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Awadhi cuisine at Vivanta by Taj

Awadhi cuisine can be considered as the food of Lucknow, where I have spent some years of my life. When Vivanta by Taj, Whitefield invited me to their signature restaurant - Terracotta to try some of their authentic Awadhi fare, I was eager to revisit the memories of the wonderful Lucknow city through the meal. Here's a photo tour...




Terracotta's culinary expert team is lead by celebrity Chef Anwar Ali Ansari (3rd from left), who has inherited the recipes from his family that traces its lineage from the Nawabs who perfected these delicacies...


Beautiful ambiance with candle light...


Guava cooler... 


The open style kitchen allows diners to watch the chefs in action. Kababs being cooked in the tandoor...


Paya ka Shorba, slowly extracted from mutton shanks spiked with saffron. The soup was mildly flavored with bits of mutton...


Tava grilled spicy pineapple...


The smiling wait staff started serving the appetizers. There was Chargrilled Prawns,  Galouti Kababs, Peshawari murgh, Tandoori Salmon Tikka, Bharwaan mushrooms. All of them tasted nice. Galouti kabab was excellent... 





Tandoori Broccoli marinated in a homemade yogurt and carom spiced  marinade was quite interesting...


The giant tandoor oven...


Mains had Broccoli Jalfrezi, stir fried with onion, tomato and light spices...


Murgh Pasanda Wajid Ali Shah - beaten chicken breasts simmered in almond and poppy seed emulsion...


Kheema Kaleji - hand chopped mince of mutton and mutton liver cooked to perfection with pounded masala...


Pashto naan was the perfect accompaniment for the Kheema Kaleji...



Palak Rasogolla - another version of Palak Paneer with Rasogolla instead of paneer...



Methi Parantha...



Smoked eggplant - char grilled in a tandoor and finished with mild spices,  yogurt and cream...



Peshawari raan - whole baby lamb leg smoked with cloves, cooked to perfection...



A very good example of Awadhi Lamb biryani. The meat was tender and the rice was fragrant and moist...



Shrikhand parfait - layered fresh fruit shrikhand was a really lovely dessert...



Sewai ka Muzaffar is vermicelli cooked in milk enriched with dry fruits and Garlic Kheer was a surprise from the kitchen of 'Royals'. 


Overall, it was a wonderful meal with some very interesting dishes.
Leaving you with the beautiful smile of one of my co-diners...



28 comments:

  1. Great looking cuisine all photographed very well indeed. I am partial to the frothy head on the beer, though. Happy New Year.

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  2. That all looks absolutely delicious

    Mollyxxx

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  3. All that food looks so amazing. I want to taste it all now! The smells coming from that Tandoor must have been awesome :)

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  4. your food photography is amazing!!

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  5. All this makes me very hungry !!

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  6. You are such a gifted food photographer. Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/12/little-painted-desert.html.
    Best wishes for a wonderful year in 2016!

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  7. This food is so different from our Texas foods....so glad you enjoyed it.
    Your dinner partner is beautiful.

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  8. As always the pictures are amazing and the food loos so tasty that makes my mouth water.
    Happy New Years!!

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  9. It all looks really delicious - except maybe the eggplant, although based on the description, it is probably the one I would like the most.

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  10. Oh my all that beautifully presented food :-)

    Happy New Year and all the best for 2016 :-)

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  11. Wow, your food images are amazing. Everything looks delicious. Thanks for your review.
    Happy Tuesday, enjoy your new week! I wish you all the best in 2016, Happy New Year!

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  12. The food looks delicious, but I love the bokeh with the candle!

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  13. Your photos are beautiful. They do look like very interesting dishes. Happy New Year!

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  14. Looks yummy.

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2015/12/ww-dark-side.html

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  15. Everything looks so yummy! You've made me hungry!

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  16. What an awesome time! That broccoli looks amazing! I'm going to have to figure out how to do that at home to entice my husband into eating more vegetables ;)

    Thanks for sharing at Photo Friday and happy new year!

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  17. Your life seems to be one exotic and delicious meal after another. What fabulous dishes. I would love to try them all - especially the kheema kaleji, the smoked eggplant, and the peshawari raan. I am growing more jealous all the time.

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  18. Sounds like a wonderful and tasty experience! I love that you get to experience these amazing restaurants and food! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    Jann

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  19. Awesome photos as usual, lovely food, most of it new to me. Funny how some savory dishes don't photograph as appetizing, but I am sure they taste delicious. We always look forward to what you are photographing and sharing on the Bloggers Pit Stop
    Kathleen

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