The Qureshi Brothers

The Qureshi brothers - heard of them? If you haven’t, it probably has more to do with the fact that you haven’t been introduced to the wondrous Awadhi cuisine than anything else. The taste of saffron as it spreads across your lips, and nestles in the breeches of your stomach - all of it is a part of tasting the great food at the Radisson Awadhi Food Festival, featuring the best of the best that the Royal Nawabs’ Chefs had to offer.

The Qureshi brothers were lucky in that they had the best possible teacher by their side - their Father, Imtiaz Qureshi who is probably the most renowned “Dum Pukht” cuisine expert in the world. His recipes and skills have, it seems, been inherited completely over to the two sons, the “Qureshi brothers,” Ashfaque and Irfan.

Both of them looked very similar, prompting one to wonder aloud as to whether they were twins; the reply was a jocular “no,” though it was hard to believe. Ashfaque was easily the more forthcoming when it came to explaining the intricacies and the artistry involved in the Awadhi cuisine, with brother Irfan chipping in at regular intervals.

The Awadhi cuisine goes back a long way in history to the days when the Moghul emperors and the Britishers were treated to the exquisite fare by exemplarily skilled chefs who were paid very huge sums of money to remain on the pay rolls of the emperors. The chefs were treated with great respect and even the Kings bowed to their culinary artistry.

The Radisson Hotel has been trying out many food festivals in the recent past, but this Awadhi Food Festival is definitely special, because of the presence of the Qureshi brothers, whose passion for the art cannot be explained in just a few words. “Artists need to be this passionate if they wish to attain great heights,” said Ashfaque Qureshi - true indeed.
Unlike other Food Festivals when the Vegetarians get a raw deal and are left with compromised varieties that have little or no authenticity to them, the Awadhi festival had a wonderful spread for both the sections.

For starters, we were given the Cheese Kurkuri, which is similar to the cheese spring rolls. “Khatte Aalo” and “Awadhi Kadhi” were the authentic gravies and had a tangy taste to them. The cottage cheese preparation, “Zeer e Chaman,” was simple but impressive. The “Dal Bukhari” was easily the pick of the lot with the remnants of butter in your mouth seconds after you swallow it.

For the Non-Vegetarians, the spread was, as expected, outstanding. “Nahari Gosht”, made with Lamb shanks, melted in the mouth as did the “Jhinga Dum Masala”. The light chicken stew, “Dum Murgh Ka Stew” was very impressive as was the fabulous “Dum Gosht Biryani.” The “Pathar Gosht” and the “Murgh Ke Sooley”, served by the pool side, tasted so good that we were forced to take second and even third servings.The Naans were atisfactory and the Ulta Tawa Paratha reminded one of the South-Indian “Poli”, minus the sweet taste.

The highlight of the evening was probably the “Khubani a Meetha,” made from poached dry apricots and served in fresh cream. Likewise the Apple Jalebi also swept one off the feet. The customary Kulfi rounded off what had by then become one of the better Dinner buffets in town - a cut above the rest.

Suman Varadarajan (courtesy indiatimes.com)