The kebab fest at Kangan is a melange of global preparations and traditional tastes, says GITA HARI.
Though belated, the celestial downpours are incessant now… This is when you just want to snuggle with a book, a cup of masala chai and crispies. But if you are among those adventure junkies with foodie leanings who would enjoy a drive to a nice, hi-end northwest cuisine restaurant to savour grilled delights then Kangan at The Westin Mumbai Garden City in Goregoan is the ideal gourmet venue for delicious Indian food. I had the celebrity foodie couple Manasi and Rohit Roy join me on this enticing kebab tasting journey and along with versatile Chef Ajay Chopra, our exchange of views in culinary related conversation made me wiser in the matter.
Kangan’s month-long kebab festival Jashn-e-Kebab with a novel twist by culinary kings Master Chef Ajay Chopra and Chef de Cuisine Shamsher Ahmed is all set to present a distinctive unison of global preparations without compromising on the traditional tastes and cooking style.
Demystifying the popular conviction that kebabs are succulent marinated meat alone, Kangan’s kebab festival ditches the quintessential galouti and introduces an array of innovative veg kebabs as well. Over fresh health juice spiked with basil and mint, we tried Bhavnagari Chaney ki Mirch of slit fat green chillies stuffed with spiced boiled potato, the mildly spiced Matar aur khoye ki seekh, Kamal kakdi ki Shammi of tender lotus shoots flavoured with cardamom and chillies and Rajma ki Shammi full of the healthy red kidney beans patty with whole spices grilled into a melt-in-the mouth kebab.
Garma-garam dishes especially with an exciting selection of chutneys and dips like the curd-based south Indian style dip, tamarind sweet and sour sauce, capsicum chutney (first-time-ever-tasted one) and carrot-shalgam pickle made the already mouth-watering kebabs go berserk on the palate. While Bhutte ki Kebab had the appearance of tangdi kebab, Karak Vilayat Subz ki Seekh comprised western vegetables like capsicum and American corn to form a crunchy item. For the main course it was Asif Jahan Kofta and Aloo Gobhi Mutter with richly garnished Subz Biryani. Since all of us entertained a sweet tooth, Ras Malai and Kulfi Falooda more than catered to our sweet cravings.
This festival is a tongue-tingling feast for carnivores with Murgh Shikanja exuding the gentle tangy marination of chilli, raw mango and coriander; Kalmi Kalander presenting garam masala flavoured chicken drumsticks done in charcoal oven followed by Jhinga Samarkhand of buttery jumbo prawns spiked with Hindpur chillies and lemon. Main course consists of Nalli Nihari, Mahi Qaliya and chef’s recipe of Koh-e-Peshawar. Ajwaini Parotti Naan with Dal Kangan was simply superb.
In the course of our conversation, Executive Chef Ajay Chopra revealed, “Kangan our signature Indian Venue is inspired from modern dinning- bringing to our guests a fresh perspective to traditional cuisine. With Jashn-e-kebab we have tried toencompass the global identity of Kebabs & Grills in the more local format. While the idea is to break monotony from the regular Kebabs; the unique blend of ingredients such as Lotus Stem, Peas and Chickpea will offer fresh tastes for guests to explore.”
With a stunning view, from its 18th floor location, of overcast skies waiting to open up, Kangan’s décor is unassuming yet subtly elegant with the interactive show kitchen, lip smacking dishes and live tandoor cooking pitching in a bit of drama to the entire dining experience we came back having had the bestest kebabs ever!
Mutter Aur Khoye Ki Seekh
INGREDIENTS:
l 800 gms Fresh green peas
l 5 gms Black Salt
l 10 gms Kitchen King Masala
l 200 gms Khoya
l 25 gms Garam Masala
l 200 gms Roasted chana powder
l 50 gms Ghee
l Salt as per taste
Method:
Sauté the green peas in pan, add the masala. Roughly grind the mixture add Khoya and roasted chana powder mix well together. Put it on a skewer and cook in charcoal oven. Serve with mint
chutney.
BHUTTA KEBAB
INGREDIENTS:
l 300 gms American corn kernels
l 16 big size Baby corns
l 250 gms Potatoes boiled and cut in cubes
l 100 gms Green chillies chopped
l 50 gms Ginger chopped
l 2 tbsp Coriander chopped
l 100 gms Bread crumbs
l 2 tsp Tandoori masala
l 500 ml
Method:
Boil the American corn with salt and chilly powder. Strain them and after all the water gets drained crush them. Mash the boiled potatoes and mix with the crushed corn kernels. Add some bread crumbs to the mixture to bind them properly. Add the tandoori masala to it and keep the mixture aside. Boil the babycorn in some salted water. Take the corn kernels mixture and coat it over the boiled baby corn. Cover it up with the bread crumb and fry them in hot oil. Serve it with dhaniya lasoon ki chutney.
