As modern Indian cuisine is rapidly making its way into the culinary sphere, traditional cooking is never going to lose its charm. My visits at Kama situated in Radisson Blu, Kaushambi, have time and again reinforced my view that it is an epitome of traditional Indian cooking. Various festivals that Kama has previously hosted, like Kashmiri, Lucknawi, Hyderabadi and Punjabi, have all received a great response. Though Chef Vishal Nigam does not like to deviate from the traditional recipes, but his menu has a fair share of innovative dishes too.
The Kebab and Biryani Festival at Kama which is on till 16th October takes a step further from the regular north Indian fare available across the capital. Through this festival they have tried to integrate the best dishes from all their previous festivals. That is why you will find a wide variety of vegetarian and non vegetarian selections which are not restricted to one particular region. There is a good chance that you may have not tried some of the delicacies being served here.
Tabak Maaz, a traditional-to-the-core mutton dish from Kashmir deserves special mention. It is prepared by frying the specially cut lamb ribs marinated in yoghurt, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and several other spices. The one served here is really authentic. The mutton itself was extremely soft and melt-in-the-mouth. Chicken Banno Kebab was another non-veg specialty. It was similar to chicken tikka but chaat masala added some twist. My another favourite was Kashmiri Phari. Chef made this Kashmiri fish preparation using Surmai coated with mint, garlic and ginger, dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried in mustard oil. It was cooked to perfection.
In vegetarian, Lucknawi Kastoori Kebab made out of spinach impressed me. The chef revealed that he has used cheddar cheese in the mixture that added the smoky flavour. In biryanis we tried the Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani and Murgh Howrah Biryani. The Kolkata style Howrah Biryani was much better that the Hyderabadi variant. Lot of vegetables in the biryani provided extra flavours which were embraced by each grain of rice.
One may get spoilt for choices as the festival’s special menu is in addition to Kama’s regular menu. All you can expect here is good traditional Indian food in front of which no modern cuisine or a gimmick can stand.
