If you’re in the mood for some exquisite Awadhi dishes from the kitchens of the Lucknow royals, head straight to Riyasat, South City Mall. This Ramzan, the Speciality Restaurants’ royalty-inspired Indian dining restaurant is celebrating the flavours of Lucknow with ‘Lucknowi Dawat’, a 15-day food festival that will be on till March 26
All images by Upama Dutta
The odyssey of flavours and aroma began with a kebab platter with soft charcoal grilled Gosht Malihabadi Seekh Mutton Kebab. It had a perfect blend of spices, along with flavours of mint and coriander. We also tried the Mahira Babuli Kebab, which was a soft, juicy and tender Lucknowi style char grilled chicken kebab. Straight from the waters, there was a Jhinga Aaira E Khaas — charred king prawns was served with a cashew and cream cheese sauce
On the vegetarian main course, we paired a soft, buttery naan with a Nawabi Dastarkhwan Ka Bharta. This Lucknowi-style grilled and mashed brinjal with peas is rich in flavour but not too spicy. Also on the menu was Paneer Lazzat-e-Khas, a charred cottage cheese roulade cooked in a tomato and almond gravy
For the non-vegetarian main course, we opted for some aromatic saffron Kuska rice. With that we tried the Murg Noor-E-Mahal Korma — succulent chicken legs in a creamy ‘chironji’ (almondette) and poppy seed gravy, which paired well with the rice. For seafood lovers, the menu also has Jhinga Dum Kulsumi, prawns in a tomato pomegranate gravy. The balance of subtle flavours once again stood out through the mains
Introducing the Lucknowi food festival, Debashish Ghosh, general manager, brand standards and public relations, Speciality Restaurants, said, ‘For a long time we haven't done any event at the Riyasat so we thought this would be a good time to do this menu. It is a modest menu of 12-13 items but each item is curated with a lot of thought and study of ingredients and flavours’
Pointing out the subtle yet rich flavours of each item on the menu, chef Hiranmoy Paul said, ‘We wanted to highlight the authentic flavours of the royal kitchens, which are rich yet very subtle. Spices are used, but nothing is too spicy, and alternative ingredients have been used for texture. For example, when we use almond in place of cashew for a gravy, it creates a difference. The spread is all about the heritage of Lucknow and its food. We hope people will like it.’ The Lucknowi Dawat food festival will be held till March 26 at Riyasat, South City Mall. The pocket pinch for two people is approximately Rs 1,800
