Treasures from the kitchens of nawabs

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Rampur brings to mind the house of best pocket knives and the dusty Western-like setting for Sholay. But it’s also the land of lilting, delicate flavours. Celebrating that is the Rampuri Food Festival, at The Dhaba at the Claridges Hotel.

A deliberately hidden limb of Mughlai food, this particular cuisine was developed mainly by the Rohilla tribe that travelled all the way from Afghanistan, Kashmir, Lucknow to finally settle in the place called Rampur. Perhaps the reason that despite it’s clear influences from Awadhi, Hyderabadi and Kashmiri fare, the favour was distinctly its own. What stood out for us as the first bite of meat-like kaju pyaz kebab went into our mouths was the single overpowering flavour of cinnamon, which rose from the back of the palate to fill the mouth. A quality we noticed thereon in every appetizer that followed, be it the paneer tikka marinated in tomato, the gosht shami or the nadru, each of which had a distinct, subtle flavour that took over the tongue.
The tehri and teh biryani, which were cooked in layers over a slow flame for several hours, were served along with baingan ka bhurta, which we can guarantee was nothing like any bhurta you have eaten before. Devoid of any pungent spices, it had raw onions and sandalwood as the base, making it ever so soft to taste.
Moving on to the tar gosht, which typically is made so rich that you can see separate strands (tars) in the gravy when you rub it between the fingers, but had been toned down to suit the lighter Delhi systems. Which were nowhere close to fighting the battles the royals fought after having that food, unless we leave out traffic!
But not all was a carnivore’s fest, for the gobhi musallam, dal makhni (both dishes standing out for their flavours) and the paneer amabli (a slightly sweet version made with tamarind and peppers) catered to the vegetarian taste buds.
But what really made the meal for us were the desserts, the Mirchi Halwa, which retained a rich, green colour and the aroma of capsicum, proved tingly at first but with the second bite you couldn’t help but marvel at the combination. And the gosht halwa, which is a must-have for anyone visiting the festival. Cooked deftly, it has no traces of meat except a soft pulp, which made rich along with garnishing made for an excellent halwa!