09 February,2011 06:52 AM IST | | Kumar Saurav
Here's your chance to taste the authentic flavours of Murshidabad, the foodie capital of Mughals
Mughals did their bit to enrich the Indian cuisine. Murshidabad, now a small town in West Bengal would vouch for it. Established by Murshid Quli Khan, an aide to Emperor Aurangzeb, Murshidbad is known for the richness of its flavours and spices.
Chef Syed Mustaque Murshid, who's himself from Berhampore near Murshidabad, has come up with his interpretation of the cuisine. We checked it out and found it pretty exciting to dig into the traditional Bengali food that imbibed a lot of changes because of its rulers.
Influenced to perfection
Though Murshidabad is in West Bengal, the recipe is not completely Bengali. Since the city was ruled by Mughals, it's largely influenced by Islamic tastes. Desserts, which were traditionally prepared with
jaggery and sugar gradually graduated to milk, cream, sugar and expensive spices like saffron and cardamom. Unlike typical Bengali food, the focus is more on mutton than chicken and fish. The use of garam masala is another inherent feature of Murshidabadi food, which wasn't the case before Murshidabad was made the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Even the presentation of the food items is more extensive.
On your platter
The buffet festival here is a genuine replication of the true cuisine. Though not very extensive but whatever they've featured tastes good. We started on a right note with Aloo chop and if you love potatoes, this one is for you. Graduate to the main course with Dar chini gosht and Oal korma and Lal Bagh mushur dal. We would recommend to not go in for roti or naan because it's the rice preparations (Murshidabad murgir biryani, Gobindo bhog chaal and Mishti polao) that're the highlights of this festival. "These are not basmati rice. You won't find these rice variants in Delhi," said Chef Syed Mustaque Murshid. Wrap the meal with Chenna boda (the black version of Gulab jamun. Its surface is a bit harder but tastes yum) and Chana dal ka halwa.
At: Seven, The Suryaa, New Friends Colony
Timing: 7.30 pm onwards
Ring: 2683 5070, 4780 8080
Meal for two: Rs 2,500u00a0 plus taxes
On till: February 13
