Dine in regal splendour

Chilman means curtain in Urdu. The senior master chef, Ghulam Moinudeen Qureshi, was hard put to express the romance of Nawabi biriyani. He had to contend with my rather pathetic Hindi.

The women can see through the chilman in the zenana of the palace, but no one can see them. The link between a biriyani and the chilman was still lost to us. The chef then patiently explained. You cannot see the women unless the chilman is lifted; similarly, the biriyani is also hidden by a chilman.

Suddenly, the Subz chilman biriyani at the Treasures of Lucknow festival at The Residency, Park Sheraton, became more than just a vegetable-rice dish. It had the allure of the mysterious beauty shielded by purdah. But chef is so poetic and as for his connection goes, one cannot come up with bluer stuff. Moinudeen Qureshi is the son-in-law of the legendary Imtiaz Qureshi who rediscovered dum pukht cooking.

Beyond the link on the homefront, there is the guru shishya bond too. There have been many Dum Pukht restaurants since the first one opened in Delhi in 1988. But magic continues to enchant. Ghulam Moinudeen recalled the saga of the Qureshi khandan through generations of Nawabs, British Raj and the ITC days. The affable chefs take on the decadent nawabs and their anglicised lifestyles and gosht obsession at the table was entertaining. One such interesting piece of information was that most of the tarkari dishes made were for the cashiers or financiers of the Nawabs, who were Mahajan Hindus.

The buffet table was groaning under the wide selection of dishes. After all that build up, I was raring to try the Chilman biriyani.

Beneath the doughy purdah lay a stunner. The first thing that hit me was the zafrani fragrance. It was an Epicurean experience. After that, I wasn't even tempted look in the direction of Murgh biriyani Akbari.

Another delectable vegetable was the Palak malai kofta. A bite into the Gosht kurma would give you an inkling on the nawabi hang up on mutton. The meat was tender and utterly scrumptious. We had started on a very traditional note with some melt-in-your-mouth Galouti kebabs. The veg alternative was Paneer pasanda.

The array of desserts too was impressive. The semolina Phirni and Balu Shahi stood out. The second one, an airy, multi-layered flour-ghee creation is usually served when a person completes reading the holy Quran.

The Lucknowi food festival is on till September 16. To enjoy the nightly royal repast it is Rs. 475 plus tax per head.

MARIEN MATHEW

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