Galawati kebabs are a speciality of Lucknow. If you want to know the secret of making this melt-in-the-mouth kebab, you need to go to Lucknow, or better still, learn from a Masterchef!
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| Masterchef Bhaskar |
As part of the Dawat-e-Lucknow food festival, Park Hyatt Chennai brought in Masterchef India 1 runner-up, Chef Jayanandan Bhaskar from Hyatt Regency Gurgaon, to curate this fest. Chef Bhaskar was also going teach us, a group of cooking enthusiasts, a 3 course meal with
shuruwaat (starter),
madhyanter (main course) and
mithas ka ehsas (dessert). It's Chef Bhaskar's love and passion for Lucknowi food that shines through as he took us through the making of these dishes. Now here's a man not afraid to use the 'g' word - ghee ...what did you think it was??
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| Cubed yam for jimikhand galawati kebab |
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| Smoking the kebab mix; grilling kebabs |
The vegetarian version of a
galawati kebab is made from yam, otherwise very finely ground lamb is used. Spice powders, onion, ginger and garlic pastes are added and the kebab mix is smoked before shaping and grilling on a hot griddle. Some of the minced lamb was mixed with a pineapple puree, and when cooked, it was melt-in-the-mouth tender, almost like pâté and barely able to hold its shape.
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| Jimikhand galawati kebab aur ulte tawe ka paratha |
The kebabs were served with triangles of
ulte tawe ka parathas. Kneaded with
desi ghee and other ingredients, the breads cooked into a crisp, almost shortbread-like texture. Accompaniments were sliced onions and mint chutney.
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| Kneading dough for parathas; rolling out ulte tawe ka paratha; warqi paratha with its many layers |
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| Slicing parathas |
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| Kareli cut |
The main course was
gosht kareli korma
, a cut of lamb shank which looks like a
karela (bittergourd). Lots of onions, onion paste, nut pastes and spices were cooked in a large pot along with the boneless meat.
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| Gosht kareli korma |
Long, slow cooking is the key to making a delicious korma and when it was done, the meat was tender and the gravy had thickened. Topped with crisp fried onions,
warqi parathas were just the thing to eat it with.
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| Lamb galawati kebab, korma and paratha |
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| Munkka phirni |
It was
munkka phirni for dessert, a rice pudding with large sultanas where the rice is ground into a paste and cooked with milk, ghee and sugar. It is served in mud pots, the serveware adds rustic charm to the contents. A single rose petal was all it needed for adornment, a beautiful end to a masterclass.
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| Mud pots for the phirni. Munkka line their bases |
Lucknowi food is not just about ingredients but also the proportions they are used in. Nut pastes, saffron and rosewater and ghee(!) are among the ingredients but none of them dominate the final taste. It's all about balance.
Dawat-e-Lucknow is on till 16th April 2017, from 7 pm - 11 pm at The Dining Room. The buffet is priced at 1600/- ++ per head.
If you would like to be informed of these workshops, do call and register at 044 4991 9965/044 49919961.
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| Munkka phirni |
