Conversations over kebabs

Guftagu – conversation – is the name given to the kebabs festival at K&K speciality restaurant, ITC Kakatiya. The kebabs from Northwest frontier, Awadh and Lashkar (the traditional Mughlai recipes served at Lalqila - Redfort, especially for soldiers, and hence robust and full of proteins and carbohydrates) - according to Chef Jamal should be savoured over some wonderful conversations.

And we decided what better conversation than the story of food related in mellifluous Urdu by the Chef himself. The kebabs menu was devised quite some time ago after much research at ITC Hotels and a humongous book of over 1,000 pages with recipes was made ready. Since the ongoing food promotion is revisiting these age-old preparations – it is ‘Guftagu Dobara’ – an extensive and exotic kebab menu on ala carte.

As is the case with any royalty related cuisine, the choice for vegetarians is lean – yet Khasta bhutte ki tikki – sweet corn kernels spiced up a bit and a lot of reduced milk added for the creaminess, and grilled and the huge portion of Paneer tikka Peshawri made after marinating in yoghurt and cream and finished in tandoor are try-worthy.

But the best on the menu comes with a red dot (sorry vegetarians). Termezi Macchi named after a Hakim who devised recipes using ingredients with medicinal properties is a large piece of murrel marinated in yellow chilli and kebab chini (the spice that looks like clove but with a sharpness of pepper (well known for its curative properties);

Malika-e-dariya – indeed the queen of the lot - is a steak of salmon marinated in a blend of Indian spices and honey and roasted in tandoor; and Jhinga dum nisha – marinated jumbo pot roasted prawns served with saffron flavoured broth make for the sea food kebabs that taste as succulent as the preparation method sounds.

Murgh tilayee kebab – stuffed chicken breast skewered and again pot roasted; Kagazee kebab – thin strips of chicken extracted from the best side, marinated, flavoured well with masala spiked with ground black pepper and grilled to make this perfect, tender preparation;

the melt-in-the-mouth Kunde ki Shammi and Kaashgar kebab – both of which use the hand-pound lamb, and are tweaked a bit to create a new recipe out of existing classics (the chefs of the yore that served the royalty had a perennial problem of having to serve something new every day, so they came up with ways of tinkering with popular recipes a bit, and lo and behold – you had a new and equally if not more delicious kebab on the plate);

and Murgh Shianja kebab – chicken hara masala kebab kept in a ‘lohe ka panja’ (vice like crib) and grilled – are all made through elaborate and painstakingly intricate procedures as was the vogue in royal kitchens.

And thanks to the efforts of the chef at ITC Group of Hotels – these recipes from age-old books of the Khansamas have seen the light of the day, and the delectable kebabs are making their way to our plates.

The special menu will be available t K&K until May 22.

By:Rajeshwari Kalyanam