Last week, we held a kebab and curry festival in the Centaur Hotel. For those of you who missed it, I am going to let you take a peek into one of my favourite recipes. So, for this week, we will take a break from Maharashtrian food, (Kolhapuri food, in particular) and fly across mountains and boundaries to sample the delights of North-West frontier food.

In 1991, after finishing my stint in Wellington, New Zealand, I came back to Delhi and was posted at Hotel Ashok. This five-star hotel, apart from being the place or `palace' for dignitaries, has a cozy restaurant called Frontier. This restaurant, unlike the famous Bukhara of Maurya Sheraton, never made it big. Though Frontier always had the potential to give any restaurant in the country serving North West Frontier food, a run for its money, it never really took off. Frontier had one distinct advantage, that made the food of this place talked about at micro level, its chef -- Kharak Singh. I was fortunate enough to be posted at Frontier and I used that time to pick up threads from the mastercraftsman. Kharak Singh's robust body matched his rugged North West Frontier cuisine and his inimitable smile accounted for juicy, succulent and ever-smiling kebabs. His dexterous hands rolled kebabs, cooked curries and baked breads with the same ease always. His urad dal -- Dal Dera Ismail Khan with freshly baked pudina parantha is still rated as the best `on-duty' meal by me. In fact, my time here got me a job in Mumbai -- as the number one chef in a five-star deluxe kitchen. (It was also very convenient to be able to live close to my wife-to-be, Alyona.) The other excitement was to have a restaurant at Centaur Juhu that is almost a replica of Frontier. Pakhtoon, serving North West Frontier food, made it easy for me to adjust to a new environment. My happiest moment was when the Pakhtooni Dawat Inflight food festival, in collaboration with Air India, won the Mercury Gold Award from the International Flight Catering Association.Pakhtoon has been in news in the recent past, with Pakhtooni tribes asking for their rights. Pakhtoon, has probably been derived from the dialect Pushto spoken by people of this Frontier region. Pushto became pushtun and finally Pakhtoon. The nomadic life style of these Pushto-speaking people also reflects in their food. Their need for cooking different meats on open fire made them create a cuisine that has a heart, soul and body. As this region has also been known for its nuts, it is but natural to see rich curries of pistachio and walnut in their cuisine.

Pakhtoon's kebab and curries festival is on till tomorrow. The same food is being served on Air India flights originating from Mumbai on Europe and US sectors till May end. The delectable kebabs include Murgh Hari Chutney (pieces of boneless chicken marinated in fresh mint and coriander chutney), Dum Gosht Kofta Curry (Minced meat dumplings in spicy dum curry) and Pista and Prune Kheer. I would like to share Murgh Hazarvi's recipe with you this week as this is a top seller at Pakhtoon and is also available during non-festival periods. This recipe is also dedicated to Chef Kharak Singh who is still going strong at the Ashok. Assistant Chef Inder Dev Boyal assisted me in perfecting this recipe.

Next week, we return to Maharashtrian cuisine. Please send in your recipes for genuine Mumbai food to: Chef Kapoor's Khazana, Express Newsline, Indian Express, Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 21. The best entries will be published. Last date for entries is May 31, 1997.

Watch this space for more attractive prizes.

HAZARVIKEBAB

Ingredients:

l Chicken breast (boneless) 8 pcs

l Ginger paste 2 tbsp

l Garlic paste 2 tbsp

l White pepper powder 1 tsp

l Salt As Per Taste

l Butter For Basting

For marination:

l Grated cheese 80 gm

l Chopped green chilli 4

l Chopped green coriander leaves 2 tbsp

l Fresh cream 100 ml

l Egg 1

l Mace powder 1/4 tsp

l Nutmeg powder 1/4 tsp

l Salt As Per Taste

Method:

1. Cut chicken into 2-inch cubes.

2. Apply ginger paste, garlic paste, white pepper powder and salt to the chicken cubes and keep aside.

3. Grate and mash the cheese to make it into a smooth paste. Add finely chopped green chillies, mace powder, nutmeg powder, coriander leaves and salt to the cheese.

4. Add egg to the cheese paste and mix well.

5. Add chicken to the cheese mixture. Then add fresh cream and mix delicately.

6. Keep this in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 hours.

7. Put chicken onto the skewers and cook in a moderate hot tandoor or a pre-heated oven (200 degrees celsius) until it is just cooked and slightly coloured.

8. Apply a little oil for basting and cook for another 2 minutes till chicken is fully cooked.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.