Ever tasted a Kashmiri thaali? This was the last thing one expected walking into the Hyatt Regency Chennai for their latest festival offering. With promises of an authentic waza Bashir Ahmad, an expert at wedding feasts in the region — we imagined an elaborate spread of mutton delicacies and more, brought in, in slow motion as is the case with most food festivals. But surprisingly, all our expectations were met on a single plate — quick, delicious and easy.
Also, given our tardiness and raging appetites on this particular afternoon, we decided to swap appetizers for dessert. Don’t judge. It’s hard not to dive in seeing a gorgeous bowl of Zarda Pulao (sweet pulao) when it’s already sitting pretty on the table!
Truth be told the Kashmiri pulao, or the base of the wazwan (multi-course meal in this cuisine) is almost as sweet, covered with cashew nuts and raisins. Even the Shirmal (that sort of resembles pita bread) is sweet. However, the assortment of accompaniments — imagine a rich Lamb Rista (ground lamb meatballs with a saffron sauce), Fish Korma and our personal favourite, an ultra delicious Saag... certainly plated up the bags of savoury yum we were hoping for.
“Most of the time, wazwan has only meaty dishes, but we decided to do a mix given the demand for vegetarian here,” says executive chef, Subrata Debnath. And with the tender lamb meat as well as the haq saag (spinach) sourced all the way from Kashmir — those who love to eat, may want to save their appetites for dinner sometime this week, to give this promise of authentic wazwan a try.
Sweet, savoury and plating up several dishes you likely haven’t tried before, this is a meal you want to take your time on.
The festival is on for dinner at the Spice Haat, Hyatt Regency till June 20. For details, contact 61001234.
