GLUTTONY @ BAISAKHI FOOD FESTIVAL AT NAWAB SAHEB

Baisakhi is an auspicious and important day in the life of people from the North Indian state of Punjab. It is the celebration of harvest of winter crops that signifies the fertility and abundance of produce in this land. In order to give us Mumbaikars glimpse of what food and festivities Baisakhi entails, Nawab Saheb restaurant in Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel is holding a Baisakhi Food Festival until 29th April, 2016.

So, I landed up with much enthusiasm to check out this food festival with my foodie pals. The restaurant had donned elements representative of the pind or village setting in Punjab. The staff too was dressed in traditional wear from the state. There was a Bhangra performance to a dholi and singers WERE performing popular traditional Punjabi songs live to create the whole fervor of Baisakhi.

Amidst these colorful sights we were made to understand how the food festival would pan out for us. There were three options of unlimited meal plans to choose from. The image alongside will give you a glimpse of these plans. I was amazed at the varieties of traditional, Punjabi non-vegetarian preparations on offer and as a person with a penchant for lamb dishes sampled the third meal plan. The appetizers and main course dishes were served on the table while the desserts were up for self service.

Here is a look at my gluttony at this Baisakhi Food Festival.
 START TO THE MEAL:
The welcome drink was thick Punjabi sweet lassi served in kullad or earthenware glasses. It was cooling and provided a refreshing start to our meal on a sweltering summer evening. We gorged on toasted poppadums until appetizers were served.

APPETIZERS:
 The meal plan I had selected comprised of five non-vegetarian appetizers as under:

• MUTTON PUNJAB DI PASLIYAN – These were charcoal grilled, succulent pieces of lamb chops. A marination comprising of red chili powder, red chilli paste and ginger-garlic paste had made this appetizer piquant in a delicious way.
• BHATTI DA MURGH – This appetizer was prepared in a tandoor (clay oven) and comprised of chicken thighs. Robust spices like black cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon and rock flower (dagad phool) and yoghurt imparted a lip-smacking flavor to this dish.
• AMRITSARI MACCHI TALIYAN – These were crispy fried pieces of sole fish. A batter consisting of gram flour (besan), corn flour, rice flour and spices like carom seeds (ajwain), ginger-garlic paste and red chili provided a nice crust to the fish.  A dash of lemon juice and chaat masala added just before serving the fish to the guests elevated the dish to a different level.
• JALANDHARI DE TIKKE – These were boneless chicken pieces marinated in ingredients like cream cheese, bay leaf and green cardamom and cooked in tandoor. The chicken was moist and the marination imparted a refined flavor to this appetizer.
• KEEME DI SEEKH – This appetizer was made with lamb mince blended with ginger-garlic paste, coriander stems, garam masala, and yellow butter and skewered to be cooked on charcoal fire. The ginger-garlic paste had overpowered the entire dish and I was not quite satisfied with the coarse texture of this dish.
  

MAIN COURSE
After wrapping up with the appetizers, flat breads like butter naan and roti made way on tables to be paired with three non-vegetarian gravies and one lentil preparation as under:

• NAABE WALA MEAT – This was the most delicious non-vegetarian gravy served. Lamb shanks were cooked in an onion and yoghurt based gravy. The cooking had rendered the lamb very tender and moist to the point that the meat was falling off the bone.
• KHASSA MURGH – This dish comprised of boneless chicken chunks cooked in a poppy seed (khuskhus) and cashewnut based gravy. I did not enjoy this dish as I found it to be low on seasoning and lackluster in terms of flavor.
• MAKHNI KUKKAD DE TIKKE – This preparation had your quintessential chicken tikka pieces served in a tomato, cream and cashewnut based gravy. The highlight of a makhni dish is its creaminess but this dish clearly lacked it. Also, the gravy was too tart rather than a subtle sweet for a makhni. In addition, the chicken and the gravy had failed to come together as a dish and stood as two separate elements on the plate.
• DAL NAWAB SAHEB or DAL MAKHNI – This is the signature dish of the restaurant and was one of the highlights of this festival. Split black gram (urad) had been simmered away for hours with generous amounts of desi ghee (home churned butter) to arrive at this delectable lentil dish. A morsel of this dish transposed me into a state of nirvana.

The main course concluded with a rice preparation called MEMNA PULAO comprising of moist lamb chunks. This was a basmati (aromatic long grain) rice dish with subtle flavor leeched from use of whole spices like bay leaf, green cardamoms, cinnamon. This pulao had hint of saffron usage as well.

DESSERTS
The dessert display comprised of an array that included some regularly served Indian sweets in numerous North Indian restaurants in the city. In my opinion this course moved a little astray from the Baisakhi theme of the food festival. Hence I engaged in mere morsels of few of the desserts which I felt had some semblance to the Baisakhi theme. These included khajoor (date) halwa, doodhi halwa, beetroot halwa, badam (almond) halwa, gulab jamun and malpua.

The highlights of this meal for me I would say were the appetizers, the mutton gravy and dal makhni. Do try out this Baisakhi food festival and let me know of your experience.
Till then, HAPPY EATING…