Awadhi food once was for the Nizams

As i enter the star rated Hotel Sarovar Premier in Goregaon, where Awadhi (Lucknowi) food festival is going on i am greeted by the Master Chef Mujeeb ur Rehman who hails from Lucknow and specializes in the food which was made for the Nizams. The gentle and soft spoken Rehman is a connoisseur of Awadhi cuisine and has been associated with several star rated Hotels and start ups in promoting the cuisine.
The food he says in these days has seen a lot of change mostly due to people been exposed to several cuisines and of course fast food. So the cuisine has undergone changes, reduced fat, use of oil and butter. What remains is the superb TASTE of the Awadhi cuisine.

Be it the galloti kebabs, Shirmans or figg roti's the live counters are the most visited at the festival. As we dig into the soft kebabs we are told that Lucknowi, Kashmiri and Hyderabadi have a lot of influence of Moghals who brought the rich cuisine into India. As they travelled and due to tropical conditions of the local area the cuisine underwent changes.
Rehman attributes changes simply to people created their own taste with the spices they could procure easily. The shirman which is a speciality bread with saffron sprinkled is the superb to eat and very rich. The main course is a mix of vegetarian (Prepared for the diet conscious and Jains which make a large part of eating outers) and Non Veg. For me i eat the three different kinds of chicken dishes along with the Shirman, and rotis. But still the Kebabs is what i crave for.
As for deserts there is a large spread, from Sheer Khruma, Dudhi Halwa, Paneer ka Meetha,  to cakes. But if it is Awadhi food festival then except the cakes i eat all. When i am saying good bye to Rehman i ask him the most trending question prevalent in these days. Which wine goes well with Awadhi food. He says "I have not tasted alcohol, internationally that's is the trend but what i promote is the food and not the wine." That in a way assures me that the cuisine is in safe hands and look forward to enjoy it few more times.