We travel to different regions to experience the place, people, and food. What better when you can taste the authentic regional cuisines from different parts of India, and experience being there? That’s exactly what JW Sahar keeps discovering and creating at JW Café under the guidance of Surjan Singh Jolly (Director of F & B, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar). Their recent exploration was at the Queen of Hills. Chef Vishal Atreya, Executive Chef, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, and Kripal Amanna, Managing Director & Editor, Food Lovers Magazine.
All together joined hands to explore the authentic regional treasures of the less known Garhwali Food.
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If you haven’t heard about Garhwali Food, here is some brief intro about the same. Garhwal is the land of many ‘Garh’ (गढ़) or forts, predominantly having an ethnolinguistic group of people living in the Garhwal Himalayas of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.
The Queen of Hills gives a rustic, rare, and refreshing culinary exploration that I was lucky to experience a day before the festival.
My journey in exploring the secrets and treasures of Garhwali cuisine started with some mouth-watering Starters.
Urad Dal Pakodi:
The twisted version of Medu Vada, made from the authentic Black gram found in Garhwali Food and fried in the special mustard oil, that lets you have a gastronomic journey. It’s crunchy, tasty, and great an appetizer to try.
Jakhiya(Mustard) Paneer:
It makes the Paneer melt in your mouth, gives you a hint of cottage and curd. It’s specially cooked on a spitfire.
Akhrot ki Tikki:
These are small dumplings fill with Walnuts at the center and are cook on a griddle in a regional way, authentically done at the homes in Garhwal.
Murgh Buranase Tikka:
It’s cook using the unique flowers called Burans flower. The flower is dried and powdered and used during the marinated process with other spices. Again the appetizer is cook on spitfire to give the authentic feel.
Now was the time to experience the main course that is passionately prepared at JW Café, just like the locals prepare their food in the Queen of Hills.
Starting with my personal favorite, Aloo ki Thechwani:
Why Thechwani? The mash/crush spicy chutney of any ingredient is called Thechwani at the heritage location of Garhwal. The dish is cook using the Pahadi Aloo (Mountain Potato).
Kafuli:
Which is a thick green paste prepare from leafy vegetables of the region. The gravy has a strong presence of Mustard leaves and mustard oil, giving it’s a very peculiar pleasant taste.
Jakhiya Machchi:
It’s a fish curry cook using the Fresh river trout cook with mustard seeds and oil. The dish was delightful to my palate.
Murgh Kashmini:
The chicken used to prepare the dish is the Wild chicken ample in the mountains. It’s cook with spinach and fresh fenugreek leaves giving it a rich green color and flavor.
Mutton Tari:
It was quite light, with perfectly cooked lamb. The Tari can be perfectly enjoyed with roti, bread, or rice.
Jakhiya Aloo:
It’s cook from the special Mountain Potato source from the hills. Cook perfectly in mustard, thus the name Jhatiya (mustard) Aloo.
For the desserts, we tasted Jhangore ki kheer:
Instead of the regular incorporation of rice, they had used Barnyard millet, available locally at the Queens of Hills.
Overall, JW Café has done an amazing job of bringing us the preserved culture and Garhwali Food. Experience this one of a kind of food festival from 1st March to 12th March, 2017. Most of the ingredients, lentils, rice, use are authentic ingredients sources from the hills. Garhwali Food is famous for using a very special kind of mustard oil called Jhakia. Which is predominantly used in almost all the food items? Visit JW Café and take home a fond gourmet memory of Uttarakhand with you!
Restaurant: JW Café, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar
Price: INR 2199 + taxes per person
For reservations: +91 22 2853 8656 / http://bit.ly/CafeAtSahar
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