Feast over kebabs, parathas and biryani

The writer has posted comments on this articleBy Tanvi TrivediTanvi Trivedi, TNN | Feb 3, 2013, 12.00 AM IST

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READ MORE journey|Central Asia|Mughalai|Dum Pukht|Awadhi food

Feast over kebabs, parathas and biryani (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)

Awadhi cuisine is more about the ingredients than the variety it offers

Not everyone in Gujarat, especially those who are not meat lovers will be able to register Awadhi cuisine when you mention the name, and certainly not if you are not a foodie! But even somebody who considers food as a bare minimum necessity of life will fall in love with the richness and majesty of the Awadhi cuisine and the way it is offered to the guests. Recently, The Fern Hotel in Ahmedabad hosted the Awadhi cuisine and before we started on the gastronomic journey, a word on the picture-perfect ambience of the hotel.

Winters are the best to spend a chilly evening in the outdoors where tables are laid for people to enjoy the Dum Pukht cuisine being served to you in a way that will now even surpass the kind of hospitality you receive at someone's home. There is a live counter that has Galauti kebabs, chicken tikkas and sheekh kebabs being made, while the chef is also busy preparing the Ulta Tawa Paratha that comes with a flavour of its own.

The green lawns and as you watch the overbridge traffic go by, seated in the lawns reminds you that food is best enjoyed only in the winters. While the Galauti kebabs (minced mutton kebabs cooked in butter and flavoured with spices) and Seekh kebabs were succulent and melted the time you put them in your mouth. The vegetarian foodies could enjoy the soya tikkis, corn tikkis but the paneer tikkas were something to die for!

While you take a view of the beautiful area and also enjoy a break after the starters, take a ride around the main course buffet and they have a varieties of dum pukht biryanis, nahari kulchas, tawa parathas, mixed dal, chicken curries, fish curry and mutton curry on offer. The vegetarians can savour the mushroom and peas curry, aloo cooked in dum pukht style because peas are a favourite with Awadhi cuisine. While you savour the ulta tawa paratha and rich chicken curry grounded with spices, the smell of cardamom and lamb cooked to perfection in the Yakhni biryani is worth sampling.

The desserts typically of the Awadhi cuisine involve kheer, shahi tukda and sevaiyyan - and the kheer served with dry fruits was the best bet for rounding off a meal like that.

Awadhi cuisine finds its origin in Lucknow, U.P and the cooking is similar to Northern India and Central Asia, Middle East and is also inspired by the Mughlai cooking techniques. More known as the Nawabi food, Awadhi cuisine is definitely more about fragrance, smell, the gastronomic experience than the number of items on display.

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