Kangan is the flagship restaurant at Westin, Pune and I had been planning to visit the place for a long time. The only thing that kept it from happening was that it is open only for dinner and we are more inclined toward family lunches.
Kangan, Westin, Pune now has a new chef. Sadab Qureshi comes from a family of royal chefs from Lucknow. In its new avatar under Chef Qureshi, Kangan aims to satisfy your yearning for the taste of North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Only here, we were told the menu covers things from Hyderabad, India to Peshawar.
So you might see a glimpse of Andhra food along with Delhi’s Nihari and Lucknow’s Kebab. The new menu will see a lot of Lamb dishes and the usual Punjabi Tikka. But you will also see some new additions from the land of Nawabs, like the Kakori Kebab and Galauti Kebab.
The Kakori Kebab seems like a mixture of spices like Pepper and Patthar ka Phool, which bring a lot of heat to the dish. I was literally sweating by the time the starters made way to the main course.
The fine mince of the Kakori Kebab has no or very subtle taste of ginger and no garlic. This lack of ginger-garlic combination is what differentiates it from most of the other North Indian preparations.
The Galauti Kebab – the one for the toothless Nawab :) – is a finer and tender version of Kakori kebab and pan grilled as opposed to the Kakori kebab.
The Rann-e-Awadh is slightly more ginger-garlic based preparation that you will be familiar with. The meat on the bone is a good choice to go with the boneless kebabs, if you prefer to eat that off the bone meat.
Another starter that appears to make the rounds of Mughlai menus in the city is Dahi Ke Kebab. Chef Qureshi brings the authentic taste of Lucknow as he grills yogurt covered in potato and flour mixture. Crispy on the outside, the yogurt at the center gives it a tangy flavor as you bite into the Dahi ke Kebab.
In the main course, to bring you the taste of north India, the slow cooked Nihari makes an announcement on the Kanagan menu. The slow cooked meat of Nihari is tender and yet juicy and the gravy again is made with fine pounded spices and is flour based.
As promised, the menu has an Andhra influence in Rassedar Murgh. This main course chicken dish has a thick onion gravy, with a taste of Kadhi Patta (Curry Leaves) to mark its lineage to the southern state.
Biryani is kind of synonymous with Nawabi ciusine. But don’t let the name Biryani mislead you. Here, taking a leaf out of Awadhi cuisine, the Biryani is quite toned down and without the usual masala paste.
The Lamb Biryani is much more a Mutton Pulao than the Biryani preparations that you will find on most menus. A Pakki Biryani, the chef explained that the spices used in this preparation are quite subtle and intended to suit the royal tastes. So if you are imagining a spicy Biryani with mutton pieces cooked with a gravy on Dum, this may not be the one for you. This one is more for those who like the low spice meter.
Good food must be complemented with delicious desserts. Chef Qureshi gives you the taste of Lucknow with Gulkand Phirni – candied rose petals topped with rice pudding – and of the Nawabs of the South with the Shahi Tukda.
Chef Qureshi promises to bring you the authentic taste of Lucknow and north with his expertise in kebabs and Biryani. So explore Lucknow and the food of Nawabs this Winter at Kangan and feel the subtle warmth of the spices.
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