Experience royal Awadhi cuisine at the Nawabi Dawat food festival in Chennai

It’s not often that one gets to feast like royalty. So when we arrived to partake in the royal menu at the ongoing food festival, Nawabi Dawat, at the Madras Kitchen Company in The Westin Velachery Chennai, we braced ourselves for a culinary journey fit for kings and queens. The restaurant too doled out an opulent vibe with a rich décor and a royal menu featuring historic Awadhi cuisine, which turned out to be a treat for the palate.

They say that in the realm of royal feasts, indulgence knows no bounds and opulence takes center stage. And this Nawabi Dawat was truly shahi! In our minds, the dining table was our throne and the dishes, the crown jewels. Curated by Chef Rehman and Chef Saravanan, this festival boasted traditional flavours where slow-cooked delicacies and aromatic spices ruled the table.

Our feast began with Murgh tikka mirza hasnu, a special recipe from the kitchens of Rampur, which is primarily chicken leg marinated in a delightful fusion of spicy, tangy, and smoky flavours. We quite like the versatility of chicken per se, and got off to a delectable start with this luscious starter. It was now time to dip our hands into the vegetarian delicacy, Paneer khubani tikka, succulent paneer with tender apricots in a medley of spices and nuts. Though we are not huge fans of paneer, we quite liked the touch the apricot gave to the paneer, giving it an instant fillip, in terms of flavours.

And then arrived the royal main course, which was not only a feast for the eyes but for the taste buds as well. We savoured a bite of Murgh deg biriyani, a rich and flavourful biriyani of tender chicken drumsticks with fragrant pilaf, along with Dust aur nalli ke nehari, succulent lamb simmered in a turmeric and mustard gravy. The meat was fall-of-the-bone tender, and the duo was a match made in heaven.

One of the biggest surprises was the Dal saltanat, pigeon peas seasoned with achar-stuffed long salan chilies and finished with a drizzle of asli ghee. The tangy touch from the tempered achar elevated the lentil dish, making it impossible to stop at just one bite. Another standout was the Aalo ke nehari, slow-braised young potatoes infused with nehari spices, potli masala, turmeric, and mustard.We ended the meal with Lagan ka murgh, tender chicken simmered in a rich gravy of saffron, cashew, sunflower seeds, and charmagaz.

We consider desserts to be the fairy tales of the kitchen, and our sweet finale included Zauq-e-shahi, a divine creation made with fresh cottage cheese and nuts, delicately flavoured with rose and saffron. However, the real surprise came with Shimlamirch ka halwa, a unique blend of green capsicum, milk, powdered sugar, and crunchy nuts, all enriched with condensed milk and ghee. Since we were trying this delicacy for the first time, we were quite taken aback by how the kitchen staple capsicum could make for such a wonderful dessert.

A royal feast is a feast for all the senses, and this food festival was testimony to that.

Meal for one: `1,800++

March 14 to 16; March 21 to 23; March 28 to 30.

Available for lunch and dinner.

At The Westin Chennai Velachery

sangeetha.p@newindianexpress.com

@psangeetha2112