baconbaba

Momo Cafe at Courtyard Marriott, Hijewadi, Pune is hosting a Hyderabadi Food Festival. They are dishing out some super authentic delicacies from the land of the Nizams including favorites like Haleem, Biryani, Nalli Nihari and Double ka meetha. #baconbaba was invited with #TheBTeam to take a look at this delectable spread.

We started off with Sharbat-E-AnaarDaana, a beautiful rose infused pomegranate juice. Perfect to cool us down from the sweltering heat outside and to set us up for the feast heading our way.

Juicy Reshmi Chicken Kababs were served to us at the table – well marinated chunks of chicken, lightly flavored, pleasure to eat

Warqui Lamb Samosas – lamb stuffed pattices were really airy. However, I would have preferred a bit more filling and a bit less pastry. The puff pastry itself was light and flaky

Shikampuri Kababs – a take on the more popular galouti kababs, these soft tender little melt in the mouth delicacies that left us wanting for more!

The vegetarian part of the starters were pretty interesting too. Veg Sheekh Kabas were rather tasty, though slightly on the drier side. Nothing that a spot of the bright green mint chutney couldn’t fix.

Haleem

Haleem is an integral part of Hyderabadi cuisine and we were glad to see this included in the buffet. It is traditionally a stew made of rice/wheat and mutton, dal and spices slow cooked over 8-10 hours to a paste like consistency. The haleem served here was a bit coarse textured, and lacked the silky consistency seen in more traditional preparations. That being said, it was delicious, and was garnished with fried onions and garlic, giving it an interesting twist.

The main course had a couple of very interesting non-veg items. The nihari gosht was a light mutton preparation with generous portions of well cooked meat.

However, my favorite was the Chicken Khurma – a creamy curry of chicken with beautifully marinated pieces of chicken. It actually felt like someone had dunked a huge helping of malai kababs into the curry!

No Hyderabadi food festival can be complete without biryani, and we weren’t disappointed. Mutton and veg biryani donned the mighty buffet table and the glorious fragrance of the spiced rice wafted through the entire hall.

The vegetarian guests had enough to hog into with beautifully prepared mixed veg curry, khatti dal, bhindi sherva and of course, paneer. The khatti dal was the highlight of the vegetarian smorgasbord.

If you are planning on visiting with foreign dignitaries or those with less courageous intestines, the buffet also includes a couple continental and asian dishes, including the very delicious cheesy creamy Spinach Au Gratin. The chefs at Momo cafe excel at continental dishes,  and today was no exception. An extensive salad bar welcomes those with a healthy palate.

You cannot leave a buffet at Momo cafe without attacking the dessert section. A rather sinful selection of desserts tempted us. The usual suspects were the dark chocolate cake, red velvet pastry and a delightful summery orange cheese cake. But the Hyderabadi specialty Double ka meetha and Gile e Firdous were pretty amazing. What I absolutely loved was the Anjeer ki Kheer. The rich flavor of anjeer hits you smack in the face, leaving you a little more lethargic, a little more happy.

Overall, it was a fantastic meal. At 750/- + taxes, it is quite an excellent deal. Brilliant food, exceptional service, and an excellent experience.

The Hyderabadi Food Festival is currently on from 6^th March till 15^th March 2017 and is priced at Rs. 750++ for lunch and Rs. 1000++ for dinner.

I was invited as part of #TheBTeam for a blogger’s table. The Usual Disclaimer applies.