Nawaabi style in Gurgaon
29 Sept 2012 8:13 AM IST
It is true that Delhi’s cuisine has a lot of Mughal influences and is derived from the same Northwest frontier cuisine that Awadhi cuisine comes from. But even the best of Jama Masjid or Batla House food is more often that not no match for the royal houses of Awadh and the food they eat. Carrying that tradition forward to the city is chef Rehmaan Mujibur, who has flown down all the way from Lucknow to give Dilliwallahs a taste of real Awadh.
And by real Awadh if you are thinking that it will be a delight for non vegetarians only, then here’s time for a reality check. For chef Rehmaan realises the importance of vegetarian food and has whipped up enough for those who do not have a penchant for meat.
‘When we say Muslim food, people generally think that it has to be non-vegetarian. But the nawabs ate a lot of vegetarian food too. The trouble is, after the Nawabs, their chefs would get to cook only at Muslim functions and they only ate non-veg. Hence the misconception that Awadhi food is only non vegetarian,’ says the chef.
So he has used things like lotus stem, malai, rajma, paneer etc to cook some delicious vegetarian food at the MoMO Cafe, which is currently celebrating its Flavours of India festival, which means every week they have been coming up with cuisines from different regions of India.
For the Awadhi promotions, the restaurant has donned a different look. The servers are dressed in kurta pyjama and skull caps. The tandoor is right there along with a whole bowl of condiments. Chef Rehmaan has even come up with a different condiment for kebabs which he made using beetroot and which tastes a little like ketchup. But try the dahi peeli mirch condiment with your kebabs.
I liked the kebabs — they are melt-in-your-mouth soft and very very delicious. The shorba is light and filling so don’t have much of it else you won’t be able to have main course.
If you have had sheermal near Jama Masjid, then the sheermal here is a different experience. It is light and crispy and has none of that sweetness. Even the gilafi kulcha was quite light and was almost like a patty.
Main course changes everyday but I tried [and liked] some biryani and Lagan ka murgh [vegetarians please taste the curry, but be on a watch out for the chunks of meat]. The mirchi ka halwa [made with capsicum] was the icing on the cake though. Worth going back.
DETAIL
At: Momo Cafe, Courtyard By Marriott Gurgaon
On Till: 30 September
And by real Awadh if you are thinking that it will be a delight for non vegetarians only, then here’s time for a reality check. For chef Rehmaan realises the importance of vegetarian food and has whipped up enough for those who do not have a penchant for meat.
‘When we say Muslim food, people generally think that it has to be non-vegetarian. But the nawabs ate a lot of vegetarian food too. The trouble is, after the Nawabs, their chefs would get to cook only at Muslim functions and they only ate non-veg. Hence the misconception that Awadhi food is only non vegetarian,’ says the chef.
So he has used things like lotus stem, malai, rajma, paneer etc to cook some delicious vegetarian food at the MoMO Cafe, which is currently celebrating its Flavours of India festival, which means every week they have been coming up with cuisines from different regions of India.
For the Awadhi promotions, the restaurant has donned a different look. The servers are dressed in kurta pyjama and skull caps. The tandoor is right there along with a whole bowl of condiments. Chef Rehmaan has even come up with a different condiment for kebabs which he made using beetroot and which tastes a little like ketchup. But try the dahi peeli mirch condiment with your kebabs.
I liked the kebabs — they are melt-in-your-mouth soft and very very delicious. The shorba is light and filling so don’t have much of it else you won’t be able to have main course.
If you have had sheermal near Jama Masjid, then the sheermal here is a different experience. It is light and crispy and has none of that sweetness. Even the gilafi kulcha was quite light and was almost like a patty.
Main course changes everyday but I tried [and liked] some biryani and Lagan ka murgh [vegetarians please taste the curry, but be on a watch out for the chunks of meat]. The mirchi ka halwa [made with capsicum] was the icing on the cake though. Worth going back.
DETAIL
At: Momo Cafe, Courtyard By Marriott Gurgaon
On Till: 30 September
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