Banjara Restaurant at Goldfinch Hotel is set to take food lovers of Mumbai on an exotic culinary trail with The Grand Trunk Road food festival, which started from 22nd September 2021. The historic Grand Trunk Road is one of Asia’s oldest and longest highways spanning across an impressive 2,500 km running through the parts of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Aimed at capturing the diverse culture of this route, it will take guests on the trail of the specialties of cities from Chittagong and Kolkata to Kabul via stopovers at Amritsar, Delhi and Allahabad. This includes street-style cooked delicacies from Amritsar like Sarson Ka Saag with Makki de Roti and Pindi Chhole Kulche.
The menu also features the Crystal Chowk Ka Tandoori Chicken, a dish that borrows its name from the popular street in the heart of Amritsar. It will also debut Kunna Gosht, a Punjabi delicacy, different from the other meat delicacies is its distinct flavour and aroma, owing to its slow cooking method in earthen ware.
Patrons can also look forward to enjoy the Pashtun cuisine including Kabuli Palaw (national dish of Afganistan), Qorma-e-Gosht (lamb stew), Qorma-e-Lubia Shaljam (kidney beans stew), to the street foods of Kabul like Chapli Kebab (patty of lamb mince), Bolani (stuffed thin crust bread) to Mantu (meat dumplings) and Ashak (vegetable dumplings) served with tomato and yoghurt sauces. It shall also feature popular Pakistani specialty Raan-e-Musallam, wherein a spice-marinated lamb leg is slow-cooked overnight.
Some of the recommended must-tries, helmed by Executive Chef, include Patay Tikka, which is liver of lamb covered and cooked in its fat. Another specialty is the Peshawari Charsi Murg Karahi, a speciality of Peshawar. Guests can revel in delicacies like Gobi Ameenabadi (mildly spiced wok tossed cauliflower), Langarwali Dal, Patrani Machi and Mutton Burra Kebab and most famous Delhiwali Chaat which shall include Kuliya Chat of Purani Delhi. Also, not to forget Saddi Dilli de Chhole Bhature, an all-day Delhi specialty along with crispy Jalebi with Rabdi.
Going further the restaurant will have traditional Awadhi cuisine from Allahabad which includes succulent Galouti Kebabs or the vegetarian Suran Ki Galouti, skewered by Masterchef Bapon. Other must-tries from the region include Zaffrani Paneer Tikka, Machi Begam Bahar (mildly-spiced slow-cooked fish with caramelised onion and cashew nuts) and Awadhi Biryani, a dish brought to India by Persian travellers and merchants.
“There is a misconception that Bengali cuisine is largely a meat eater’s delight. Kolkata is also known for its hearty vegetarian specials,” says chef Surjit, who will dish out Begun Bhaja along with Bhapa Paneer that features paneer, flavoured with mustard, coconut and green chillies and steamed in pumpkin leaves, and Patishapta, a decadent rice-flour crepe filled with coconut, khoya and jaggery.
Seafood lovers can relish Katla Macher Kaliya and Chingri Malai Curry. For Meat lovers chef is dishing out Mejbani Mangsho, Chicken Chaap & Murg Rezala. They can end the meal with Muktogachar Monda, Rasogolla or Mishti doi.
To make the food festival more vibrant, the hotel staff of the restaurant will be dressed in traditional attires. There will be cultural performances during the festival representing the cultures of the regions the G T Road is passing through.
