JW Marriott: Vicky comes to town

  Executive Chef JW Marriott Naveen Handa with
Chef Vicky Ratnani

Cooking with spices is nothing short of alchemy, says chef Vicky Ratnani. You need to know the exact quantity to add for that perfect flavour, just a pinch can make all the difference. The synonym of alchemy is chemistry. It’s also magic and enchantment and that’s what the chef brings to his food. The tricity can savour a bit of it at 35 BREWHOUSE, JW Marriott, Chandigarh, where the chef is presenting A Curated Experience.

On the menu:  According to the chef, “The global gourmet menu which we will be serving through this curated dinner is an expression of mine and the hotel's global culinary prowess blended with our love for our roots.”  Diners can look forward to Lobster Mac and Cheese where the desi addition is Amul cheese and green chillies or then The Brew pani-puri which are golgappas filled with a potent mix of imli chutney and beer. There’s also the cheesy Wood fired Mini Cazlone, filled with the all-time favourite, yes, you guessed it: butter chicken. The green version has a filling of charred broccoli. There’s also Mera desi roast served with jeera potatoes and a sparkling pepper sauce. The Smoky Tandoori Bowl has vegetables served with a quinoa pilaf, creamed spinach and kachumbhar. It’s peppy progressive cuisine, hearty and hot from the hearth. 

About the hotel: “Since I like to keep a keen eye on the culinary landscape of our country, I have been aware of the amazing work being done by JW Marriott Chandigarh in the F&B space. From launching 35 BREWHOUSE to hosting culinary fares like Road to London or Flavours of Asia, the range is incredible,” says the chef.

Where and When: At 35 BREWHOUSE, the first microbrewery at a five-star property in the region.

On August 30 and 31, 7.30 pm onwards   

JW Marriott food festival: Spicing it with Black Pepper

Angaya Podi 

Ingredients used include pipli and aswagandha

Once upon a time in southern India, black pepper was the only spice used in cooking. “That was between 300 BC and 300 AD, a period when cuisine of the Deccan was in its purest form, without any foreign influence,” says food historian and chef Shri Bala who has passionately researched the era’s Sangam Literature, a valued document of ancient Tamil history, and culled all it has to say on cuisine of those times. “The literature, which uniquely is a set of poems, speaks about the Tamizhagam region which includes areas of all present-day southern states. As far as food is concerned Sangam does not talk about recipes, rather it tells us about ingredients used in cooking. It intrigued me and I set about creating dishes using the mentioned items,” she says. It’s some of these preparations that she is laying out for the 10-day Black Pepper Festival at JW Marriott, Chandigarh. 

Chef Shri Bala with Exec Chef JW Marriott, Chandigarh,
 Naveen Handa at the opening of the Black Pepper Food Festival

Sangam literature divides Tamizhagam into five geographical landscapes—coastal, forest, mountains, cropland and dry wasteland—and describes how these influenced food habits. There is something to savour from every region at the festival which presents an epicurean feast of ancient, medieval and contemporary dishes that go far beyond the ubiquitous Deccan fare. 

The culinary expedition begins on a sweet note with the Madurai butter bun, a modern-day street food, which is a soft bun layered with butter and jaggery that gets tantalizingly caramelised on heating. “In our system of eating we always start with something sweet, as it increases hunger pangs and also aids in digestion,” says Shri Bala.  Moving on, the ancient section tempts equally with meen varuval, fish subtly flavoured with curry leaves and black pepper, as it does with the protein-packed thavalai vada made with four lentils and rice. There’s also the delicate Kovil dosa, which is fit to be served to the gods as it’s an unfermented black urad lentil preparation. The dessert section has the excellent khus khus payasam paired with adhirasam or small, thick crepes of rice flour and palm jaggery.  

The Medieval spread stands out for its vegetable dishes such as ash gourd pal kuttu and urundai kuzhumbu or lentil dumplings in gravy. From all three eras, there’s a selection of mutton (Dindigul biryani), lamb (Ambur biryani), fish (meen gassi) and chicken (Guntur chilly chicken). 

Kovil dosa 

Ambur Biryani 

Across the menu, though black pepper is the dominant spice the preparations are extremely flavoursome owing to the use of miscellaneous ancient ingredients and cooking methods. “As a case in point, we are serving Druva Grass Smoked Mutton wherein druva grass is used to smoke and cook the mutton. While the dish is spiced solely with black pepper, the smoke of the druva grass lends the mutton a distinctive spicy flavour, comparable to today’s garam masala,” explains Chef Naveen Handa, Executive Chef, JW Marriott. Chandigarh, who along with his team has worked in tandem with Shri Bala to put up this culinary time travel. 

The Rasam counter offers quite a mélange that should not be missed by those with a discerning palate. A must-try here is prawn coconut soup as well as steamed millet with angaya podi, a roasted-spice powder which has ingredients like pipli, neem flower, pea berry, night shade and of course pepper. In the accompaniments,  Inji puli pickle is a delicious mix of textures. 

At the Black Pepper Festival what shines through is the subtlety of flavours, combinations of ingredients, diverse cooking techniques and above all Shri Bala’s passion for research, hunger to excel and share her knowledge. 

The festival is on till February 24.        

Uzbekistan Food Trail: Exploring the rich culture of Babur's homeland

Getty Images



https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/69230/exploring-the-food-culture-of-uzbekistan

Kashmir: The Lotus Eaters

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-lotus-eaters/article23438898.ece

Alfresco by the Food Truck

Food Truck at JW  Marriott, Chandigarh 

Crumbed fried sole, french fries, beer cheese dip

There's a new dining space at JW Marriott, Chandigarh. The theme is alfresco and all foodie action happens aboard the recent entrant, the Food Truck parked adjacent to The Lounge. 

The ambience is casual-chic and setting the tone is cutlery wrapped in denim napkin, artistic crockery, rattan and wood furniture. For the compact menu executive chef Naveen Handa and his team have picked a selection of all-time favourite comfort foods from Indian, Italian, Oriental and English cuisines, given a slight twist to taste, and upped the experience with customised serving ware. 

     Executive chef Naveen Handa  

Tandoori soya chaap slider,
French fries, house salad 

There is a range of tandoori tikkas, stuffed kulchas, sliders, dimsums and pizzas from the wood fired oven. In keeping with a lounge atmosphere, on offer is an option of convenient meals in a bowl such as the Mongolian chicken and egg scallion or its vegetarian counterpart the mix vegetable dumpling in soya chili sauce, both served with fried rice. The classic fish n' chips typically wrapped in paper and accompanied with beer cheese dip comes in a small wooden barrel; forget plates and cutlery, you can relax and eat straight out of  it.   

Anda, Boti-Keema-Kaleji, Aloo Kulcha,
chitta makhan, tadka pyaz

A winning combination is boti-keema-kaleji topped with an egg and served alongside aloo kulcha, chitta makhan and tadka pyaz. Irresistible! The 'open palm' crusty shell is a culinary tribute to the city's Open Hand and has a choice of delectable fillings. Besides the set menu, the chef promises dish of the day and seasonal delights. 

Wood fired oven thin crust pizzas

The fare is perfect for a pairing with mocktail, malt or microbrewery specials of your choice from The Lounge.

There is ample outdoor seating and for those who like it cooler a row of attractive air-conditioned cabanas are quite a draw. 

Rice cup spicy Thai corn salad

The Food Truck ups its shutters at 3 pm and the last order can be placed till 11.30 pm.

Meal for two with cocktails should be around Rs 2,500/- 

JW Marriott, Chandigarh: On a culinary expedition

On the wheels: Road to London... A Gourmet Journey

When a group of adventurous Indians was planning to travel from Delhi to London they thought why bother with flights let’s just take the road. That’s precisely what they did and zipped through spectacular trans-continental terrain — IndoChina, Central Asia, Europe — logging miles and jotting experiences on the wonders of wander. These figures tell their story: 19,500 km, 55 days, 18 countries and 13 SUVs. 

Dilpreet Bindra (left) and Naveen Handa 

Among the trailblazers who took the road less travelled and accomplished the feat is Dilpreet Singh Bindra, General Manager, JW Marriott, Chandigarh. A passionate explorer, he is overwhelmed by the sheer scale of Road to London 2017, organised by Gurgaon-based Adventures Overland. 
“What an incredible journey this has been. We had planned meticulously for over six months and everything worked to precision. What made it remarkable was the cultural exchange, the thrill of traversing the Silk Route, the magnitude of nature, and the impeccable highways that made driving such a pleasure.” 

After flag-off from Imphal and clearing the customs at Moreh, the Indian border outpost, the self-driven expedition made its way through Myanmar, Thailand, and the rain forests of Laos, before entering China and being dazzled by the state-of-the-art Dragon country. What welcomed them next was the vastness of land and warmth of locals as they drove through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Further on Russia showed its gentle side while Latvia, Lithuania and Poland delighted them with East European generosity and courtesies. It was a breeze here on as the convoy manouvered through Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France to finally cross the English Channel and let out a hurrah in London. 

Bindra wasn’t only at the wheel during the trip as the hotelier in him made sure he peeped into kitchens at restaurants and highway inns, cooked and ate (and even sang) with locals, gathered spices and collected an assortment of recipes. Once back to work in Chandigarh, cuisines were discussed with the F&B section at the hotel. Lead by executive chef Naveen Handa, the team worked for over a month to recreate what Bindra had tasted and the result is Road to London... A Gourmet Journey, a five-day food festival on the culinary trail of 18 countries, that commences today. At the preview on Thursday, I tasted a sample of what’s on offer and all I can say is the palette of flavours pleased the palate enormously.

Auksta zupa

Yall dib

If the deep pink auksta zupa, a chilled beetroot-cucumber soup from Latvia had a perfect blend of flavours, the gaeng kiew wan pak (vegetable green curry) and coconut jasmine rice showed the subtlety Thai cuisine is known for. From Laos, yall dib, which is fresh vegetable juliennes wrapped in paper-thin rice sheets and served cold was stunning in its simplicity. While driving through South East Asia, Bindra had found the cuisine of the region offered impressive vegetarian delicacies, and the selection presented at the food fest stands testimony to that.
  

Chengdu hotpot

Tasting sessions at China have brought in original Sichuan, Xingjiang and Yunnan flavours. The show-stopper on the table was the Chengdu hotpot, a Sichuan whole roasted fish broth flavoured with herbs. From places on the Silk Route, as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, there is the baked somsa, a precursor of our deep-fried samosa, besides robust lamb stews and shashlik, prepared traditionally using minimal spices. In this section, standing in a league of its own is the tandyr nan, the Uzbek flat bread, so perfectly baked, that I enjoyed having it all by itself. Another star for me was cepelinai, Lithuanian poached potato and mushroom dumpling in sour cream. It looked wicked but bowled me over with its delicate texture and a burst of flavours. In the Europe segment there will be a lot more to choose from, as the popular bigos from Poland and bitterballon from The Netherlands. A wide choice of breads and flavousome dips complete the line-up of over 50 dishes which also includes fare from Lucknow, Assam, Bihar and Meghalaya. 

The desserts section is a medley of sweet temptations: cakes, tarts and flaky pastries. One that took me back to my trip to Poland was karpatka. Delicious!  Matterntaart from Belgium, xianhua bing, a Yunnan rose-flower cake, marlenka from Czech Republic, baumkuchen from Germany and klingeris from Latvia were some others in the irresistible club.

That it was a huge learning experience for the chefs was visible in their enthusiasm to explain culinary nuances of what they had laid out. For it’s not every day that a hotel gets to prepare Latvian, Uzbek, Krygyz, Kazhak or Polish dishes. This fest is an absolute must-visit, especially if to you passion means food. 
  
What: Road to London – a gourmet journey 
Where: The Café@JW, JW Marriott, 
            Sector 35, Chandigarh 
When: August 11 to 15, 2017
           Brunch: 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm, 
           Rs 1,550 plus taxes  
           Dinner: 7.30 pm to 11.30 pm, 
           Rs 1,950 plus taxes

Sushi, sake in Japan

https://www.thequint.com/food/2017/08/09/my-japan-trip-taught-me-to-pause-and-savour-the-moment-eating-sushi-drinking-sake

Amritsari Kulcha

http://www.natgeotraveller.in/you-cant-just-taste-the-amritsari-kulcha-you-have-to-hear-it/

The shepherd’s cheese

The Gujjars of Jammu Kashmir are
 the creators of the soft kaladi

On green hills in the shadows of the Pir Panjal range, the Gujjars or shepherds have quietly been making something utterly gourmet. The world fashionably calls it artisanal cheese. They simply call it kaladi. So little is known about it beyond these mountains that kaladi could well be the state’s best-kept secret.

I learn about it unexpectedly, in keeping with the tradition of getting some of the best leads on culinary trails from the most improbable sources. On my maiden trip to Jammu aboard the Malwa Express, my co-passenger, a soldier posted on the Indo-Pak border, turns out to be a ready-reckoner on the region’s cuisine. “You have to taste the kaladi, else your trip to Jammu is incomplete,” he insists.

A mere mention of it to my friend PB, a fellow journalist I’m visiting, and she ensures I sample kaladi the local way. “It’s unique to this region. They say it’s like mozzarella, but if you ask me it beats its Italian cousin by miles,” she grins, describing it with a zeal matching the soldier’s, as we drive to the popular eatery Pahalwan’s, established in 1934 and initially a milk shop typical to the hills.

PB asks for kaladi-kulcha, which seems to be the fastest selling item on the evening menu. In appearance, the raw kaladi is a nondescript off-white roundel, with the pungency of ripened cheese. It acquires a whole new meaning, though, when it is slapped on to a tawa, lightly fried till it releases its fat to turn a lovely golden-brown on both sides, placed inside a warm kulcha, seasoned with salt and chillies and served with accompaniments of mint and tamarind chutney. One bite of this deliciousness and I know why this fare is a winner. It’s robust and subtle at the same time: a pillowy-soft kulcha complementing a kaladi that is crisp on the surface but all stringy and molten inside, the mild sweetness of the ghee it’s fried in and finally the dash of spices. The kaladi is also served by itself but the bit of carb (kulcha/ bun) adds to its comfort-food factor.

Pahalwan’s sells around 150 kg of kaladi a day. It’s possible that Jammu and neighbouring districts produce several thousand kilos of this regional favourite, found at almost every street corner. I turn to Pahalwan’s Satpal Abrol for a response. The kaladi, he says, has long been part of these hills and Dogra cuisine. The fact that it was prepared on a small scale in high-altitude pockets limited its presence to the region. “Now it’s commercially made in cities but till a few years back, it was only the Gujjars who’d sell it. Kaladi used to be a summer special, made only when the shepherds ascended to the mountaintops with their herds. They curdled the unsold milk — which didn’t last long in that weather — to make kaladi,” he says.

The Gujjars use rustic pots to make the cheese, shape it by hand and ripen it in the sun on a bed of pine leaves. I recall the soldier telling me Ramnagar in Udhampur district is renowned for its kaladi. Abrol agrees, saying for an authentic taste, one needs to visit a Gujjar kitchen.

Later on a trip to Kashmir, I get a flavour of the original in the picturesque town of Aru, near Pahalgam. I’m sipping kehwa at a tea shop, when I spot a cluster of pheran-clad men scrutinising a pile of pale-cream discs that a Gujjar lady — clad in long shirt and embroidered topi — has pulled out of her cloth bag. “It’s doodh roti,” one of the men tells me as he pays a pittance for 20 pieces. “We call it maish krej in Kashmiri. In Jammu region, it’s known as kaladi,” another chips in. The shape of the Gujjar variety is different but the preparation is similar and so is the manner in which it’s relished by locals. The Gujjars, however, have it the gourmet way: grilled on wood-fire.

Has nobody thought of branding this soft cheese? My question is answered at a food store in Srinagar, where I discover vacuum-packed kaladi manufactured by a Dutchman settled in Pahalgam.

Published in BLink, The Hindu Business Line. 

Aru: Kashmiri khander (wedding) and the wazwan

 Aru is a charming pocket-size hamlet close to Pahalgham. We are on a day-trip here and have footed around it, admired its beauteous sights and squinting green meadows, plucked apples off trees, done the pony rides, got an enthusiastic update on the list of movies shot here and are about to head back to base when we ask our cabbie Khursheed if there is something very typical to the village we can see. He mulls over for a bit before hesitatingly asking if we would be keen in seeing a typical Kashmiri village khander (wedding). Could we have asked for anything better! 

The next moment we are being welcomed at the bride's sprawling home. It is the wedding of Shaheena. Her groom has arrived from a few villages away and is shyly sitting with the boys. Maqbool Hasan, the bride's father, is playing the gracious host and immediately comes forward to greet us. As pleasantries are being exchanged we witness a flurry of activity. The wazwan has been announced. We ask Hasan if we can stay on for a while and take a look at the proceedings. "Surely! I invite you to partake of the wazwan with us," he says hospitably.  

In a Kashmiri wedding, the wazwan, a multi-course feast, is the epitome of celebrations and the most important person after the couple is the vasta waza, or head chef. It's not unusual for parents to postpone the marriage if the waza of their choice is not available on the chosen day! Hasan triumphantly says he was lucky to have booked the waza in time as autumn is the season for weddings. He marches us to the spot where the backroom boys, the junior wazas, are getting ready to present the fare with a flourish. 

Preparation for the wazwan had begun the night before when the vasta waza had arrived with his band of wazas. Usually their number is anywhere between 15 to 50, depending on the size of the gathering. The term wazwan means 'cook's shop’, which was until the contemporary world gave the expression a whole new twist of a sensory experience, which it definitely is.  

Behind the scene

The pots are bubbling with all that’s to be served in a while and there is a heady mix of aromas. "The preparation is exacting and every step is done at the venue, from grinding of spices to pounding of meat. Each ingredient has to be fresh; the concept of something coming out of the cold storage is non-existent," a waza tells us. An emulsion of onion-garlic-pran (shallots), whole spices and moval or dried cockscomb for colouring are some of the basic ingredients in the Muslim style of cooking. The Pandits prefer using crushed spices, asafoetida and red chillies. Mustard oil, saunf (aniseed), saunth (ginger powder) and saffron remain common to both. With the Valley reaping a bountiful harvest of fruit, dried as well as fresh fruits are also tossed into dishes.    

The wazwan is cooked traditionally in a veurabal or an open-air kitchen, in large round-bottomed, small-necked copper pots and on wood-fire. A customised fireplace, about 12' -15' long and around 1.5' high, is created for the purpose. "This arrangement is known as veura," Hasan enlightens us, adding, "In Kashmiri cooking ingredients are added at regular intervals and need to be stirred constantly. The convenient height and length of the veura facilitates that. Customarily, ours is slow cooking—the culinary art having travelled here from Persia centuries ago—and the regulated heat of firewood is ideal for that." I compliment Hasan on his almost-academic style of explanation at which he laughs heartily and says, "We are all passionate about food. We don't like our flavours messed up (read fusion). A dish should taste as it always has. We may eat little but we will have only the best!" 

The gathering is settling down for the wazwan and we do not want to intrude right away. Moreover, we are keen to meet the bride. Hasan readily agrees and yells out to his wife. She leads us upstairs to an unadorned room where sits Shaheena attired in radiant red, looking pretty in her simplicity. She is surrounded by a crowd of aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews. Her marriage rituals are yet to take place and she has an anxious expression. Someone teases her on that and she breaks into a smile. We chat with her for a while and intrigue her with our status: women of all ages from one family. As we are about to leave, almost instantly and true to tradition, we dip into our wallets and present her shagun (token). She is initially reluctant to take it but when the eldest among us says it is dua (blessing) she smilingly agrees. Seated next to Shaheena is her brother making a note of all she’s been receiving. He asks his mother how he should put down our token. "From mas (maternal aunts) and beni (sisters)," she smiles, immediately forging a bond the way only Indians can!  

The Feast

Wedding guests are sprawled all over the garden and a few men have taken their place on the dastarkhawan (floor-covering) as they await the servers to come around with the first course of the wazwan. We are lead to the shamiyana (ceremonial tent) meant for women, who are sitting huddled on the ground and happily chatting. Looking at them is like seeing a sea of luminous faces sans any adornment, dressed in bright pherans and colourful head-scarves. What beauty! If there is one aspect that has refreshingly stood out in this village wedding it is the lack of extravagance. It is a cosy affair; a sharp contrast to ostentatious city weddings.

The arrival of an attendant carrying a tash-t-nari, the traditional jug and basin meant for washing hands at your individual place, signals the start of the service. It is truly a page out of old-world hospitality, decadent to say the least. Next follows the all-important trami or large nickle-plated copper platter laden with fragrant steamed rice (it’s a locally grown variety) topped with a long seek kebab (skewered mutton) running the length of the dish, and two servings of methi maz (mutton cooked with fenugreek) on either side. Each trami, about 18" in diameter, is shared by four persons and the methi maaz in a way demarcates boundaries as guests tunnel their way through the rice with their hands—cutlery is a no-no—to savour the first course, which is a sort of mezze. The next item is two large pieces of tabak maaz (ribs marinated in curd and pan-fried) and kokar (chicken in gravy). There is complete silence in the shamiyana as the ladies are all engrossed in the food. The servers are the only ones rushing in and out with big pots.     

​​The second course follows soon and the first to be served is rista (mutton balls in reddish gravy), and in sequence comes daniwala qorma (mixed meat curry), ruvangan chaman (cottage cheese in tomato gravy) and ab gosht (meat prepared in milk). Each dish has a distinct lip-smacking flavour and colour. An assortment of tangy chutneys made with walnut and radish are the accompaniments as are small bowls of sweetened curd, the sweetness subtly blunting the salt-spice and adding to the enhancement of flavours. The final dish of the feast is gustaba (mutton balls in silken textured curd gravy). It's a large ball and only one piece is served per trami; and in a way it’s the full-stop to a wazwan. A round of firni (rice pudding) and many rounds of kehva (cardamom flavoured green tea served with slivers of almond), however, follow.   

"The wazwan in a big city like Srinagar will have many more servings per course. A lot of it goes waste. Around 1.5 kg to 2 kg assorted meat per trami is more than sufficient. In the villages we believe in delighting our guests but not going overboard."Hasan tells us. While my family has enjoyed eating from a trami, being a vegetarian I relished just a bit of the food; but what an experience it has been. A wazwan is truly a culinary celebration! Aru will always remain special on that account.

Getting there:Srinagar-Pahalgam is 4.5 hrs by road. Pahalgam to Aru is 12 km.   

 Published Jetwings May 2016

Amritsar with Chef Vikas Khanna

It’s not everyday that a Michelin-starred restaurant chef takes you on a food trail. So when an opportunity like that comes along what do you do? Quite simply, grab it and grub around. That’s what I did last week along with a motley lot.

The chef in question was Vikas Khanna, the occasion was the launch of his new book Amritsar: Flavours of the Golden City (Roli Books), and the venue, quite appropriately, was his hometown and the food capital of Punjab: Amritsar.

The book is not merely a recipe guide but an ode to his beloved city and the people who shaped who he is today. A celebrity chef, the face of India in New York where he’s the executive chef at Junoon, a popular television host/guest/judge, cookbook(s) writer, documentary film-maker… Vikas Khanna dons many a hat and does so with utmost ease. He resides in America but wears Made in India on his sleeve. A proud Punjabi, he’s as much at home in Manhattan as he is on the streets he took us to, happily posing with whoever came by for a photo-op, praising nondescript cooks for their excellent skills, generously hugging dhaba-owners he had known since childhood and making them swell with pride on being credited for being a part of his evolution. 

Winsome, self-deprecating and modest to a fault, he's almost unbelievable. These are qualities that have endeared him to the masses giving him near-rockstar status. The cynic journo in me felt he skillfully plays to the gallery; perhaps an art he had mastered like his art of cooking. That aside, there's no taking away his accomplishments. In a world of 'pop-up' celebrities he stands among the achievers. Take a bow Vikas Khanna, you have walked the miles and there are many more to go.   

STOP PRESS: Oct 1, 2014: 

"Junoon is graced with FOURTH Michelin star in a row. A huge thank you to all of YOU and big congrats to the entire devoted team of Junoon who worked diligently for this honor."

 – www.facebook.com/VikasKhannaGroup

Also see: amritsar food trail

Amritsar food trail

Clockwise from top left: Emblematically Amritsar... milkman with valtohi or brass milk-can; jalebi at Katra Ahluwalia;the authentic Amritsari kulcha; gulab jamun at Sharma Sweet Shop off Lawrence Road;Rana's fruit cream stall at Lohgarh Road; just-can't-be-missed kesar lassi at Ahuja Milk Bhandar in Dhab Khatikan; batter-coated Amritsari fried fish; peethi-poori at Kanha Sweets on Lawrence Road; and aloo tikki

There’s a popular Punjabi idiom: Tthid naa payayieen rotian te sabay gallan khotiyaan… If there’s no food in the stomach, everything looks fake. Somehow in Amritsar nothing ever looks fake; there’s always something in the stomach here! 

Amritsar is a city where food is passion. Who would know it better than local boy chef Vikas Khanna. ”If you ask anyone in Amritsar, ‘Kithon aa rahe ho… where are you coming from?’ chances are the person will say, ‘Main roti kha ke aa rehan haan…I’ve just had lunch and come’. For us Ambarsaris food reigns supreme,” he says in a matter of fact way as we begin the food trail organised as part of the launch of his new book, Amritsar: Flavours of a Golden City. Later, amiable Balraj Kang, District Tourist Officer, gives us his take on his city. “Adha Amritsar khaan vich mast rehnda hai, adha pakaan vich… half the city is busy in eating the other half in cooking.” 

In a city like that how could we stay away from food for too long. Let’s get on to the tastes we savoured at spots that were the chef’s personal picks. Most were established names, some dating back almost 90 years. Recipes from some of these eateries feature in his book too. 

Our first stop was for an appetizing breakfast consisting of peethi-poori, chhole, aloo launji, gur kara and lassi. The pooris were the piece de resistance. Mini footballs these, their size made most of us feel we wouldn’t go beyond one. But one bite and we couldn’t stop at one. Crisp and flavourful these looked deceptively oil-free! Of the accompaniments, the aloo launji was the tangy surprise. The sweetness of sugar had been blended delightfully with the sourness of tamarind to create this wonderful potato curry worthy of repeats.       

Here’s where:

Kanha Sweets, Lawrence Road

Taste-o-meter: 9/10

The chef had warned us to keep space for his favourite flat gulab jamun available next door. The lot of us arrived at the hole in the wall to be met by Sharmaji, who was busy stirring milk in his gigantic kadhai. The chef presented him with his new book, showering praises on his fare. Cameras buzzed and questions flew but Sharmaji remained unmoved by all the attention; his focus was purely on the milk. To which chef Khanna said, “This is passion! At this moment the man does not care who we are. His only concern is the milk which needs his top priority. A newbie chef would have rushed for a photo-op with me, but not him. He is totally involved. And that’s the first lesson for success in any profession.” 
Here’s where: 
Sharma Sweet House, Off Lawrence Road

Taste-o-meter: 7.5/10

Post the morning food session we proceeded for a heritage walk. Having burnt a few calories and sweated suitably under a blazing noon sun we were ready for another tryst with taste. It was time for lassi at one of the most popular places in town. Looking at the size of the glass, like most others in the group, I asked for the quantity to be reduced to one-third. No sooner than had we gulped it down that we were asking for refills. It was the best I had ever had. The kesar lassi gets my top vote. I tasted the masala paneer too, and relished its melt-in the-mouth texture. I got some packed for home and blissfully it survived the heat and dust.  

Here’s where:

Ahuja Milk Bhandar, Dhab Khatikan

Taste-o-meter: 9/10

This is one place our group missed visiting. But it should definitely be on the list of anyone coming into Amritsar. Maqbool Road’s kulcha-wala Sardarji is a legend and his stuffed kulcha is truly “all-India fames”, as his board once said before it was corrected to “Famous”!  Now there is no board, I hear. He ain’t in need of any. The Sardarji consistently gets his kulcha right and is known to shut shop, a true-blue roadside eatery, as soon as his kneaded flour gets over, which could be as soon as 3 pm. So…

Right click on image to see
published version

The test of a perfect kulcha lies in its crackle: once it’s out of the tandoor and on to your plate (glazed with a tempting dollop of butter) all you need to do is hold it in your hand and lightly crush it. If it gives a crackling sound you’ve got an ace, if not, another address needs to be tried. In flavour it should be flaky, crisp and moist. Besides the dough mix and the low-fire  tandoor that gives it its distinct flavour, it’s also the gheou (ghee) that does the trick. Nothing succeeds like ghee and it’s not for nothing they say in these parts of the country: Sau daaroo tey ek gheou... Despite a hundred medicines, nothing can match the value of desi ghee. 

Here’s where:

Kulchawala, Maqbool Road

Taste-o-meter: 9.5/10
* I will also recommend the stuffed kulcha served at Holiday Inn, Amritsar (www.ihg.com), where I stayed. It was a winner in all respects. Once I had tasted it, everything else on the buffet ceased to exist.   

Our evening raid began on a snacky note with papdi-chat, aloo-tikki, bhel etc. The place was the popular Brijwasi Chat on Cooper Road. I found the stuff here below par, the aloo tikki being the only redeeming item. This joint gets my thumbs down.

Soon it was time for some kukad-shukad, meat te machhi. Though locals have a lot of personal favourites for tandoori chicken, keema naan and Amritsari fish, these neighbours are popular spots.   

Here’s where (on Majitha Road):  

Beera Chicken House

Taste-o-meter: 8/10

Makhan Fish

Taste-o-meter: 7.5/10

Prepared in a wooden balti 

We had eaten, actually seen, enough fare for a day. By the time we reached the fruit  cream stalls it was around 10 pm and we were quite satiated. The genial Balraj Singh insisted on us trying out this “different stuff”. How different  could good ol’ fruit cream be? Oh! It surely was. Another one-of-its-kind of Amritsar. It was not the fruit cream I had grown up eating at the Army messes. Nor was it the kind Grandpa liked Granny to make when he had his buddies over. It was, as Balraj ji said, “different”. And delicious. A nutty fruit cream, stuffed as it was with nuts, cashews most, and no banana (as most glow-signs in the vicinity mentioned), it was delicately sweet, lightly creamy and had a crunch in every bite. It was prepared the way the old-style balti-ice cream was, and magically, despite it being whisked pure cream, one never felt that unsavoury hint of milk-fat sticking to the palate. 
Here’s where:

Rana (fruit cream), Lohgarh Road

Taste-o-meter: 9.5/10

The trip was on an invitation by Roli Books and Punjab Heritage & Tourism Promotion Board 

BBC Good FOOD India: Malopolska

Eat like a local 
Malopolska
From artisan cheese to home-brewed liquor, it is all about the good life in this southern Polish region

In a picturesque pocket of Poland lies the sparkling region of Malopolska. A mosaic of quaint villages, Renaissance towns, lavish palaces, towering castles, rich forests, the alpine Tatra mountains and the fertile Vistula valley, so complete is it in itself that it’s often called Little Poland. A mix of diverse geography and rich history is found on its platters that are always served with cheer.

Hearty, unfussy and infused with natural flavours and colours, the strength of Małopolska cuisine lies in using fresh ingredients. Meals are centered around sour or cream-enriched soups and stews (Bigos or Hunter’s Stew is considered the national dish); a selection of breads; braised, cured or roasted meats; pickled vegetables and fruity desserts. Cooking owes it tastes to root vegetables as well as mild spices, particularly marjoram, caraway, dill and poppy seeds. A remarkable variety of kielbasa or sausages (lisiecka is considered culinary perfection), smoked or fresh, spice up the fare. When paired with home-brewed traditional Polish vodka, beer or fruit wines, these are perfect accompaniments for ‘Na Zdrowie’ or raising a toast.  

Quintessentially, ingredients from the fields and forests go into the pans, are cooked with love and relished together by the family. Every meal is a celebration, and endearingly, despite winds of change, like in India, babka (granny) nostalgia is evoked when conversation veers around food. Almost anyone you meet will have their favourite babka recipes to share. It’s no wonder then that one of the most-loved yeast cakes across Poland is simply called ‘Babka’.

The day’s main repast is obiad or dinner and it’s eaten anytime between 12 noon and 4 pm. If it is later than that it’s obiadokolacja or ‘lunchsupper’. In between there’s drugie sniadanie or second breakfast. A leisurely obiad is usually a three-course affair, and  favourites mains include kaczka z jablkami (baked duck with apples and cranberry sauce), kotlet schabowy (breaded pork cutlet) and golabki (cabbage leaves stuffed with a meat and rice). Freshwater fish as trout or salmon are enjoyed too.    

The trade in Baltic amber and salt — from its mines of Wieliczka and Bochnia — particularly enriched Malopolska with assorted culinary customs, one of these was the dumpling that’s now the Polish favourite pierogi. Each region has its version and Malopolska is famed for the classic Pierogi Ruskie that’s simply filled with potato, onion and cheese. It can be a snack or meal in itself. Never steamed (“that’s Chinese”, you are told), these half-moons are always boiled and garnished with a sprinkling of fried onions or browned breadcrumbs, chives and sour cream. Some do prefer it fried.

One of its cousin is the tiny uszka, Polish for 'little ears', that’s prepared with wild mushrooms. These are eaten dunked into the traditional barszcz, a ruby-red complexioned beetroot sour soup. Each season packs pierogi with different stuffing. Summer menus especially offer a variety of fruit fillings, from strawberries and cherries to forest blueberries and orchard-fresh apples. Traditionally, the rolled-out dough is cut into circles using a glass tumbler and whether its star-hotels or farmer homes, everyone adheres to that age-old custom. The singular is pierog, but rarely used, for you can’t just eat one.

Flavoursome soups and wholegrain breads are table regulars and often both use a common ingredient: rye flour. Sour soups are a Slavic tradition, and of the appetizing Zurek it’s said, there are as many recipes as there are homes in Poland. What they all agree on, however, is its homemade sourdough starter zakwas prepared with fermented rye flour. Zurek is often called 'yesterday's menu soup' as a whole lot of raw leftovers are tossed in along with fresh biala kielbasa or white sausage, garlic and mushrooms. Commercially always served in an arresting bread bowl, it’s a lightly tart, creamy-textured soup. An optional sliced hard-boiled egg in it is a treat to the eyes and palate.

Malopolska’s cuisine remains incomplete without the mention of the scenic highlands of Podhale, in the Tatra foothills of the Carpathian Mountain. This is the region that produces the distinct spindle-shaped oscypek, a smoked sheep-milk cheese. Every Tatran worth his cheese will definitely have it on the kitchen shelves, and a grilled oscypek is as gourmet as it gets. Over the years, the cylindrical golka, made with cow's milk, the sour and nutty tasting sheep-milk bundz and the soft, pungent bryndza cheese have gained in reputation.

The celebrated culinary traditions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire have had an enormous influence on Malopolska as has Jewish cooking. So along with strudel, schnitzel, gingerbread and torte, the holiszki as golabki, latkes as placki ziemniaczane or potato pancake etc have also become a part of its repertoire. Borrowing from the French is noticeable too, especially in the all-time-favourite kremowka. This is flavoured creme patissiere between two layers of puff-pastry and, interestingly, has become part of a neo-legend. In 1999, during a trip back home to Wadowice, near Krakow, Pope John Paul II mentioned being fond of it. Overnight the dessert got re-branded ‘kremowka papieska’ or ‘papal cream cake’.  

Though most Malopolska foodstuff has reached department stores there is nothing quite like tasting it in its place of origin, the original way.

 Click here to read complete piece and recipes of 

1 Barszcz Czysty Czerwony

2 Placki Ziemniaczane

3 Pierogi ruskie

4Traditional Polish piernik

Published in BBC Good Food India, September 2014  

Section: eat away