The taste of India

The Indian culinary world is as diverse as the country and its people. Be it tangy ‘tandoors’ from the North, seafood from the coasts or the vegetable preparations from the South, there is never a lack of dishes to explore. In honour of this diversity and the upcoming Independence Day, ‘The Oberoi’ is hosting a month-long celebration at Le Jardin, their in-house restaurant, from 7.30 pm onwards.

Chef Nimisha’s culinary trail will take one through the delicacies of the North, South, West and East. Each week of August will play host to one region, starting with North. On till August 9, dishes from Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir are available to diners.

These rustic and robust treats leave ones tastebuds begging for more. The Awadh belt comes prepared with ‘tandoors’, like the mustard marinaded fish and broccoli marinaded in rich cream and almond paste, which are cooked in a ‘tandoor’. They also have ‘kebabs’ like ‘Chicken reshmi’, which is a speciality of Punjab. Another Punjabi favourite is the ‘Bharwari paneer’ — it melts in the mouth and is soft as cotton candy. A meal is complete without the ‘chaats’ from Delhi.

And a ‘Lamb shammi’ from Kashmir adds the final touches to the Northern appetisers. For the main course, Rajasthan adds its contribution with ‘Suwar ke saonth’ and ‘Bajra roti’. There is also a ‘Gobi Musallam’. The South contributes with ‘Avial’ and steamed rice from Kerala and ‘Thovial sorakka’ from Tamil Nadu. There will be a bigger variety in the coming week, till August 16. From August 17 to 22, one can visit the Konkan belt and cover Goa and parts of Gujarat. Then, till August 31, one can taste West Bengal, Odisha and Assam. Although there aren’t any contributions from the other Eastern states, it is not a loss. The ‘Fish tenga with rice’ is Assam’s special and ‘Kosha mangsho with loochi’ is from West Bengal. For desserts, there is a ‘Gulab jamun’ and ‘Apple jalebi with basundi’.