The rains are back! The weather these days is just awesome and the monsoon commands some
mouth-watering delicacies that could make one’s rainy day experience a bit more
special. And while piping hot pakoras and tea would be the most obvious
preference, there’s another option that may well be a worthy contender for
consideration. The Lucknowi Food Festival, currently underway at Bay 15 in Dona
Paula is here to give foodies in Goa an opportunity to taste the delicacies
from the land of the Nawabs. The food festival is open for dinner only and will
be on till August 26, 2018.
We chose a rather rainy, dark evening to sample the Lucknowi
experience at Bay 15. We realised that a Shorba would be an amazing way
to beat the chill, and we were happy to discover that the chefs at Bay 15 truly
know how to brew one that is healthy yet tasty. Believed to have originated in
the Persia, Shorba is traditionally prepared by simmering meat in
boiling water along with salt and is flavoured with aromatic curry spices and
herbs. The flavoured broth is served after separating it from the meat and
vegetables. The Yakhni Shorba at Bay 15 left us impressed.
When we talk about
Lucknowi food, the biryani and kebabs from the erstwhile princely state in
North India come to our mind. One kebab that has possibly emerged as the poster
boy of the cuisine is the Galouti or Galawati kabab. The tender
minced meat delicacy is perhaps a dish without which no Lucknowi food festival
is complete. It gets its name from the fact that it virtually melts in the
mouth and we are happy to report that the one that we tried at Bay 15 does
complete justice to this tradition.
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The menu then moves
to the mains and the Nalli ka Gosht Rizala catches our fancy. This quintessentially
Awadhi dish – mutton on the bone simmered in a mild creamy curry can be had
with rice as well as Sheermal. While the curry was spot on and had us
licking our fingers, the Sheermal was a let down. Traditionally, sheermal
is prepared like naan from a dough that consists of flour, ghee,
salt, sugar and saffron-enhanced milk, cooked perfect brown. It is served hot
brushed with ghee. At Bay 15, the mildly yellow coloured naan seemed to get its
sweetness from a sugar or honey syrup brushed on it.
Next, The Dum
Murgh ki Kacchi Biryani featured on our list. The Lucknowi or Awadhi Dum
Biryani gets its name from the dum pukhtstyle that it is cooked in. The
raw meat (or chicken) infused with spices is slow cooked with rice flavoured
with saffron and other spices. They are then layered together in a handi
(deep-bottomed vessel) and cooked for hours until the flavours deeply
penetrate, creating a mild flavoured dish. The Dum Murgh ki Kacchi Biryani was
truly an explosion of these flavours, and we regret not having it enough,
thanks to our limited appetites.
All’s
well that ends well, they say! And one way to ensure that it ends well, is to
do so with a dessert. We chose to go with Malpua with Rabdi. This sweet
dish was extremely tasty and flavourful and we cannot recommend it enough.
