Salt to taste
50 gm channa powder
50 gm desi ghee
1 gm kesar
5 gm cloves

Method

Mince mutton chunks in a fine grinder for at least 4 times for smoothness.
Add all the remaining ingredients except cloves to it and rub well with your palm.
Make a well in the mutton mixture.
Put a small katori with burning charcoal.
Put cloves and some desi ghee on live coals and seal the container for at least 15 minutes so as to have clove smoke fully incorporated in the mixture.
Make patties of around 50 gm each and shallow fry both sides for about eight to ten minutes.
Serve hot with paratha.