It takes much more than an oven and a pair of skewers to dish out some juicy pieces of meat charred to perfection. And very few places in the city have perfected the art better than The Astor.

Known for its speciality kebabs ever since the Theatre Road hotel lit the ovens in 1979, The Astor at one point of time was the name to reckon with when it came to this delicacy. Though now it faces competition from quite a few quarters around town, the kebabs at The Astor still continue to be top draw.

The secret, says general manager R.K. Palta, lies in the authentic recipes of speciality chef Avtaar Singh, who after having pampered the palate of Calcuttans for years, has passed it on to the present chef, Usman.

?The Astor was started as a small guesthouse in 1977. When the restaurant was launched after two years, Avtaar Singh was brought down from Delhi. The kebabs dished out by him became an instant hit and the rest is history,? recounts Palta.

The authentic methods and ingredients make the kebabs at The Astor click, agrees chef Usman. ?For instance, we still use the 29 kinds of spices that Avtaar Singh had introduced to make the Amritsari Kebabs and the same holds for most of the other varieties.?

The trick, however, is more in the marination style and duration than the ingredients, he adds, for ?it?s not the way the meat is cooked, but the way it is marinated? that?s more important.

?We use the regular spices like nutmeg, kebabchini, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper and many more that are used by most other restaurants. But we strictly avoid readymade spices and grind all the masala ourselves. This helps us maintain the right combination and also avoid the chemicals in the readymade spices,? says sous chef Partha Pratim Bit.

He adds that the binding agent for the meat also plays a role in making the kebabs juicier. ?We use gram flour roasted with butter to bind the meat and enhance the taste.?

The menu at Kebab-e-Que, the speciality restaurant, boasts 18 different types of kebabs ? Malai Kebab, Reshmi Kebab, Kasturi Kebab, Amritsari Kebab, Bada Kebab and Tandoori Prawns, to name the popular picks. These, says chef Usman, vary according to the spices used in marination, the method of grilling and the part of the body (of the chicken or lamb) that?s cooked.

While the Amritsari Kebab is orange in colour and quite spicy, the Malai Kebabs are the least spicy and white in appearance. ?Contrary to popular belief, not all kebabs are cooked in the tandoor. For instance, the Shammi Kebab, Tikka Kebab and Bada Kebab are fried on the tawa,? explains chef Usman.

The hotel has a separate kitchen for kebabs, where two charcoal ovens are constantly at work to meet the demand.

?Kebabs account for 65 per cent of our total sales and meeting the demand is quite a tough task. We only stick to charcoal ovens, though they take more time. Unless you cook the meat in charcoal you won?t get the real taste of kebabs,? signs off Palta.

Pictures by Rashbehari Das