Punjabi food is exciting if you have an uncompromised appetite. There is
no denying that it is one of the heavier cuisines – rich, flavourful and spicy
and most of us love it that way. We’ve savored good Punjabi food – sarso da
saag, choley puri and daal makhani at many many restaurants in Mumbai. And yet
there comes a time when one meal takes your breath away. Without exaggeration,
that happened to us when we dined at The Square – Novotel at their Punjabi food
festival ‘Zaika Punjab Da’.
What separates good food from excellent food is an abstract concept. Like
Po’s father said in Kung Fu Panda, “The
secret of my secret ingredient soup is – nothing.” We met a gifted chef who
shared the same philosophy. Many years ago Chef Ranveer Brar, executive chef of
Novotel Mumbai discovered Sweety Singh, a simple self-taught cook in Punjab,
and decided that his food deserved more takers. Singh has been travelling the
world ever since, cooking for top hotels and doing personalized menus for
celebrities. He sure must be something, we imagined.
Singh conceptualized the menu for Zaika
Punjab Da but more importantly, shared his secret recipes with Novotel. “I
have no problem sharing my recipes. It is no secret. Even if I gave you the
exact recipe you wouldn’t be able to reproduce my food,” he said with inadvertent
pride, “that’s because the masalas are specially made in Punjab and you wouldn’t
find them here.”
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| bhatti da murg |
We could hardly wait to try the Punjabi food cooked in desi ghee. The buffet was split into two
sections, multi-cuisine global fare and pure Punjabi fare. We obviously saved
our hunger for the latter. Singh piled our plates with bhatti da murg, chikkad
choley, maa ki daal, baingan bharta and mutton curry. Piping hot rotis arrived
at the table. The murg and mutton were cooked to melt in the mouth, the choley
had a sharp zing without being overly spicy and the rich creamy daal filled our
tummies yet kept us asking for more. “But there is no cream, no cashewnut paste
in my gravies. What you taste is pure Punjabi food,” he said. We took several
helpings of the baingan bharta…doused in a layer of desi ghee, cooked without
onion and garlic and yet so full of flavour. “Leave room for dessert,” he said,
and served a traditional sweet dish of gaund (edible gum) and jaggery. We forgot
its name – but the meal was unforgettable.
Zaika Punjab Da was on from 13th to 28th April at
The Square, Hotel Novotel, Juhu, Mumbai.
