The Great Indian Sunday Brunch at Kangan, The Westin Hyderabad

The restaurants in The Westin, Hyderabad are known for their elaborate Sunday brunches. For an Italian experience there is the Bubbalicious brunch at Prego, and the multi-cuisine brunch at Seasonal Tastes is arguably the most popular Sunday brunch in the city. Now the hotel has another feather in its cap – a completely Desi Sunday brunch at their Indian specialty restaurant Kangan.

Fans of Kangan are familiar with the high standards of food there. Dal Kangan, their variant of black gram dal is immensely popular in the city. I have had quite a few great experiences there, my favorite being a dish called Palak Anardana Tikka, a soft veggie kabab having spinach, cottage cheese and pomegranates.  So I have visibly looking forward when I was invited to review their new brunch.

I met Executive Chef Rakesh Singh Anand at the restaurant who explained in detail the concept of this brunch. Many in the city would like to have completely Indian food on a leisurely Sunday afternoon instead of multi-cuisine, and they as well as returning loyal customers are some of the people for whom Kangan has specially opened its doors on Sunday afternoons. As one may be aware, Kangan otherwise is open only in the evenings. Chef Rakesh is a person who is very enthusiastic about the cuisine, and he detailed me about all the experimentations which go on in their "Kitchens of Kangan" initiative to evolve interesting dishes for the diners.

The buffet has been laid out in one side of the restaurant shrinking the seating area. It starts with the soup, salad and condiment counters on the left, followed by the vegetarian and non-vegetarian main courses, the biryani counter and finally the dessert section with a live counter for jalebies.

I started with a mocktail called Herbal Fare. The green herbal drink had basil, pudina and honey in orange juice and had a soothing effect on the palate.

Vegetarian Starters

The buffet had about elaborate starters, four each in veg and non-veg and I ended up trying all of them. My favorite was Mahi Kagji Nimbu Tikka, boneless fish cubes in a tangy green marinade.  Barra Kabab, a well known lamb delicacy from the North East Frontier tasted succulent with the meat cooked perfectly and smoothly coming off the bones. Murgh Kari Patta and Tandoori Prawns were good but not great, though the idea of using the curry leaf flavours in kababs to tickle the palate appealed to me.

Non-Vegetarian Starters

Among the vegetarian starters the Hare Masale Paneer Tikka is a must try simply because of the delicious marinade of green herbs. Subz Tarkash Seekh, a vegetarian seekh kabab stuffed with cheese and veggies was another Kangan specialty that was on the day’s menu.  Chef Rakesh informed me that the brunch menu will change every week, and they have quite a few menu variations in their kitty to offer in different weeks.

Dahi Bhalla

After overfeeding myself on starters as usual, I sampled the Murgh Noorani Shorba, which was of right density and flavourful with a base of coconut milk. Then after a quick look at the buffet and its variations I landed up with some nice Dahi Bhalla. There were some veg and non-veg salads on display, but I did not venture out to try them, as I wanted to conserve for the main course.

At this stage I had a change of drink. On Chef’s suggestion I tried out a non-alcoholic bubbly beverage from Isabella Spagnolo. I had the colored version which was a good drink and worked as a palate cleanser, though the taste was not truly like sparkling wine.

A Few Main Courses

Finally to the main courses. Where apart from the biryanis there were quite a few veg and non-veg delicacies.  Of the vegetarian dishes, Paneer Nazbu, which had stuffed paneer cooked in masala was extremely good with kulchas. I also liked Aloo Benazir, which had potatoes with insides scooped out and stuffed with cottage cheese and then cooked in a gravy.  Dal Kangan never ceases to amaze me.  Chef Rakesh stressed that the dal has to be cooked for about at least half a day, and the proportion of ingredients such as tomatoes and cream play a vital role in the final taste.

Koh E Peshawar is another signature dish of Kangan, where boneless chicken is prepared in a curd based white gravy. The gravy is creamy and tasted heavenly with kulchas. Sarhad MachIi (a spicy fish curry) and Saag Gosht (lamb in a gravy of palak and methi) were the other two non-vegetarian items on the day’s menu.

Pickles and Condiments

The Murgh Dum Biryani at Kangan has a much more subtle taste than the usual Hyderabadi biryani. In fact in most biryanis available in the twin cities, the excessive use of chillies tend to overshadow the other spices, but here the biryani was basking in its true aroma. The Mirchi Ka Salan served with it is not to be missed. The vegetarian Subz Dum Biryani was a trifle too tangy for me – possibly because hung curd is used in it’s preparation.

Desserts

After the sumptuous meal, I had to excuse myself from the desserts.  There were a lot of choices in the dessert counter including Gulab Ki Kheer, Gajar Ka Halwa and Kulfi Falooda. Chef asked me to try out a special dessert which had small gulab jamuns in a cheesecake, the concept which I particularly liked as the two components had different levels of sweetness.

Kulfi

The strong point of the buffet is that it gives you an overall view of the high standard of food available in the restaurant. The Chef has made sure that many of the signature items of Kangan are featured on the menu.  Keeping in mind the loyal clientele, the menu of Sunday brunch will change every week. I feel the completely Indian Sunday brunch will be appreciated by the discerning food lovers of Hyderabad as well as aficionados of Indian cuisine. The Brunch is priced at Rs 2499 plus taxes, including alcohol.

Address: 
Kangan
The Westin
Mindspace IT Park
Hitech City, Hyderabad

Telephone: 67676767

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite by the restaurant. However the opinions expressed in the post are honest and unbiased.

Executive Chef Rakesh Singh Anand  of The Westin, Hyderabad 

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Seafood Festival at Nook, Aloft Cessna Business Park

Located inside an IT park, the Aloft Cessna Business Hotel is truly one of a kind. The hotel stands tall amongst the other buildings in the business park and is located quite close to the gate. The ambience is casual and vibrant with a colourful theme, mainly comprising of green and blue shades.

Inside Aloft Cessna Hotel

I was invited for a review of the Seafood Festival which was being hosted at Nook, one of the restaurants in the hotel. The festival attempts to bring the best from around the world with Chef Sandeep Kumar using his vast experience to create some delectable dishes. The festival brings in a school of fishes up for eating, ranging from the easily available basa fish to favourites such as sardines, calamari and crabs. The menu changes every day to cover different fish varieties throughout the span of the festival.

Starters

We started off at the salad section, where prawns, sliced basa fish fillets and squid rings were laid out. The Chef pointed out that these are well paired with the sauces that were on display, each with a unique taste of its own. Prawns with the wasabi mayo seemed to be the biggest hit out of the lot, with the wasabi giving the perfect kick to the cold prawn pieces.

As we moved about in the buffet section, choosing starters, Chef laid out the Watermelon and Prawn Parfait on our table. Not a part of the general buffet menu, the dish was the result of Chef's evening bout of experimentation. One of the most refreshing dishes I have ever tasted, the Parfait was delightfully decorated with large prawns on watermelon slices, orange and avocado.

Watermelon and Prawn Parfait

The starters in the buffet too had quite a few options which included chicken and beef in addition to the seafood ones. The baked fish was very juicy, crisp and creamy on the outside and soft inside.  It is best eaten hot and loses its sheen when cold. The squid and mushroom salad was light and buttery, with the squid being the right amount of chewy.

Prawns on Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Pineapple

We were also served Pomfret and Prawns straight from the Tandoor. The quality of the Pomfret was evident from the freshness in the fish. The marination had penetrated quite well into the fish making it one of my favourite picks from the festival.

Tandoori Pomfret

The highlight of the spread was the Seafood Biryani, a fusion of the Awadhi biryani and the Nizami Hyderabadi Biryani. The biryani was cooked in the Lucknowi Nawabi style with rich spices imparting flavour to it. The flavour of ghee which is generally a typical of Awadhi biryani was missing and Chef Sandeep explained that this is so that the spiciness of the salan wouldn't interfere with the partial sweetness from ghee. I was quite ecstatic to see the Prawns Salan and a non-vegetarian lover couldn't wish for a better spread at a buffet. The Chepala Pulusu, the other dish in main course was a bit too thick and spicy and did not fascinate me particularly.

Desserts Section

There was an array of delectable desserts in the dessert counter. Under the aegis of an old and seasoned halwai, their kitchen whipped up some neat Indian sweetmeats. The moong dal halwa and the kalakand were enjoyable but were sinful pleasures.

Desserts

An excellent place to chill and unwind, Nook often plays host to a number of food festivals and this was no different. The buffet is priced at Rs 1125/- and is a real steal for the cost. A must try for all seafood lovers.

Address:
Nook
Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park,
Sarjapur-Marathahalli Outer Ring Road,
Kadubeesanahalli, Bellandur, Bangalore

Telephone: 8045101010

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite by the restaurant. However the opinions expressed in the post are honest and unbiased.

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Daawat Purani Dilli at The Trident Hyderabad

During my frequent travels to Delhi, a must visit place for me had always been the bylanes of Jama Masjid area of Old Delhi for its street food. The niharis, seekhs and the cream butter chickens lure me there, and every time I end up discovering some new hidden gem. So, when The Trident decided to bring the Purani Dehlvi cuisine to Hyderabad, I felt that a big bonanza awaited me.

Kacchi Keema Tikiya

Daawat Purani Dilli – the festival showcasing recipes from the homes of Old Delhi has been curated by Osama Jalali, a known food critic and researcher. Mr. Jalali, who is in Hyderabad for the promotion explained that many of the recipes have been collected from the khansamas who used to consult his father, a doctor in the Jama Masjid neighbourhood.  His mother Chef Nazish Jalali is from the Nawabi state of Rampur, and some recipes at their home had Rampuri influence. AS part of her experience of preparing food for large feasts, she had honed her expertise of these recipes.

Osama Jalali with his wife and mother

Lots of interesting facts came out from the discussions we had with Mr Jalali during a food blogger’s meet at Kanak, the specialty Indian restaurant at the Trident. We were told that the Old Delhi cuisine is rich in vegetarian dishes too – in fact the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb was a vegetarian and hence a lot of vegetarian recipes were developed during his time.  We  also came to know that the street food at Jama Masjid are more oily and spicy to suit the local taste, but the actual home cuisine at Old Delhi is simple and relies more on select spices and flavors. During the discussion, a description of a dish from Mughlai cuisine which mesmerized me was Parindein Me Parinda, which has a duck stuffed with a whole chicken which in turn had a quail inside and finally a boiled egg. Mr. Jalali told us that during the Mughal period there were many more layers of stuffing in a similar dish starting with a camel.

Machhli Fry

Our food journey started with a range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian kababs.  The Kachhe Keema ke Tikiya was the first in the queue. Here uncooked lamb mince is blended with spices and hand massaged into a tikki, and then shallow fried. The soft kabab was brilliant with a strong flavour of mutton and spices – easily one of the best dishes of the day.

Mewa Kabab

The vegetarian Kachhe Kela ke kabab based on raw banana was similar to the Kanchkolar Kofta prepared at Bengali homes. I felt that the masala in Macchli Fry had a bit extra saunf - I liked the soft boneless fish though. Mewa Kabab was another outstanding dish prepared with dry fruits and spices, which seemed to have a myriad of tastes bursting in the mouth - of cheese, khoya and dry fruits.

The Main Courses

The main courses had quite a spread – about seven items including both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The Karela Ki Chidiya or bitter gourd stuffed with a fennel seed dominated masala was a Rampuri dish. The Chane Ki Dal Ka Bharta, a mashed lentil preparation with ghee, onions and green chillies was simple soul food.

Chicken Ishtew

Arbi Ka Salan, a yoghurt based colocasia gravy was one of the dishes I was looking forward to as arbi is one of my favorite vegetables, and I had been experimenting with it a little bit myself. It turned out to be good but not great. It seems that this dish was popular with the Nawabs of Rampur, who used to always plan dishes for their Hindu guests. Tehari, a vegetarian pulao popular in Old Delhi, was simple and delicious – the Bengali in me loved the potato in the rice.

Keema Hari Mirch

My visits to Old Delhi has exposed me to Niharis from Bilal, Kallu and Haji Shabrati (and not Sharbati as Osama Jalali corrected me) but the Dehlvi Nihari I had at this festival will surely rank as one of the best I have had so far. The gravy was rich, smooth and aromatic and the baby naan was a perfect foil for this. The onion and red chillies based gravy of The Chicken Ishtew was again a revelation. Keema Hari Mirch or mutton mince with green chillies was the other main course served at the Daawat.

Dilli Ki Nihari and Tehari

The dessert platter had two sweets – the first was the famous Gosht Ka Halwa, a sweet prepared from lamb mince, sugar and select spices. I could not find any trace of taste of lamb in this, the meat flavour has been well camouflaged in the spices and sugar. Aloo Zarda, a potato based dessert in milk and zafraan was unique too.

The Desserts - Gosht Ka Halwa and Aloo Zarda

If I have to give one tag to the dishes in this festival it will be simplicity. Do not expect spicy, oily and rich stuff which you normally associate with Mughlai cuisine and find normally in the restaurants. Rather, if you like subtle, homely cuisine this is the place to go. You will feel surprisingly light at the end of a sumptuous meal.

The festival is a-la-carte and goes on till 30th November at Kanak, which is open only for dinner. My strong recommendations from what I tried out are for the Kachhe Keema Ke Tikki, Mewa Kabab, Chicken Ishtew, Nihari and the Aloo Zarda.

Address:

Kanak
The Trident
Hitech City (next to Shilpa Kala Vedika)
Hyderabad
Telephone: 66232323

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite by the restaurant. However the opinions expressed in the post are honest and unbiased.

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Grand Opening of The Grills at the Fifth Anniversary of Taj Falaknuma Palace

The Falaknuma Palace needs hardly any introduction to either Hyderabadis or to the lovers of history. One of the finest palaces of India, it has been a crown jewel of the Nizami state. In 2010, Taj Group of Hotels opened the doors of the renovated palace as a luxury hotel, and since then the hotel has been widely acknowledged as one of the best palace hotels of the world.

The palace is known as the palace in the sky, majestically perched on top of the old city of Hyderabad. The grandeur of the palace is seen to be believed, with the heritage buildings, rare furniture, statues and murals and beautiful gardens. The view of the city of Hyderabad from the balconies of the hotel is breathtaking, especially at night when the whole city is aglow. For food lovers, the two restaurants in the palace hotel Adaa and Celeste serve some delectable Hyderabadi and Italian cuisine.

As Taj Falaknuma Palace completed five years of operation, a celebratory evening was organized for the media and bloggers by the hotel. We were welcomed at the hotel gate and taken to the main building by an enjoyable ride in a horse carriage. An engaging Sufi music performance at Gol Bungalow awaited us, along with which we enjoyed with some delicious finger food and cocktails. The General Manager of the property Mr. Girish Sehgal spoke about the history of the place and the efforts taken by the Taj Group to renovate the property and establish it as one of the premier profitable heritage properties of the group. The talk was followed by the ceremonial cake to mark the occasion.

Along with the anniversary celebrations, the evening was also for the opening of Coronation Hall and its new restaurant The Grills. Mr. Prabhakar, the Palace Historian walked us up to the Coronation Hall and explained its history. The Coronation Hall was constructed in 1907 by the Sixth Nizam Asaf Jah Mir Mahboob Ali Khan.  After the Delhi Durbar in 1903 to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII, the Nizam was so impressed by the friezes especially created for the durbar that he bought a significant portion of these, and set up a special hall in the Falaknuma campus to house them. The woodwork has Mughal, Buddhist, Hindu as well as Thai influences, and in its entirety presents to us various facets of society, religion as well as culture of that period.

The Live Counter

The Grills is a new addition to the restaurants in Taj Falaknuma. It is housed in the long verandah of the Coronation Hall with a grand view of the Old City of Hyderabad. Designed to accommodate about 25 covers, the restaurant has a limited but interesting menu of continental, Lebanese, Indian as well as South East Asian delicacies.

Grilled Asparagus Cappuccino

A special set menu was planned for the evening to provide the media and bloggers a preview of what to expect from the new restaurant.  We started with Grilled Asparagus Soup. The creamy soup was thick and flavourful, and went brilliantly with the toast served with it. It was surely one of the stars of the day.  The Cold Mezze Platter that followed had all my favourite Lebanese dishes – the Babaghanoush was brilliant, but the Hummus and Fatoush were decent too with the accompanying pita quarters.

Duet of Korameen and Achari Prawns

Duet of Lamb Chops and Chicken Breast

The main course had five choices to select from – I chose the Duet of South Indian Style Korameen and Achari Prawns. These were served with pudina chutney and potato slices. I loved the prawn preparation with perfect marination, which was of the correct texture – neither too soft nor rubbery. The korameen was decent though I felt that the Guntur red chillies overshadowed the other masala a bit.

Saffron Chicken

My friends had opted for the other two non-vegetarian main courses. The Saffron Chicken served with grilled veggies and sumac mash was one. My food lover friend was talking of how the zaffran flavour in the chicken was just right and not overpowering.  The Duet of Lamb Chop and Breast of Chicken was literally being devoured by the other food blogger.

The special dessert of Crepes with Berry Sauce appealed to a person like me, who likes milder versions. Panacotta with Wildberry Sauce and Belgian Dark Chocolate Mousse were the other desserts served.

The evening was made even more memorable by an enchanting saxophone recital by Ms Dumbira Lipez from Colombia. She was shifting from western tunes to Hindi film songs with ease.
As the evening drew to an end and we were boarding the buggies to take us back to the main gate, I for once felt that I had really spent some enriching time here, and vouched to myself to be back here soon.

The Grills for now will be open only on the weekend evenings at the Coronation Hall.

Address:
The Grills at Coronation Hall
Taj Falaknuma Palace,
Engine Bowli, Falaknuma,
Hyderabad - 500053, India
Telephone 66298585

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite by the hotel. However the opinions expressed in the post are honest and unbiased.

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The Nawab of Arcot Food Promotion at ITC Kakatiya

ITC Hotels have been regularly presenting cuisines of different regions of India at their various restaurants in ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad. In recent times, we had festivals showcasing food from South India, such as Mangalore, Telangana, Chettinad regions as well as the cuisine of Navaithas of Tamil Nadu. The hotel now has one more feather in their cap – “The Cuisine of the Nawab of Arcot” promotion at Deccan Pavilion. This was a part of the initiative known as Kitchens of India – Royal Repast, where chefs from ITC Hotels research the different Royal cuisines of India.

The Arcot Javahi Murgh Biryani

As those interested in history will know, the princely state of Arcot, known as Carnatic at that time, was set up by the Mughals at around the same time when the first Nizam took charge of the Deccan area. The cuisine of the Nawabs which have evolved over the last three centuries is predominantly Mughlai with a strong fusion of South Indian as well as Marhatta flavours. Arcot Biryani and Makkan Peda are perhaps the most well-known delicacies from this region.

The chefs from ITC Grand Chola, Chennai have closely worked with the Royal family at their palace Amir Mahal near Chennai to pick up the recipes and ingredients to make the experience at this promotion as authentic as possible. Chef Abdul Quddus from Chennai who is in Hyderabad curating the promotion told us that the Arcot cuisine is predominantly non-vegetarian, with very few vegetarian delicacies.

The Non-Vegetarian Starters

The promotion is part of the regular buffet at Deccan Pavilion. As is the custom in Deccan Pavilion, the Indian items in the menu are replaced with the specialties from the promotion. The starters had a delicious lamb preparation where I loved as the boneless pieces of lamb in a dark marinade. I would have loved the Murgh Shikam to be a bit less dry, though weight watchers may be impressed with it.

Nilofari Kabab and Nawabi Phool

Among the vegetarian starters there was Nawabi Phool, a cauliflower preparation in curd. But the best among the lot was the Nilofari Kabab, a spicy beetroot and mixed vegetable preparation on a tawa. The kabab was soft and melted in the mouth, and the spice level was just right.

Murgh Zafrani Shorba

Badam Shorba, a flavoured vegetarian soup, was a little too mild for me. I then tried the other soup Murgh Zafrani Shorba which was a nice saffron infused broth, but a bit high on salt.

Arbi Salan, a colocasia based vegetarian delicacy stood out among the main courses – the red gravy was thick and tasty. Apart from this there was Kaddu Dal and a white cottage cheese curry named Paneer Haldi.

Lal Baigan Anda

The non-vegetarian fare had Lal Baigan Anda, a tomato and egg preparation. As chef explained lal baigan is another name for tomato. The rich gravy tasted good, especially as I tried some steamed rice with it. Machhi Soya a yellow colored fish curry used soft Nellore Basa fish. The Gurda Kaleji tasted almost like the Hyderabad version– only the extent of chillies were less.

Machhi Soya

Finally, the famed Arcot Biryani, which is known as the signature item of this Nawabi zaika. While the common belief is that the Nawab had developed the taste for biryani from the Mughals, another story goes that one daughter of Nizam was married into the Nawab of Arcot’s family, and thus biryani reached Arcot through the chefs she brought with her.  We had a version called Javahi Murgh Biryani. The biryani reminded me of Awadhi Biryani, very aromatic and rich in ghee, though a little tangier. The masala on the chicken pieces tasted fabulous too – the only dampener was that saffron was on the higher side thus overpowering the overall taste. There was absolutely no similarity with Hyderabadi biryani though. The Gulare Pyaaz Raita was a good accompaniment for the biryani.

Gurda Kaleji

I did not try any dessert apart from Amrit Phal – which was a chhena based preparation very close to Bengali chumchum. Milk Halwa and Double Ka Meetha were also served. A dessert named Meethi Dahi sounded interesting, but it was not part of the day’s menu, neither was the famed Makkan Peda, a Gulab Jamun like sweet from Arcot. Chef explained that the menu changes everyday and they would be available on some other days of the festival.

I found the Arcot cuisine distinctly less spicy than Hyderabadi – possibly I can describe it as a tangier version of Mughlai food, with a lot of tomatoes used in it.  The promotion is as part of the regular buffet at Deccan Pavilion, where there are other regular items in the buffet apart from the food festival menu. It is priced at around Rs 1600 inclusive of taxes. The promotion is on till 22nd November.

Address:
Deccan Pavilion
ITC Kakatiya
Begumpet
Hyderabad

Telephone: 23400132

Also read: The Cuisine of the Navaithas

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite by the restaurant. However the opinions expressed in the post are honest and unbiased.

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