Tandoor all the way

TANDOOR HAS remained mystical and is still a matter of research. But because of the generic term 'tandoor', it is believed to have originated in ancient India. The origin of the word is as fascinating as the oven itself. Some say it is derived from two words - tandoor meaning hot and andar meaning inside.

The tandoor has now become an integral part of the North Indian kitchen and tandoor chicken and sheekh kebabs are known in every restaurant and eating house.

Le Royal Meridien presents yet another tandoor festival (Tandoor Aur Saviya Ka Meil, as it is called) at its Navaratna restaurant (on till March 31).

Restaurant manager, Sridhar took us on a journey through the vaults of gourmet perfection. We started with Gili gili maali shorba, smoked lamb trotters flavoured with exotic spices and enriched with lentils. The Galatti kebab, pan fried, was truly a delicacy - minced mutton medallions, which melted in the mouth.

Chef Anil Kumar suggested Chigguru machi tikka, king fish cubes marinated with a paste of mint, coriander, and I think, tamarind leaves and green chillies. They had been cooked over hot charcoal.

At the next table a family had ordered leg of chicken, which Anil Kumar said had been marinated with yoghurt and spices and cooked in a traditional clay oven. All the dishes in this culinary treasure chart cost Rs. 450 for non-vegetarian Rs. 400 for vegetarian)!

For the veggies, there was the Anjeer ka kebab, raw banana paste stuffed with figs and spices and shallow fried. It did taste good and made me ask for the Shimla mirchi nishat, baby capsicum stuffed with cashewnut, raisins and spiced with, Anil said, "home ground masala" and "cooked in a clay oven." My friend meanwhile relished a unique recipe of herb-flavoured cottage cheese "dipped in exotic yoghurt" and grilled over charcoal.

A fitting finale was Meridien's aromatic biriyani. We also had rotis with dhal makhmali. There were nine kinds of parathas and kebabs in keeping with the name of the restaurant.

It was time for dessert, the best way to end such a splendid meal. In this too there were nine, but you could get more if you wanted.

The Aani ki phirnee was mango with pounded rice and milk flavoured with almonds, garnished again with chopped almonds. It was served in the traditional sakora (small mud cup). Qurbani ka metha turned out to be stewed apricots.

"At Navaratna, we try to cross all barriers of culinary creativity. We produce the finest kebabs," Anil Kumar said. He has, with 12 years of experience, conjured up a tastebud-tingling combination of spices, "like lazzat-e-taam (made of 25 different spices), Elaichi Jaiphal (five spices) and Kharasani ajwain masala (nine spices)."

It was great, to relive the country splendour - keeping in tune with the 'nine' varieties, around which the restaurant is named and Iqbal's lilting ghazals.

Oh, I forgot. Anil and Sridhar give their guests the recipe of one of the dishes (that seems to have become a habit here) and, more exciting, a box of spices for each guest. That indeed was a good gesture.

N. NANDAKUMAR

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Next     : Big gesture, bigger impact