At Madras Pavilion in ITC Grand Chola, what overwhelms you first is the waft of spices. The occasion is the celebration of the cuisine of the Nawabs of Arcot, recreating their recipes. “The family is 200 years old, and the recipes have been passed down. The food, however, has evolved with time, based on taste and the availability of ingredients. You’ll see a lot of Hyderabadi, Kannada and local influences in the cuisine,” says Ajit Bangera, Senior Executive Chef, ITC Grand Chola.

The chef, who has been privy to the food served at the Nawab’s royal palace, Amir Mahal, and the hospitality extended by their family, wondered, why not recreate it for the public. So the restaurant has decided to revisit the royal past. “Without knowing the past, it is difficult for the future to evolve,” says Bangera. “The table of the Nawabs is usually laden with meat. So for the vegetarian dishes, we’ve taken basic concepts and worked with it.”

In addition to the usual dinner buffet comprising North Indian, South Indian, Chinese and Continental selections, there’s now also an array of dishes from the Nawab’s table, including spicy kebabs, steaming biryani and ghee-laden desserts. Members of the Nawab’s family, and their friends, can often be seen dining at the restaurant, owing to the promotion.

The dhood ka sherbet opens our meal. A saccharine concoction made of ground spices, almonds, rose petals and khus, it is mildly addictive, and we ask for refills throughout our meal. Also served is the gulab sherbet, which has the overpowering flavour of rose. We sip on the sherbets while sampling kebabs — the kolsa murgh kabab offers a strong surge of spices, while the mushroom chilgoze is a mushy, spicy piece of cutlet, with finely chopped mushroom and pine nuts adding diversity to the texture. The fiery goolare kabab, made of ground lamb and stuffed with fig, stands out, owing to the contrasting taste and texture offered by the figs. The shahi mangodi kebab, made of pounded lentils, however, fails to leave a mark.

Soup is Gosht shalgam shorba, a peppery broth that smells invitingly of lamb and lentils, which can be topped with fried shallots, fresh mint and coriander.

Main course commences with rich, meaty haleem, which we pair with a thick and buttery kali mirch aur lasoon ki roti. We then try the paneer haldi, which offers tender chunks of paneer with a sour edge that grows on me, before we move on to the disappointing macchi kofta that is heavy on salt. We finally dig into moist javahi biryani, which is the only dish that makes me go back for seconds. I pair it with tangy chugur gosht, made of succulent pieces of mutton, and a delightfully creamy raita.

The spread is heavy on meat and rich in spices. And also, rich in general. However, no one dish leaves an indelible impression, even though nothing on the menu fails either. After working our way through the special cuisine, there is very little space for much else. We take a breather before we venture towards the dessert spread; the chef even recommends we take a walk around the resplendent restaurant to recover our appetites.

The winning stroke for the evening is double ka meetha — rice bread cooked in sugar syrup and finished with reduced milk — which proves to be as delicious as it sounds. The grainy moong dal halwa, however, doesn’t match up in comparison. Also available is an inviting array of Indian and continental desserts, including cherry cheese cake, zucchini mint cake, condi caramel rice pudding, badami nazakat and mango chum chum.

The cuisine of the Nawabs of Arcot is available for dinner till September 14. The buffet is priced at Rs.1950, plus taxes. Call 22200000.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Food / by Raveena Joseph / September 10th, 2015