Persian Food Festival at Renaissance Mumbai

If you’re also a fan of some lip smacking Irani dishes and want to experience some culinary magic, then you need to be a part of the Persian Food Festival at Nawab Saheb, Renaissance Mumbai. This food festival is on right upto 27^th February. Firstly the warm and beautiful ambiance welcomes you with happy vibes. The entire seating, décor, artefacts and even the crockery used gives you every bit of the Nawabi glimpse. And if this isn’t enough the live cooking counter along with some live soulful ghazals sessions take you to someplace else. All you need is the right company by your side to make this one a night to remember.

The Persian Food Festival at Nawab Saheb Renaissance is no less than eating like the kings themselves. Firstly the both the Chefs – Mona and Abdullah have been flown down from Iran to whip up these Persian delicacies. They will be at Nawab Saheb, for the entire duration of this Persian Food Festival. They were kind enough and really very sweet to answer all my queries and also explain the importance and what exactly went into making each and every dish. Their enthusiasm for food and brining a bit of Irani goodness and mixing it up with our flavours is what made it truly unique for me personally. So we started off with these starters :

Persian Chicken Salad – This is by far one of the healthiest salads I have ever had. With lost of veggies and boiled chicken, the one ingredient that stood out the most was the fresh berry sauce that was made specially to add layers to the salad. It indeed added a fresh element to it.

Juje Kebabs – These were chicken kebabs well marinated in the freshly made Persian masalas, which I was lucky enough to get my hands on post the dinner. Cannot wait to try making juje kebabs at home using these masalas.

Kebab Barg – It is one of the most famous and most loved Persian kebabs. They are also commonly known as Kebab-E-Barg, which can be made using chicken or lamb. These were lamb kebabs and their main ingredients other than their masalas are the onions and olive oil.

Falafels – These are deep fried round patties that are made using ground chickpeas. A hot favourite with both the vegetarians and the non-vegetarians. This is one of the most sought after dishes in the Middle East.

Paneer Kebabi – This was made using the same authentic Persian Masalas that were used for making Juje Kebabs and the paneer was so freshly made that it literally melted in my mouth.

Kebab Koobideh Morgh – Make way for my personal favourite Persian Kebab. This is made using a mixture of ground chicken, ground onion and saffron. And these are kind of pan kebabs, which are not made using the traditional method of grilling or skewering. The mixture is made by spreading it on a pan, leaving it on till it turns light brown and I must admit it truly tastes exceptional.

Kebab Hosaini – For those of you who prefer slightly spicy food, this is the roasted chicken kebab you should opt for.

MahiSorkh Kardeh – All you fish lovers in the house, get ready to taste some never had before baasa, made with some Irani love.

The have a vast mix of Persian Naan, Indian breads and also some freshly made yoghurt dips to go with your starters.

Mocktail for the night – A unique blend of Cranberry and Guava Juices, with a dash of lemon.

Here’s how the main course looked like at the Persian Food Festival at Nawab Saheb :

Khoresht Fesenjan – This is some Persian chicken stew with walnuts and fresh pomegranate sauce.
Khoresht-E-Khalal Badam – As the name suggests, this dish has loads of almonds with lanb and saffron. You can taste the mild sweetness it leaves behind.
Joojeh Kebab Saffroni – This is a very famous Persian dish where chicken is marinated for quite long and then grilled with loads of saffron. I love their addition of saffron, as it makes the dishes very unique.
Baghati Polo Ba Gosht – They use tava beans for this preparation and our very famous Basmati rice. I was so full by the time time dish arrived but I still enjoyed every bit of it.
Adasi– This is again a very famous Middle Eastern dish especially for the vegetarians. It is made using lentil stew, potatoes and sumac powder.

Make way for some Nawabi Meethas –