Place – Baluchi
Location – The Lalit , Near Airport, Mumbai
16th June 2017
Zaika E Awadh! The name itself sound so charming isn’t it !
Well , we had a chance to devour on the beautiful Awadhi Food Fest at Baluchi last week. Thanks to FBAI for the lovely invite.
Baluchi is a signature restaurant of The Lalit group of hotels. It serves authentic Pan Indian delicacies. We were invited over by them to enjoy the Awadhi Cuisine that they are showcasing for their specially curated menu.
Chef Rais Alam who comes with a great experience of Awadhi cuisine has joined hands with Chef Parimal Sawant. The efforts and intricate detailing is reflected in the food they serve.
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We had one of their long tables blocked for us bloggers. Very elegantly designed, Baluchi has a live music being played which sets the mood from the moment you step in. Its adorned with beautiful paintings and similar subtle décor. We were presented with the menu. Course by course we started our food journey in the north western frontier of Baluchi to have a taste of Awadh.
Here’s what we ate.
Gulab Sharbat – A welcome drink that was served in a tiny glass. No added sugar. This Gulab Sharbat was absolutely refreshing. Especially given the fact that all of us coming from scorching Mumbai heat outside.
Mawa Aur Mewe Ki Seekh – These were really really soft seekh Kebab made up of Mawa ( Paneer) & Mewa ( Nuts ). We were told that the paneer is pressed with these dry fruits for hours so that the flvours seep in. They are slow cooked in a clay oven. It also gets the sweetness from the dry fruits. Very unique and something I tried for the very first tine. Pudina chutney served along was perfect to break the sweetness hence maintaining the balance of flavours.
Sabz ki Galawat – Galawat is a speciality of Lucknow. The story behind these is – Galwati Kebabs were prepared for a Nawab who was toothless hence he couldn’t chew on food. For him these amazing kebabs were invented which are rightly melt in the mouth. We had a vegetarian version of it which had tawa fried veggies minced and made into these kebabs.
Begum Hazrat Mahal Sabz Korma
A mixed vegetable which was green peas , potatoes in a rich tomato gravy. Very creamy.
My Vegetarian Plate
Baans aur Singhade ki sabji – My favorite pick from the dinner for sure. Another unique dish. Something I had never tasted or even imagined. This was Bamboo Shoot and Water Chestnut in a mustardy gravy. Very Earthy and flavorful.
A very important fact about this Awadhi food is it’s not pungent because of its spices. Nor its spicy. Its fragrant. They use kewda flower and other aromatic spices which take this food to a different height of culinary excellence.
Dal Baluchi – A kali dal which is a signature dish of Baluchi all across. This was very creamy.
Taftan Bread – A cinnamon flavoured bread which is an authentic Iranian bread. Very fluffy and sweeter in taste.
Gulkand Firni – A really light firni that was rose flavoured. We loved it.
Shahi Tukda – Made from Bread and dry fruits ( loads ) right amount of sweetness hence we could finish it.
This amazing meal was finished with a pan shot.
We had a fun time not just eating or rather feasting on the amazing Awadhi cuisine but also understanding various processes involved and history behind it.
A post shared by the FBAI (@foodbloggerai) on Jun 16, 2017 at 9:21pm PDT
Zaika E Awadh is on till 30th June 2017. Highly recommended for food enthusiasts.
Featured Image Courtesy – The Lalit Mumbai
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