Food pop up offers authentic Punjabi taste of yore
New Delhi: With nostalgia and distinct flavours spread evenly on all its mouth-watering delicacies, an ongoing food festival in the national capital has gone all out in curating a big-fat Punjabi platter for the legion of fans of the quintessential cuisine.
The gastronomic extravaganza, taking place at Dhaba restaurant by The Claridges, is offering the choicest of traditional Punjabi delights to its patrons during the 12-day-long 'Punjab Food Festival'.
Be it the sacred food 'Sukke Kale Chane and Pinni Da Halwa' or the tried and tasted 'Murgh Tari Wali', the menu, curated by guest chef Harangad Singh, promises to transport the visitors to Punjab of the medieval times with its vast array of authentic Punjabi food made using age-old cooking methods and secret blend of spices.
"The menu is curated with a proper Punjabi DNA of 'Sewa Swabhav'. . . If you look into Sikh culture, we have prasad first and then langar. I have also tried to do the same by serving 'Sukke Kale Chane and Pinni Da Halwa' at the beginning of the meal," Singh told PTI.
"I have taken references from medieval Punjab when it was undivided. For instance, the pickles or dishes like 'Lahori Punjab Tikka' that I am making here are from the time when Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were one, and Lahore and Peshawar were part of the Punjab only," he added.
For non-vegetarian lovers, the specially handcrafted menu include lip-smacking appetizers like 'Bhatti Da Murgh', 'Tawe Aali Champaan', 'Bittu di Mutton Sikh', 'Tandoori Pomfret', and the prized-catch from Harike Wetland, the ever-tempting succulent 'Amritsari Macchi'.
The expansive appetizer section has no dearth of options for vegetarians as it includes a host of dishes -- from 'Bharwa Paneer Tikka', 'Khumb di Tikki' to 'Dahi Kebab' and 'Bhutte Matar di Tikki'.
The main course, an eclectic mix of choicest vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, boasts of 'Khatta Murgh Sirka Pyaaz', 'Martabaan Meat', 'Jhing Tawa Masala', 'Ghutwa Palak Wadi', 'Tarachand Paneer Bhurji' and 'Amritsari Daal', among others, with a choice of rice in options such as 'Kaale Moti da Pulao' and 'Meat Chawal'.
One of the highlights of the main-course is its 'Cooker Meat', where the visitors are made to taste the meat straight out of the cooker present on the table -- just the way it is done in a traditional Punjabi household.
"Not only food, we are curating an experience. The 'Cooker Meat' will take people to the nostalgia of a proper Punjabi household, where whenever the mutton is cooked they bring the whole cooker to the table. This way we ensure that people get the whiff and aroma on their respective tables only," explained the chef. Sinful desserts like 'Atte Da Halwa', 'Kheer', and 'Dudh Jalebi' give a befitting end to the sumptuous meal.
The feast goes off the table on Monday.
