Baisakhi signals the beginning of summer and the harvest festival is the perfect way to indulge yourself with regional delicacies. The Baisakhi festival at the Renaissance, Powai features the fruits of Chef Bhairav Singh’s research, after he traveled from Ambala in Haryana. Wanting the festival to be as original as possible, the chef had based his dishes on the food from Puran Singh Da Dabha which has outlets on NH 1 and NH 8.
The famous Butter Chicken has been prepared the way it is cooked in Punjabi villages and the Makkai Di Roti has been procured from Delhi. Singh promises that the Bhatti Da MurghPindhiwala is made only after the chicken is soaked overnight in six different masalas. Adds Singh, “People cook these dishes only on occasions like Guru Nanak Jayanti or inside Gurudwaras.”
The Nawab Saheb, where the festival is being held, has been given a dhaba make-over, featuring two charpais (portable string cots), lamps hanging from a hay roof, ladders, milk canisters, bullock cart wheels and sugarcanes. Currently, the restaurant serves alcohol only in large pegs or Patiala pegs as it’s locally termed.