Over a smoldering tandoor pot stacked with coal, sizzling hot ‘Sheek Kebabs’ threaded on a skewer are placed. The guests are in for a surprise as the pot is refilled all along as the grilled delicacy is finished. ‘Unlimited Kebab and Biryani Festival’, going on at Periyar Restaurant in Gokulam Park Inn, Kaloor, is a sure gastronomic journey for the foodies, especially those who have a liking for the North Indian cuisine.
“Kebab, a popular dish in the North Indian street corners goes well with Biryani, which has now turned a staple dish of Malayalis. Two years back we held a similar festival which was largely successful, the reason why we opted for an unlikely combo,” says Rajesh T G, executive chef.
One can start the sumptuous buffet with ‘Yakhni Shorba’, a mutton stock soup seasoned with spices that is a good appetiser for the street food. Another starter is ‘Dal Dhania Shorba’, lentil soup with coriander. The menu changes everyday, maintaining some regular dishes.
The chef has dished out a variety of non vegetarian kebabs like ‘Green Fish Kebab’ with a slightly smoky flavour, ‘Murgh Amritsari Kebab’, a crunchy chicken delicacy, ‘Suneri Mackerel’ another fish kebab made of mackerel along with his favourite one, ‘Jharkand Sheek kebab’, an amalgam of minced chicken and spices. “‘Chicken Haryali Kebab’ is a hot pick, prepared by marinating chicken with green chilly, coriander leaves and spinach,” says the chef. For the veggies, there are three varieties of vegetable kebabs namely ‘Paneer Chutney Kebab’, ‘Saffoni Aloo’ and ‘Sesame Sheek Kebab’.
Assorted Indian bread are served in baskets along with curries like ‘Murgh Anarkali’, ‘Haleem’ a Hyderabadi dish made of wheat, lentils and meat and ‘Bharwan Egg Curry’. In the vegetarian section, ‘Paneer Mirchi Ka Salan’, is a popular Hyderabadi side dish. Chef says that ‘Tandoori Malai Jinga’ prepared with prawns, yoghurt, ginger and garlic paste is also in top demand. Coming to the main course, five biryanis are served daily. From the traditional ‘Malabar Chicken Biryani’ to ‘Arabic Mujbooz’, which is made of rice and tender meat cooked together with aromatic spices, the biryani section is a trip all across the country. Chef recommends ‘Kache Gosht Ki biryani’, prepared in the traditional Hyderabadi style.
Some other biriyanis that one can blindly savour are spicy Bengali style ‘Machli Biryani’, Kerala style ‘Kada Biryani’ and ‘Kafsa’, an Arabian chicken biryani. Wide varieties of salads are also there to munch on. “And for the sweet toothed ones, there will be more than 10 varieties of desserts including ‘Sandhesh’, ‘Milk Burfi’, ‘Pineapple Mousse’ and ‘Almond Rasamalai’,” says Rajesh.
The festival will conclude on Monday.