KOCHI: It’s a festive mood at Marriott’s ‘Kochi Kitchen’. A luscious Iftar buffet has been spread across the room, leaving guests spoilt for choice. It’s a grand melange of flavours – from Malabari to continental. The prime attractions, however, are the ‘Mughal’ and ‘Nizam’ delicacies. Their aromas sway one with bona fide regal charm.
Walking past the haleem and Taar Mutton Paya Shorba counter, I am reminded of strolling down Hyderabad’s Old City, known for those humble-yet-heavenly gastronomic getaways.
Named ‘Shaam-E-Awadh’, the Iftar buffet has laid out the goodness from the rasois of the nizams and nawabs. “The highlights are the Awadhi cuisine, with the subtle, soothing flavours, and the rich flavourful Hyderabadi meat-based dishes brimming with gravy,” says executive chef Tanuj Bahuguna.
“Both are two extremes when it comes to taste. The food will transport one to the picturesque masjid settings of the two places.”
Lucknow-based master chef Rizwaan Qureshi, who anchors the buffet, escorts me to a table. Start with Taar Mutton Paya Shorba soup, he insists.
The thin, mild soup, cooked with little spices, is made of lamb trotters. It’s soulful nourishment, adds Rizwaan.
The extensive menu can leave one confused. Thankfully, the chef recommends Haleem, Gosht Nihari, and Mutton boti Kebab. Drenching sheermal bread in mutton pieces and gravy is the right way to have the creamy and spicy Gosht Nihari, he advises.
I start off with the famed Haleem. Rizwaan tops it with a ghee-based gravy, pieces of lime, mint leaves and fried onion. “This is how Haleem should be savoured,” he says.
It’s simply wonderful. The perfectly cooked, spiced stew made of lamb, masoor lentils, barley, saffron, and yoghurt is a beauty. The next punch comes from the boti kebab, which is well-marinated in a melange of spices and garlic paste.
I move on to the tour of Lucknow. And straightaway knocked down by the noor mahal biryani. Chicken koftas and boti, layered with saffron-infused parboiled rice, are cooked on low heat. A dash of the vigorous baingan salan complements well the subtly flavoured rice.
Then comes the quintessential dal makhani in a small katori. “This is made with black moong dal. It is cooked in a lagan for about 12 hours. The slow-cooking process is what makes it special,” says Rizwaan.
He insists I taste the murg lababdar, paired with butter naan next. And I am grateful for it. Otherwise, the boneless chicken prepared in onion-tomato masala would have been a great miss.
From the buffet, what caught my eyes was the yellow-coloured, sarson ke phool (cauliflower) prepared in mustard paste and sour cream. Quite a tangy one.
Ending the feast on a sweet note, Rizwaan takes me to the dessert section. I go with his picks – zarda pulao and semiya muzaffar. The pulao (‘meethe chaawal’) has basmati rice mixed with sugar syrup, saffron, butter, and ghee. It’s a pleasant surprise. And the coconut medley in semiya muzaffar delivers the final knockout punch!