For any die-hard foodie, a
culinary tour of India will be like visiting heaven. The stark contrast in
cuisine across the 4 corners of the country is sure to keep them guessing on
all the beautiful dishes and the exotic ingredients that go with them. The Butter
Chicken Masala in the North combined with the Dosas from the South and add to
it some chats from the west and one can keeping going on and again over the
different dishes that we can savour. But in today’s restaurant scenario in
India, many restaurant fail to provide authenticity in their food as they try
to cover the entire Indian cuisine under one roof. This leads to mixing of the
unique tastes that needs to be attributed to each dish based on the geographic
location of its origin. However, there are still a handful of restaurant which
believe that the trade-off between the variety of dishes vs authenticity will
always have the win tilting towards authenticity and have hence embarked on a
journey of providing authentic cuisines from lesser known regions of the
sub-continent.
One such restaurant serving authentic
regional cuisine in Chennai is “Beyond Indus” located within the “Taj Club
House” in Anna Salai. Diners here get to savour some exotic foods from the provinces
surrounding the Indus River namely Punjab, Rawalpindi & Sindh. True to their name, the dishes served here
were always a reflection of the regions that it was supposed to represent.
Various dinners here have never failed in satisfying the entourage. When a
restaurant has created a mark in setting amazing food, imagine a food festival
being held.
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| (Chef Chandan - Masala Klub) |
How can you have a food festival
when you have already differentiated your offering? Well here comes the twist,
the food festival being conducted is by a visiting chef from another of Taj’s
restaurant, the “Masala Klub” from the “Taj West End” at Bangalore. And what do
they specialize in, they provide a modern twist to classical Indian cuisine.
Chef Chandan from Masala Klub stylishly recreates authentic Indian flavours
using modern cooking techniques and using healthier ingredients without
compromising on the taste.
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| (Papads) |
Upon being seated, first to make
its way to our table was the welcome drink. On this occasion it was a ‘Litchi’
flavoured drink served in a Champagne glass. This was followed by an amuse-bouche
which was a ‘Pani Puri’ with the pani being a differentiator made from
Pineapple extract. We were then introduced to the offering for the day which
comprised of three starters, three mains served with Indian breads and a plate
of traditional desserts.
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| (Litchi Drink) |
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| (Pineapple Pani Puri) |
Once the introductions were over,
the starters were presented on the table. The starter platter comprised of
‘Palak Papad ke Kebab’, ‘Bhunna lasson de Murgh Tikka’ & ‘Pan seared Sea
Bass’. The Palak papad ke kebab was made of Broccoli florets flavoured with a
mix of mustard and spices and finally char-grilled to attain a papad crispiness
on the outside. The Murgh tikka was the traditional tender chicken cubes draped
in cheese and flavoured with Cardamom and Garlic. The Sea Bass had a peppery
taste to it as it was pan seared using deggi mirch. The Papad kebab was the
clear highlight of the starters as its crispy crust was an absolute palate
pleaser.
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| (Starter Kebab Platter) |
For the mains, we were served
with three curries, a mutton, a prawn and a vegetarian. The ‘Patiala Mutton curry’
is an ethnic Punjabi dish made using meat from the leg of a lamb and finished
using ghee to provide the richness to the gravy. This was followed by the
‘Anardana Jingha’ which was a prawn gravy with flavourings infused from roasted
coriander seeds, the beautiful Kashmiri chilies and topped with pomegranate
seeds. The combination of flavours was just mind boggling and was a pure treat
along with their ‘Chili Olive Naan’ that was served as the accompaniment. The
last of the gravies to make way was the ‘Nadru aur Singhada’ that directly
translates to Lotus Stem and Water Chestnut literally. It was quite unique to
taste a curry made using these two ingredients and must say they complemented
each other very well.
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| (Curry Trio) |
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| (Chili Olive Naan) |
To end the evening, the desserts
were rolled out. The dessert for the evening was the ‘Baked Anjeer Halwa’. The
halwa is made up of mashed figs and is an all-time favourite of the Masala
Klub’s menu. The halwa was served along with a Coconut Ice Cream that had a few
tongue-tickling pieces of tender coconut flesh.
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| (Dessert Platter) |
If you thought the evening ended
here, you have to be wrong. Being foodies, we are always on the hunt to find
out best places for unique dishes. Being in a restaurant serving authentic
Northern-North Western cuisine, how can we leave without tasting their ‘Galouti
Kebab’ especially after the Chef revealed that it was his personal favourite
too. So after much deliberation with fellow food bloggers Dr Wasim & Dr
Shadir, the trio of us decided to go for the kill. As we were already beaten
down by the amazing meal that was set in front of us already, we requested for
just one portion of the kebab and that’s all the space that was remaining.
However, Chefs being chefs, bought us a complete plate with four Galouti’s
neatly tucked on a Saffron Roti. The looks were very deceptive as after the
customary photo clicks, I’d placed the fork on top of the kebab to pack my
camera gear so that we can leave as soon as the tasting is over.
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| (Making of Galouti Kebab) |
Within a few seconds, what we
witnessed was phenomenal. Historically, Galouti came into existence because
when the Mughal Kings became old and lost their teeth, they still wanted to
savour kebabs that would taste divine yet be so soft that they would melt
inside the mouth. True to its history, what we saw was that the fork I’d placed
had actually sunk inside the kebab. That’s how soft it was. The first bite
sealed the case and the verdict was out. Finally a Galouti that beats those
from the ‘The Great Kebab Factory’ at Radisson Blu. The trio of us were so
delighted that we kept talking about the Galouti till late that evening. A must
try if you are a Galouti fan.
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| (Galouti Kebab) |
The ‘Masala Klub’ festival is on
till the 22nd of June at Beyond Indus, located at Hotel Taj Club
Road in Anna Salai and a meal for two will cost you upwards of ₹ 3000.
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