Ever been to Mumbai’s Mohammed Ali Road? Yeah, the famous
food street? Yet it’s not just the food, right? It’s the entire ambience that
stays with you and makes you yearn to go back. Well, yearn no more, people. We
found it all right here in Pune at Barbecue Nation at their Magic of Mohammed
Ali Road festival. They have brought out the signature taste of the finest
traditional Ramadan street food in all its outlets.
Come along then, take a trip with us
down Mohammed Ali Road.
Trademark qawwali’s and popular Bollywood songs played in
the background as we entered. The waiters adorning Kurta Pyjama and banners of
Bhendi Bazaar gave the place an authentic look and feel. And then we forgot
about the ambience because the sinful smell of marinated meat sizzling over hot
grills and skewers took over.
We met up with Uday Menon, Chief Business Officer, Barbeque
Nation Hospitality. He said, “We have recreated Mohammed Ali Road of Ramzaan.
Roger, our Commissionery Chef( West) went there on Iftar day for first hand research
and we could come up with typical dishes like Mutton Shami Kebab prepared
exactly the same way. In some dishes we played around a bit with the flavours
to adapt them to our clients’ palates. For instance we have toned down the
spiciness of some dishes.”
All this talk of flavours and palates really got our
salivary glands working and we headed off to the real task. After all how long
could we keep that gorgeous food waiting?
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| Barbequed Kebabs |
On to the Starters...
We started off with a variety of barbequed kebabs including
Chicken Kebab, Prawns, Fish Kebabs and Tandoori Chicken. They were well
marinated and cooked to perfection. I did find, though that the Moong dal
Kebabs were slightly undercooked and had hardly any taste.
Our favourite was the beautifully decorated Raan E Ghosht
(“tender pieces of mutton in sumptuous gravy delicately perfumed with spices”
said the menu). It was visually very appealing as well as satiating for the
taste buds.
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| Raan E Ghosht |
There were live-counters and rehri carts where kebabs were
prepared in front of you and served hot as per demand. That was quite exciting.
We could choose from Mutton Seekh Kebab,Chicken Baida Paratha,Gurda
Kaleji,Chicken Bhuna and Raan E Ghosht.
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| Live Counter: serving dishes as per your demand! |
I liked the Mutton Seekh Kebab served with Pav. The veg
Kheema made from Soya tasted better than the Chicken Bhuna. Along with Raan, we
got to taste another exotic and rare dish - that is Tandoori Bater Mussallam
(quail cooked in tandoor) which was absolutely delicious.
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| Tandoori Bater Mussallam |
…. then to the Main Course..
We had to remember not to stuff ourselves as the main course
was waiting. The counter was sagging under a host of veg and non-veg dishes.
Here’s a confession - being a hard core non-vegetarian I didn’t taste too many
vegetarian dishes. Fellow bloggers vouched for the Khatte Aloo, Khau Galli ka
Paneer and Gobi Musallam. I have to reiterate that the Veg Kheema with Pav won
hands down among the veg dishes. The non-veg section had Paya Shorba, Nihari
Ghosht, Mutton Khichada, Crab Masala, Zam Zam Pilaf et al.The Paya shorba
smelled divine and tasted good. The chef recommended Nihari Ghosht and Mutton
Khichada. I liked both as they were not excessively oily or spicy and retained
the original flavours of mutton. Ditto with the Zam Zam Pilaf, a speciality
rice dish which consists of mutton, chicken, mixed vegetables and nuts. Since
they hadn’t used excessive masala or artificial colours it had a very authentic
taste.
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| Paya Shorba |
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| Mutton Khichada |
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| Zam Zam Pilaf |
… And now for the Desserts
This section, dear friends, is my personal favourite. It had
a full separate counter for dessert an
The display was of course eye-catching but ‘looking’ wasn’t
much on our mind as we got busy picking from SheerKhuarma, Mawa Khawaja,
Malpuawa, Rabadi, Brownie, and Gulab Jamuns. The piping hot Gulab Jamuns and
Malpuva simply melted in the mouth. The well-loved Phirni was there with a
modern twist - the Black Currant Phirni.
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| Sheer Khurarma |
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| Black current phirani |
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| Mawa Khwaja |
At the Kulfi counter we could choose from Sitaphal,
Chocolate, Malai, Kesar Pista Kulfi et al. They were decorated as per request.
In fact after live cart, the Kulfi counter turned out to be the biggest
attraction.
The sheer variety of food was mindboggling. The staff was
courteous and took trouble to recommend and explain the dishes. This, most
definitely, is not a place for small eaters. So bring your appetites along and
get your neighbour’s too if you can!The Mohammed Ali Road Food Festival will be
on in Pune till October 18th.Later it will travel to Delhi and Goa.
When: Till October 18
Time-Lunch and Dinner hours
Where: Barbeque Nation- Deccan R Mall,City One Mall
PCMC,Amonaro ,Kalyani nagar,Sayaji hotel Wakad
Price: Rs 1600 Apporoximately for two
Phone-020-60600002
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