Cuisine goes cosmopolitan

Now there are fewer opportunities to sit down at a pangat, or know what to expect for your meal. It8217;s only on actually seeing the buffet spread before you that you can know the gastronomical delights awaiting you 8211; from salads to Indian junk food to Bengali sweets or rich spicy Punjabi fare. Why, you could almost set out of your home to attend a Maharashtrian wedding, and end up taking a delicious trip all around the country!

The bottom line is that even at traditional dos, while the pandit adheres strictly to traditional rites and rituals, the cook often gets adventurous. Indeed, in variety lies the spice!

8220;Almost every customer wishes to have a new menu, with eye-catching presentation. The food must look good,8221; says Ali Engineer, owner, Degchi8217;s Catering services. Having lent their services to numerous Maharashtrian weddings, Engineer perceives a marked change in the food served. 8220;Though I may suggest a traditional round of jilebi and masale bhaat, very few accept my suggestion!8221; he laughs. 8220;What they ask for instead is a variety of tava sabjis, paneer preparations, vegetable kadhai,8221; he continues.

An opinion reiterated by S.V. Ambardekar, manager, Indraprastha Karyalaya. 8220;There are few takers for the authentic Maharashtrian fare. The main course these days sees mostly North Indian preparations like paneer bhurta, vegetable jaipuri, vegetable handi, dum aloo. In the last two years, almost 75 per cent of the weddings we have catered at have moved away from the Maharashtrian fare. Even for the function the evening before 8211; the Simant Pujan 8211; stalls with chaat and South Indian fare are preferred to kadhi-bhaat. And then, elaborate salad bars are also becoming increasingly popular,8221; he adds.

According to him, this change is definitely more noticeable in bigger cities where the population is of a more cosmopolitan nature, and Pune figures on this list.

Agreeing partly with him is A.S. Limaye, who works at the Anand Mangal Karyalaya. 8220;Our place still sees a majority of pangats. While that would usually include a strictly Maharashtrian menu, there are increasing requests for at least one Punjabi preparation 8211; be it vegetable biryani, paneer, navratan korma or chole.8221; The receptions with their buffet spreads even have a mixed fare of Maharashtrian and Punjabi. With the hosts looking for an assortment to serve their guests, the choice of food is getting almost adventurous, with even a dash of Chinese thrown in! According to Engineer, at wedding parties with non-vegetarian on the menu, Chinese is becoming a rage. Soups, noodles, rice, manchurian chicken 8211; voila, it8217;s not what you expected, but appetising nonetheless!

With the entire course of the meal going through a revamp, the desserts are in for a change too. Looking beyond the choice of shrikhand-jalebi-amrakhand, we now have angoor rabdi, rasmalai, mugdha sheera, gajar halwa, kala jamun, pot kulfis, sandwich barfis, ice-creams, even fresh fruit and expresso coffee doing the rounds!

As Engineer puts it, 8220;People are looking for something different in everything these days. As it is, buffet meals take precedence over sit-down ones. Given that, the menu can really be elaborate and varied.8221;

But there are still some in the business who have not seen a change in their food charts. A traditional Maharshtrian fare remains the order of the day. Especially so for the wedding lunches. Says Ashok Gole, partner, Banquets, that serves at the Padale Palace hall, 8220;The lunch menu is almost sacrosanct. Very few of our clients budge from the pangat style or the traditional menu. The aaluchi bhaji giving way to vegetable kurma is probably the only change.8221;

Sanjeev Velankar, whose catering firm Velsons looks after meals at the Amber Hall, has had a similar experience. 8220;While it is generally assumed that a buffet means non-Maharashtrian food, it is not always so. A buffet is more for convenience, and the cuisine depends upon individual taste.8221; And he serves many buffets with Maharashtrian food. But making inroads are Manchurian, American chopsuey, fried rice too! A strange combination perhaps, but then it8217;s the taste your taste-buds prefer! Dum aloo could be the right choice for many. For others, it8217;s just the good old batata in yet another jacket!