Shaam-e-Awadh Food Festival, on at Seasonal Tastes, has been curated by the hotel's new Indian Master Chef Sadab Qureshi. Chef Qureshi belongs to Lucknow and hopes to bring to the festival nuances of Awadhi cuisine that often go unnoticed. A wide range of Awadhi masterpieces are a part of the festival; these include non-veg classics like Kakori Kebab, and Gosht ke Pasinde, and vegetarian dishes such as Baingan Sharaaf, Subz Lifafa and Dum ke Lukhmi Kofte.
My favourites from the menu include Galawat kebabs, Kakori Kebabs, Gosht Biryani, and Nalli Nihari. Interestingly, some of the hits from the festival will also be a part of the banquet menu even after the festival is over.
(Also Read: Kakori Kebabs: A Tale Of An Offended Nawab, Mangoes And a Delicious Variety of Kebab)
Murgh Tikka Mirza Hasmu
Awadhi food, or food from the land of the nawabs, is a cuisine that celebrates delicate flavours. The Lucknow ki biryani is known for its flavourful grains of rice and does not use ittar (also known as attar) like its Hyderabadi counterpart. The kakori and galawat are soft and melt-in-your-mouth kebabs that, if popular legends are to be believed, were created for a nawab who felt insulted after a British officer called his kebabs chewy. Whatever may have been the reason for its invention, Awadhi cuisine is richer for having the kakoris, and we have no reason to complain!
I remember when The Westin launched in 2009-10, there was a lot of attention on the food - NDTV Food also conducted its flagship Food Awards here for three years in a row. Over the years, with more competition in the area, the restaurants seemed to be the stand-out food hubs in Gurgaon no longer. Now, with a brand new team, helmed by their new general manager Rahul Puri and executive chef Anurudh Khanna, the focus seems to be back to the culinary side of things.
Chef Sadab Qureshi
Whether it is this week or the during the Independence Day long weekend, if you are looking to get a taste of authentic Awadhi fare, with a side of a lavish buffet, go check out the festival.
Details:
The festival menu will be available as part of the dinner buffet at Seasonal Tastes, The Westin Gurgaon, daily starting 2nd August till 18th August 2019, from 7.00 pm until 11.30 pm.
Pricing: Buffet Dinner for INR 2700 (plus taxes) per person onwards
Time: 7:00 pm - 11.30 pm
For reservations and details, please call +91-9873131805.
About the Author:
Tanu Ganguly is a Content Specialist with over 18 years of experience in producing, directing and anchoring a variety of content for TV and digital. She worked with NDTV from 2000 till Jan 2019, and her last assignment with NDTV saw her heading the editorial and creative team at NDTV Food. During this phase, she introduced a series of successful changes in content strategy and style to maintain and bolster NDTV Food's leadership position in the food-content space in India. Tanu now runs Mishry.com - a review platform she founded in Jan 2019 exclusively for kitchen related products. Mishry.com is based in Gurgaon and aims to make shopping for cooking and dining needs better.
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