Novotel, New Delhi’s ‘Riwaz-e-Awadh’ Serves Lip-Smacking Lucknowi Dishes

We got a chance to review the ‘Riwaz-e-Awadh’ – a Lucknowi Food Festival of Novotel, New Delhi Aerocity and here’s what we thought about the grand spread of dishes from the city of nawabs.

Novotel, New Delhi Aerocity’s signature restaurant Food Exchange has come up with Lucknow Food Festival – Riwaz-e-Awadh that offers scrumptious vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes from galouti kebabs to mutton nihari biryani. We got to experience the authentic taste of Lucknow from the hands of celebrated Chef Sajjan Shah, who started his journey with the world-famous The Tundey Kababe.

Chef Sajjan, who always carries his spices with him, curated the menu for the food festival including Mutton Galawati Kabab, Mughlai Ulta Tawa Paratha, Papdi Chaat, Navratan Korma, Paneer Begam Bahar, Dum Gosht Biryani, Bund Gosht (original Awadhi mutton which is cooked in dum style). Having learned the tradition of slow-cooked food that slowly draws out the flavor, Dum Gosht makes arguably India’s finest mutton. Vegetarians needn’t fear as Chef Sajjan has prepared an assortment of dishes that bring the old Lucknowi cuisine alive. His mushroom kabab will have you yearning for what comes next. The paratha will melt in your mouth.

We started the evening with starters on the live station and tried veg mushroom galouti kebab, and mutton galauti kebabs with ulta tawa parantha. It was cooked to perfection and the spices were not overpowering the mutton. This soft, succulent melt-in-the-mouth patty was something I would love to visit again for.

Mutton Galouti Kebab | PC: Kritika Vaid

Do you know the story behind the conception of this variant of ‘melt-in-the-mouth meat’? The galouti kebab was specially made for the aging Nawab of Lucknow, Wajid Ali Shah as he had lost his set of teeth, but not his appetite for meat! The royal kitchens back then came up with an ingenious way of preparing meat that was easy to go down the food pipe and that’s when Mutton Galouti Kebabs were invented.

We also tried Nalli Nihari Biryani. The mutton mixed in various spices turned out to be tender and juicy.

With the experience of more than 32 years, Chef Sajjan Shah knows the right textures of food that hits the palette in a different way. He said, “Lucknow is a city of rich history, culture and heritage. It is particularly known for its flavourful cuisine which has a lot of historical significance. The textures, spices, aromas and flavours make Lucknow’s cuisine special and cultured. With a vision of bringing this authentic experience to as many people as possible, I’m excited to craft delicious dishes for the patrons of Novotel New Delhi Aerocity.”

The menu also featured a choice of traditional desserts Halwa-e Badam, Gulab Ki Kheer, Lachcha Rabri, Kadhai Doodh, and Imarti.

Verdict: It’s a great place to chill and eat the yummiest and authentic Awadhi cuisine. One can visit with their family and friends to enjoy the spread.
Time: 8 pm onwards
Where: Food Exchange, Novotel New Delhi Aerocity
Opened Till: March 19
Stars: 4/5

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