Falak, Leela Bhartiya City, Bengaluru, is an ode to divine beauty
BY SANDEEP ARORA
At Falak, the testament of old culinary traditions brings dastaan (story) to the table. As I sit down for a meal at the Indian speciality restaurant at The Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru, the ambience regales the tales of the royals and an experience that transcends all languages of quintessential 19th century Lucknowi dastaan to mimic the oral storytelling tradition, dastaan-e-goi.
It’s a surprise to find a restaurant in the city of Bengaluru that elaborates depiction of royal patronage, referencing cooking as an art form and presenting versatility that can cater to every true aficionado of fine Indian cuisine. The food that arrives confirms that it is one of the most nuanced Awadhi/Mughlai restaurants in the Garden City where a 70-year-old chef, Farman Ali, cooks behind the fiery range of Falak.
With extreme politeness that marks the old Nawabi etiquette, the chef asks me, “Ab aapko kya dastaan sunaye? (what possible tales can I tell you?)” and instead unfolds an amusing menu called dastaan-e-goi, which is a 13-course feast-worthy menu; an uncompromising culinary tradition like an unravelled story.
As the meal progresses, Tandoori Chicken marks a culinary precession and is a gourmet affair defining hues of passion, tradition, and love. This flavourful blend succumbs to the greatest pinch as Farman pays close attention to the minutest of detail from the size of the bird “more than 1,200 gm per bird” to the bite of the spice to deliver excellence on the plate.
This is followed by Shahi Nalli Nehari, a pepper-laced stew of old Delhi’s spice market, concocted, according to lore, to ward off cold and flu thought to emanate from the Yamuna canal in Chandni Chowk. Prepared using baby lamb shanks cooked overnight with aromatic potli masala, it has been perfected through generations, created and recreated to narrate the fables of nawabs in the
Mughal empire.
Next up is Daadi Jaan ka Murgh Quorma, which catered to aristocrats who thought it ill-mannered to be smelling of spices after a meal. The chef swears by this recipe that he learnt from his grandmother half a century ago – and it more than lives up to its promise.
Also not be missed are the subtly flavoured, juicy Raan-e-Sikandari and the melt-in-your mouth Lahori Macchi, which uses Lahori namak in the marination to give it the fish its distinctive flavour.
Finally, we end the meal with Balai Ka Tukda for dessert (not dubbed ‘shahi’ royal bread pudding here; balai being the correct term for clotted cream) — we talk not food but art.
As you drown in the wafting flavours of the chef’s culinary poetry, enjoy yet another classic at Falak, its own eminent signature label of wine to celebrate the oenophile in you – the Falak Wine. A eticulously crafted blend, this wine is complex, wellbalanced, and magical with pronounced aromas of red berries and cherries perfumed with floral notes of violets and potpourri roses.
Surrender to the gastronomic temptations of the traditional cuisines amidst the walls of Falak that sing of tales that were once celebrated through the mesmerising fables.
Set against the canvas of sweeping panoramas of changing India, Falak has a place in history that transcribes both past and the present.
