Zeera, Conrad-Pune, is hosting a Kebabs and Kormas
festival. I was supposed to attend the festival on the very first day but
unfortunately that was not to be. Last evening I finally got around to visiting
it.
This festival is conducted by their Chef Pavan Kumar Chennam who has
recently joined Conrad as Executive Chef. He had already stolen our hearts with
the Parsi Food Festival, the one he conducted with Chef Anahita Gustaspi, and
we were waiting to see what else he had in store for us. Pavan is one of the
lucky few who has had the opportunity to work under Chef Imtiaz Qureshi (a chef
who needs no introduction). When Chef Imtiaz Qureshi wanted a hundred and
twenty of his recipes archived, he placed his trust in Chef Pavan to tackle this mammoth task. Having known of Chef Pavan’s culinary journey, I was sure the
evening would be delightfully delicious!
We chose the non-vegetarian menu but we began our meal
with one vegetarian kebab that the chef insisted we try; Nilofari Seekh. The
seekh was made of lotus stems spiced with peppercorns, yellow chili powder and
was fried crisp. Served with yum green chutney this kebab was excellent! I am
so glad we tried this.
The non-veg kebabs served were Murgh Resha Kebab,
Silbatte Ki Shammi, Murgh Kasturi, Chaamp Burrah and Tadfada Jhinga.
The Murgh
Resha Kebab was threaded chicken flavoured with curry leaves and green chilies,
added to a smooth thick white sauce (quite like Russian kebabs), coated with
sevai and deep fried. The flavour of curry leaves came through beautifully and
yet it did not overpower.
The mutton for the Silbatte Ki Shammi was minced on
the silbatta (grinding stone) and tiny bits of onions, chilies and coriander
were added to give it slight bite. We lost count of how many we polished off.
*greedy grin*
The Murgh Kasturi was a tikka mildly flavoured with kasuri methi
and black pepper, coated with silken egg. They hadn’t gone overboard with the
spices which is why the flavours of pepper and kasuri methi shone through.
The
Chaamp Burrah was robust and bold. It was perfectly tandoor’d with
regard to flavour and texture. Not many people get the chaamp right, but they
sure did!
Tadfada Jhinga was batter fried Koliwada style and flavoured with
curry leaves. Please don’t ask me how many I ate. They were stellar!
The chef
was kind enough to send us a full Tandoori Ajwaini Pomfret. It was perfectly
done and flaked beautifully at the slightest touch of my fork.
For mains, we were served Koh-E-Awadh, Murgh Pista
Korma, Kacchi Gosht Ki Biryani, Kaali Dal Sufiyana, Hare Masale Ka Kheema.
The
Koh-E-Awadh were lamb shanks in a smooth gravy spiced with ‘garam masala’. The
quality of mutton used was excellent and the slow-cooked shanks were a melt in
the mouth delight!
The Murgh Pista Korma was a silken light green korma and for
me, it was the star of the evening with regard to the main course. I simply
could not stop sipping on the korma gravy. Sigh!
The Hare Masale Ka Kheema was
a dry preparation and as the name suggests was flavoured with various greens
(mint, dill, coriander, green chilies and a bit of methi).
The Kaali Dal
Sufiyana was yummy and the garnish of dill leaves and ghee felt amazing on the
palate.
Lastly, we were served Kacchi Gosht Ki Biryani. This is the kind of
biryani I love. It was a yakhni style biryani, cooked in mutton stock. Minimal
in spice but so very high in flavour! I was quite full by the time they served
biryani and barely ate one piece of mutton from it but I could not stop eating
that flavourful rice. This was a fabulous biryani!
They served us three desserts: Gulab Ki Thandi Kheer,
Zauk-E-Shahi and Lehsun Ka Halwa.
The Gulab ki Thandi Kheer was an elegant cold
rice kheer. A simple preparation; I could find no fault with the flavours.
The
other two desserts, though, blew me away. The Zauk-E-Shahi were tiny gulab
jamuns in thick slow boiled milk (rabdi); this was then gently baked. I was
expecting it to be overly sweet but it was not so, it was perfect!
As for the
Lehsun Ki Kheer I have been yearning to try this for years and what better
place to have it at, in Pune, than Zeera? The base of the kheer was similar to
that of the Kada Prasad made from wheat flour. The hint of lehsun (garlic) in
the sweet dish was subtle and spot on. It teased my olfactory senses without
over powering my palate. I loved it!
The menu for this festival was well thought out and
perfectly executed. Each and every dish was absolutely delish! This festival is
on at Zeera (Conrad-Pune) until Saturday, April 28, 2018 and is available 7 PM
onwards. This unlimited menu is priced at 1800 + taxes. Well worth the money. We were
totally blown away with Chef Pavan’s knowledge of this particular cuisine and
the outstanding food his team served us. With absolute honesty I have to say,
Chef Pavan Kumar Chennam has done Chef Imtiaz Qureshi proud!
Where: Zeera-Conrad, Mangaldas Road, Pune
Call: 020 67456745
Until: Saturday, April 28, 2018
Timings: 7 PM onwardsA few more photographs...
