As legacies go, this restaurant in the Garden City comes with aromas from Awadh, Mughlai and Peshawari, enveloping you into its hearty and delicious expanse. Traditional recipes passed down over generations, it contains nearly a century of experience between the father-son Lucknawi master chefs who have imbued Kebabs and Kurries with the classic dawat at the ITC Gardenia. Few places can match that… especially in a five-star setting! Lucknawi Master Chef Mohd Luqman, who learnt from his father, who in turn learnt from his father in the gallis of Lucknow, have been carrying forward this impressive legacy. Chef Luqman’s father Haji Mohd Farooqui has over 22 years of experience, and Chef Luqman himself has years bringing Lucknawi traditions to a newly curated menu in which all Indian food lovers can revel.
Having learnt the Lucknavi andaaz, adding morsels of goodness, traditional recipes like nehari, sheermal and galouti come full circle here.
Ask executive chef Uchit Vohra, a whiz at the rich legacy of Peshawari cuisine, and he lists a bevy of dishes that are among the best in the city. In fact, he says so categorically. He’s not wrong: Kebabs and Kurries signatures are unique and wholesome.
We started with a refreshing chaas with fresh coriander and ginger… subtle and tangy. Then came an onslaught, that you should keep enough space for… as Awadh khana is as deliciou as it is rich! Our advice is skip a few meal to do justice to this one. The staff, with Chef Jasmine, master chef Luqman and the knowledgeable executive chef Vohra know their cuisine, and have an easy familiarity amongst themselves and with their ingredients, which immediately puts one at ease, even readies one for overindulgence. It’s a meal fit for kings! The chicken kebab kali mirch, a punchy take on the kalmi kebab, was succulent,tender and juicy with smoky tenets, a hint of pepper making it interesting. Beautifully rendered. The tandoori prawn had humongous prawns, which Chef Uchit informed us were from the ITC brand, again succulent, delicious in the ajwaini marinade with hints of charcoal that we particularly loved. The chef’s favourite is the lotus stem kebab or Nadru ki Chaamp, ambi-shaped, on a stick of lotus stem. It was crispy, deep fried and tasted good, though we personally would have loved biting into larger pieces of the stem, as its texture and taste is what we’ve grown up with. It’s a must-have among exotic desi vegetables. There was also a warkinaan, that was buttery, softest and perfect with the flavour imbued kebabs. The new menu is curated by Chef Vohra as Chef Luqman, and the team brings a traditional yet unique touch to their signatures, be it Nadru ki Chaamp, or Labgeer, patties of beetroot with green chillies, mint, cashew and cheese flavoured with cardamom and pangrilled.
We started with a robust lachcha parantha and tandoori roti that we happily dunked into the Nehari… Phew! Sprinkling fresh coriander, crispy fried onions and a squeeze of lemon, it was a mingling of the spice route with the tenderest of mutton… meat falling off the bone. It had a lightness that most Neharis do not. A must-have. Then came the flakiest of fish (difficult to get right in curries) that was in another very ‘dunkable’, slow-cooked gravy. And there was the show-stopper the much-reverred Dal Bukhara, from Delhi’s renowned Bukhara that any true blue Punjabi swears by. The smokiness and slow-cooked flavour with buttery tenets of makhani ensured that even with full tummies, we polished it off, looking longingly for more even as our stomachs threatened to leave the table.
Amaan Kidwai, General Manager, ITC Gardenia, has been with ITC for 26 years and brings with him years of expertise, so the newlycurated menu is a labour of love, “The kebabs and biryanis are all our master chefs’ signatures, which we have researched and done tastings for, to create the new menu,” says the man who started with stints at Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, ITC Windsor, and was also in the opening team of ITC Gardenia. He swears by the galouti that was tweaked to a gilawat ke kebab, which was melt in the mouth, tender and delicious.
Chef Uchit Vohra elaborates, “My signature cuisine is Peshawari. The food here comes with a rich legacy, and has been curated with popular and unique dishes. For instance, we have a version of Dal Bukhara: and while you get black dal everywhere, this one is special. Even the paneer we source specially. The spices are from Khari Baoli in Delhi, all this makes the taste traditional and authentic, things like khas khas ki jad, etc. You won’t get this taste anywhere else. The recipes we follow are passed down generations,” says Vohra whose favourites are the nadru ki chaamp, murg barra, galouti and biryani, and of course the dal bukhara. The gilawat ke kebab, Chef Vohra says is slightly different from the galouti, which is made live, on a big tawa. It was creamy and meaty. We also tried most dreamy paneer stuffed with cabbage and cheese. Akin to a spring roll with mustard seeds, it was tasty and a welcome change to the ordinary paneer tikka. The biryani, a simplistic aromatic dum and Basmati showering, imbued fla
vours and meaty manna, a must-have and so is the thick creamy raita. The conversation steered towards tenderisers, and Chef Uchit told us about how papaya and figs are used, correcting us on how yogurt’s acidic nature is for slow cooking. We also had the murgh khushq parda, which was the traditional sheermal bread with chicken tikka in a lemony lipsmacking masala, cooked in the tandoor. It had tang, spice, tender chicken tikkas, and is a Dum Pukht classic.
For dessert, we wanted to taste the kulfi, and falooda, but settled after little prompting for the Khubani Chenna, stewed apricots with star anise, stuffed with chenna; slow baked in a saffron tinged yogurt custard. It was refreshingly different, light and creamy, and not too high on sugar. Beautifully done. The prices, as is the case with five stars, are high but they do have a set meal, though the flourish and taste of the meal tops all specs… and we had very happy stomachs contemplating our next meal there!
Kebabs and Kurries,
at the ITC Gardenia
# 1, Residency Road
Call: 91 80 4545 5000
Meal for two: Rs 5,000
Must have: Dal Bukhara, Nehari, Murgh Kali Mirchi, Mahi Kaliyan, Khubani Chenna and murgh khushq parda
Open for lunch and dinner
