A road
stretching 2500 kilometers has been of great significance in the Indian
history. What is this road called? Where does it run through?
The answer
to this is Grand Trunk Road (GTR) running from Bangladesh, then Kolkata in West Bengal, in the
northwest direction through a couple of Indian states, into Rawalpindi and
Peshawar in Pakistan and ending at Kabul in Afghanistan.
Reminded
of school, the history text book does take us through (1) how this road
developed, evolved and expanded starting from the Maurya dynasty, to the
British Empire with all the dynasties and empires in between. (2) How its
significance grew with every passing empire; be it for trade, invasions,
transportation etc. While all this was covered in good depth, what remains
uncovered in these books is; at the minimum a reference of the rich culinary
extravagance this route has to offer.
No
worries, I’m here to share my experience from what I savored when I travelled
across this route. Not literally, a couple of bloggers including me were
invited to My Place @ Movenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore to experience the
‘Grand Trunk Road Culinary Trail’. This
is a festival on at ‘My Place’ up to Sunday, 21st July.
Menu:
As a part
of this festival, the buffet spread at ‘My Place’ is expansive and covers
signature and symbolic dishes starting with West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi
and Punjab in India and then runs into the north-west frontier to include
delicacies from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yes, all of this in the form of
salads, appetizers, mains and desserts amalgamating under one single roof at
Movenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore.
To achieve
this culinary feast, Executive Chef Thomas Joseph travelled a part of the GTR
in search of local chefs who would also bring in authenticity to the
preparations. The team comprised of both in-house and visiting chefs. When
introduced to them, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the visiting team
mainly comprised of women to which another secret was let out, “They are home
chefs who only entered a big or commercial kitchen a couple of weeks ago for
the first time; that too after a lot of convincing.”
What more?
Let’s go through what we ate.
What we ate:
We started
off with an assortment of kebabs. Non-vegetarians had Ghutwa Kebab – a flavorful
mutton kebab finely minced to bring it to a paste like consistency and fried, Macchi
ka Kebab – cubes of fish mildly spiced and cooked in a tandoor to perfect
flakiness and the delicious and hot samosas. They were no ordinary samosas but
something, the name of which is sufficient to get many mouths watering –
‘Mutton Keema Samosa’.
On the
vegetarian front, it was ‘Anjeer Mawe ki tikki’, ‘Bengali Begoon Bhaja’ and
Punjab’s very own ‘Bhutta kebab’. What intrigued me was the very different
Anjeer mawe ki tikki. The name gives a clear hint, “This kebab will be sweet”.
And sweet it was. This did not appeal to most palates but I liked the
preparation and enjoyed it with a contrasting flavor of mint chutney. The
Begoon Bhaja was crispy on the outside with the inside being mushy and moist. A
very simple yet a fabulous dish made live on request.
GTR runs
through most of North Indian states and not having chaat on buffet would be
disastrous. This cannot happen at Movenpick. My guest and I, in true street
style indulged in a round of gol gappas. Both of us being avid lovers of
non-vegetarian food retained our focus on the main course and moved on.
It was a
meaty affair, Haleem – Lucknow style was on the spread. I didn’t like this
much. Personally, the Hyderabadi version of the haleem is the only format that
appeals to my palate. However, the buffet also had a delicious Lucknowi style
ghost biryani which was no – nonsense and an absolute meat lovers delight. The
Delhi style Mutton do pyaza was ‘bang on’ on flavors and tenderness of the
mutton.
There was
also Macher Jol; a Bengali fish preparation which tasted very different due to
the use of mustard oil in its making. It took me a couple of bites to really
enjoy these flavors. Then there was also, 'Chooza Khas Makhani' (State: Punjab)
and 'Murgh Kari' from Pakistan. Unlike the usual makhani dishes, the 'Chooza Khas Makhani' was not sweet but has a unique and wonderful flavoring coming from the
use of anise and some more ingredients. This was a universal winner on our
table. Murgh Kari was another fabulous preparation. Mildly spiced and packed
with a lot of flavor. All main course
gravies were enjoyed with hot Indian breads that were served hot on our table.
With
literally no appetite left to give vegetarian dishes a shot, I just looked
through the arrangement to see what I had missed from the vegetarian section. A
look and I wished I had tried at least a couple which included the classic
Pindi Channa masala and the Karela dish.
I like
desserts but it is not something for which I will usually give up or compromise
on the meal. So for me it was a piece of delicious gulab jamoon, Sandesh,
chilled phirni, Qubani ka mitha and blueberry something. The desserts I had
were all good and did make a good end to a fabulous meal.
For more food pictures from this dinner, visit the photo albums on my FaceBook page Review Of Restaurants
Verdict:
Overall,
the food at this festival is fabulous. What takes this festival to another high
is a wonderful and fascinating ‘Desi’ cocktails menu especially concocted for
this Grand Trunk Road Festival. Here’s a
very interesting range of cocktails which we sampled - Piru Pyala, Imli Mojito,
Kala Khatta Diaquiri and Sharabi Nariyal. Of these, Piru Pyala - a tequila
based drink with guava juice, spices and black salt was a clear favorite
closely followed by the Imli Mojito.
The GRT
festival is on till the 21st of July. This special buffet is
available only for dinners and is priced at Rs. 1200 plus taxes and charges
(Alcohol extra). There is enough the spread to savor for both vegetarians and
non-vegetarians.
Valet
Parking is available.
Quick Tips:
Grand
Trunk Road Culinary Trail culminates on 21st July with a Sunday
brunch. If you are unable to make it for a relaxed evening dinner; this Sunday
Brunch will be an exciting affair to be a part off.
Address: Movenpick Hotels & Spa Bangalore, 115, Gokula Extension, HMT Road (Near BEL Circle), Bangalore - 560054
Phone Number: +91 80 4300 1000
Wow the delicacies seems to great! The price seems to be more cheaper than the other prominent star rated hotels in Bangalore
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