Chef Sanjeev Kapoor at the popular Idrees biryani shop in Chowk (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)

Kapoor tasting biryani at Idrees' in Chowk (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)

Kapoor tasting biryani at Idrees' in Chowk (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor also went to Gol Darwaza in Chowk to have Nimish (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)

Celebrity chef and Padma Shri Sanjeev Kapoor had a blast on his recent trip to Lucknow. The chef, who was here for a personal commitment, took out time and went on a food trail to Chowk with us. In search of the perfect biryani, Kapoor said, by far he finds the Lakhnawi biryani to be the best because wherever he’s eaten one, be it from a degh wala on the roadside, at a restaurant or a home, the dish has always tasted wonderful.In town when it was raining, Sanjeev enjoyed the sardi to the fullest. “Ek toh sardiyan upar se agar barish ho jaye toh aur bhi achha lagta hai. Halki si dhund hoti hai and kohra, it’s all beautiful here in Lucknow. Subah hum uthe aur Sharma ki chai peene chale gaye. And wahan pe you should have seen that guy! He was so welcoming. He said to me ki hamara toh jeevan safal ho gaya ki aap hamare yahan aaye and he clicked so many selfies with me. Hamein garma-garam chai pilayi, bun-makkhan and samosa khilaya, ki bas mazaa aa gaya.”With him being a masterchef talk automatically veers towards food. Talking about the Lucknow food, he said, “Lucknow stands out for its food because yahan ke khane mein itminaan bhi hai aur intezar bhi. Itminaan in cooking it and intezaar in making the dish perfect. Take for instance the Lakhnawi biryani. First you’ll make the pulao, then yakhni banayenge. Then you’ll prepare the meat jisko aapko galana bhi hai aur pakana bhi. Uski bones mein se flavour nikalna hai phir, masala daalne hai, magar masala munh mein nahi aane chahiye. Phir unn dono ko mila ke dum karna hai. So that kind of patience in cooking food, nowhere else does one see,” adding, “But unfortunately, if you conduct a poll today in India of people who’ve not been to Lucknow and if they were to be asked ki biryani kahan ki sabse behtareen hai, Lucknow may not feature in their answer.”Chef Sanjeev Kapoor at the popular Idrees biryani shop in Chowk (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)And while we wondered why, the chef explained. “This is because Lucknow doesn’t talk enough about its cuisine. I feel that Lucknow needs to tell people about its biryani. It’s high time. The marketing of Lakhnawi food is very slow. Isme itminaan and intezar nahi chahiye. It may be worthwhile to play on the front foot on this instead of back foot. I’ve had biryani in a lot of places in Lucknow, from the road side stall to a degh wallah ki biryani, hotel, restaurant Rahim, Idrees, Wahid and even at people’s homes and at no place was the biryani less tasty. At each place the biryani was excellent. That means everyone here knows how to cook good biryani. Yet Lucknow is not taking a pole position in biryani and doesn’t have a deserving place in the food chart. And it is a must for now. Matlab ki Lucknow aaye hain toh yahan ki biryani khaye bagair nahi jayenge. I mean, in the market you will get a Hyderabadi biryani masala, a Bombay biryani masala but what about Lakhnawi biryani masala? You won’t find it, which is unfortunate. That way Hyderabad is smart. They have marketed their stuff very brilliantly,” he said.Kapoor tasting biryani at Idrees' in Chowk (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)Kapoor tasting biryani at Idrees' in Chowk (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)He further went on to emphasise his point. He said, “I can easily say, that if I were to take a city average of biryani places, say a thousand places of Hyderabad and thousand places of Lucknow and thousand places of another place, which is known for biryani, Lucknow will definitely be much ahead of every other place. So say, if I give 10 marks to Lucknow ki biryani, I will perhaps give just 6 to Hyderabad. I’ve spent considerable time in both the places so I know that, you can quote me on this. I would definitely say Lakhnawi biryani is better than of any other place!”Chef Sanjeev Kapoor also went to Gol Darwaza in Chowk to have Nimish (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)Kapoor goes on to add, “I think it’s time Lucknow starts taking ownership of maybe at least ten things, apart from Tundey kebabs and chikan embroidery. These are the only two things the city is known for as of now. Iske aage shayad hi kisi aur cheez ka zikr ho Lucknow ke reference mein. Yahan ka khana, the variety that it has is amazing. Awadhi, vegetarian, chaat, there are just so many things. So maybe it will be a good idea to start working on ten things, jisme se 5 ko hero bana den jismein se biryani should definitely be there. So perhaps the galawat ke kabab, shami kabab, kakori, chaat, biryani, nimish, and a few more vegetarians dishes can be made a part of the repertoire. Jaise ek Lakhnawi thali introduce kar dijiye. Have a variety of things because people’s tastes vary. Things which people look forward to and identify it as Lakhnawi. Lucknow ke khane ki jo nazaqat hai, utni shayad kahin nahi. The finesse in the food prepared here is an art. Woh moti ka pulao, galawat ke kabab, kakori kabab, nimish, yeh sab food mein art pieces hain. Itni baarikiyan hain iss khane mein. Yesterday I tell you, we had chukandar ka gosht and chukandar ki kheer! There was a lehsun ki kheer that I’ve heard of which used to be a delicacy. The art of disguising food was best known to Lakhnawi khansamas and yet you don’t find these dishes on the menu of any restaurant now, which I wonder why.”— Itishree.Misra@timesgroup.com