GT Route at Shiraz's Jameson Inn , Mullickbazaar

GT Route at Shiraz's Jameson Inn, Mullickbazaar 

I have fond memories of my scrap book from school. Those days it was a rage to buy them from the Archies stores all across town and it was a fantastic way to know your classmates and friends. So it would have these questions and one was supposed to fill them out. You were asked about your favourite movie, books etc and of course cuisine and if I take out any of the many many scrap books also known as autograph books the most loved cuisine was usually Mughlai and then came Chinese food. You see Kolkata has maintained  a very long and steady romance with Mughlai food. It is difficult to say exactly when the rich fragrant delicious cuisine entered Bengal to create its own version but the popular belief is that when Nawab Wajid Ali Shah came over from Lucknow along with him came his royal chefs.

What they created was a fantastic version of spicy and delicious food and it soon gained popularity. This was centuries ago.

Anyway there are very few people from Kolkata who would be unaware of the famous Shiraz restaurant at Mallick Bazaar.

Just across the famous outlet of the old Golden Shiraz is Jameson Inn, a part of the Shiraz group.
The restaurant housed in this hotel which was previously known as Dawat e Shiraz  upgraded their menu and given it a complete turnover calling it GT Route now. . While it still retains some of Kolkata's classic Mughlai fare it includes dishes from different regions along the Grand Trunk Road.

Diversity is the spice of life and Kolkatans have long warmed upto diversity in cuisine. Today we no longer simply stick to Chinese , Mughlai or the Kolkatan continental fare .

Chef  Rupam Banik says the spices of this route are mostly similar what changes is the way it is used in the different regions. So while there is the poppy seed chicken 'Murgi Posto' from Bengal which heavily relies of poppy paste , poppy seeds is an ingredient of some of Lucknow's dishes as well only there the amount used is much less and it is usually amalgamated with other spices.

What I did like most is that the menu is very comprehensive. So each dish not only has a description but it mentions the region that it originates from.

I wondered if the spice quotient remains unchanged since in my experience the northern part of our country has a spicier palate when Chef assured me that he has had the freedom to keep it as authentic to the origin of the dish as possible due to the wide variety of dishes which is available so spicy or non spicy there is something for everyone's palate.

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