Historically speaking, Awadhi cuisine goes back to the city of Lucknow, which is the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh in Northern India. It is somewhat related to Bhojpuri cuisine of it neighboring region, Bhojpur. The Awadh region has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques, and the cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. The city is also known for its Nawabi khana which was introduced by the Nawabs of the Awadh, representing itself to be a true gift for all the foodies of the world. The history of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah introducing “aloo”/ potato in the biriyani since 1850s, which the city of joy grabbed it as a love.
Oceanic organised the grand “DAWAR-E-AWADH”, the awadhi food festival which started from 27th October and it is on till 5th November. On 30th October, our team Photo Scene Thesis was invited to be a part of this exciting event.
The awadhi food festival had a lavish spread of a variety of cuisines, starting from a live tawa section which was one of the main attraction of the evening. The aromatic smell of galouti kebab and guldan kebab were juicy and succulent- the former being a non vegetarian delicacy of the awadhi cuisine and the latter being a vegetarian option which had a unique layer of poppy seeds. These kebabs were served with lip-smacking mint chutney and salad.
Moving forward to the preceding counters, there was an entire section dedicated to finger food :
- Mixed fruit ghol
- Dahi Vada
- Plain Curd
- Cauliflower Mayo
- Kimchi
- Mixed Fruit Kashundi
- Carrot and Beans
- Egg Julian
- Seafood
- Chicken Sausages
- Dal Shorba
- Fuchkas (pani puris)
Followed by these, we were mesmerized by the mains as well:
- Steamed Rice
- Assorted Papad
- Sultani Dal
- Chili Basil Noodles
- Three Treasure Vegetable
- Mexican Vegetable
- Subji Kofta in Palak Gravy
- Khoya Mutter Makhana
- Paneer Khada Masala
- Dum Aloo Lucknawi
- Prawn Ball in Hot Garlic Sauce
- Poached Fish Ball in Tomato Basil Sauce
- Badami Murgh
- Awadhi Fish Curry
- Vegetarian Biriyani
- Gobi Salan
- Lucknowi Mutton Biriyani
- Raita
Out of all the above mentioned dishes, Lucknowi Mutton Biriyani deserves the most attention. So far it stands out to be the best dish out of all. The flavours were delicate and had a perfect balance with the tenderness of the mutton pieces.
For the dessert section, there were the following items :
- Swiss Roll
- Lemon Tart
- Honey yogurt mousse
- Sweet Curd
- Balushai
- Roshogolla
- Honey Ginger Pudding
- Chaler payesh
- Black forest cake
The costing for per person is Rs 1299 plus taxes, and the ambience of the place adds up as the brownie points to this sinful gluttony and gastronomic experience. We thank Soumi Sarkar for this wonderful invite, we hope to be a part of such events in the near future as well.
PHOTO SCENE THESIS 