If you thought Pak food is just a touched-up version of Awadhi or Nawabi cuisine, you are in for a surprise. The Indo-Pak food fest going at Classic Avenue will prove you wrong with its distinctive Pak tastes. Rich in variety and flavour, the hotel has spread out a sumptuous fare featuring a slew of Indian and Pakistani delicacies.
We start with the light and moderately spiced mutton saffrani soup. It doesn’t taste exotic, but has saffron flakes in it as a flavour enhancer. Lahori murgh, Eid biryani and karhai kofta are the highlights of the Pak menu. Lahori murgh, a signature Pak dish, is heavily marinated chicken cooked in a coarse paste of spices and dry fruits. Soft and creamy, it’s simply a treat for your tastebuds. “What sets Pak cuisine apart is the use of kewra essence along with some aromatic herbs. Kewra is an extract distilled from Pandanus flower which is hardly available in South India. Compared to Indian food there is an excess of ghee and dry fruits making it richer and tastier,” says chef Thulasidharan Pillai.
Next we taste the exotic Eid biryani which is long fragrant rice cooked with various meat varieties and herbs. Another must-try item on menu is karhai kofta which is meat balls buried in methi leaves curry. The balls made of minced meat and coconut in a thick dark brown gravy will melt down hungry palettes. “In Pak dishes we use crushed cummin instead of the powder. The all spice mix and methi leaves make it all the more flavoursome,” the chef chips in.
We move on to paya mutton , a stew made of lamb leg, which, the chef informs, is a regular breakfast item. The veg section is not as elaborate as the non-veg, but you can go for koyla dal, Sindhi karhi or kaddu subzi. Koyla dal is green dal cooked in traditional Pak style by placing the red hot coal over the dal. The coal smoke melts the butter and lends the dish the grilled charcoal taste. You can have it with rogini naan or khas khas ki poori. Milk, butter and khas khas are the extra ingredients which give the poori its special taste and texture. Two other typical Pak items are mutanjan, chicken biryani with a tinge of sweetness and Nargisi kofta curry, meat balls with egg stuffing.
In the dessert section we go for the sinfully yummy khajoor pak which is incredibly soft and smooth. Jujuia sweet samosa is nothing but dumplings stuffed with khoya and dates.
The Indian section is equally impressive with a spate of desi delicacies ranging from ulli theeyal to cafrel chicken. You will find some traditional Kerala preparations like Malabar fish curry, kadala koottu, erussery and beef malliperalan. The dessert counter is also bigger as it features ada prathaman, gulab jamun, ladiesmith pudding, lemon tart, gajar ka halwa, shahi tukuda and honey comb mould.
Walk in any time between 7 pm to 10.30 pm. The festival winds up on September 29.
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