Hyderabad: Consomme al Indienne, Delicacies a l'Hindustan, Poularde souffle independence. These were some of the dishes on the dinner menu at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, on August 14, 1947.
The night when India ushered in its independence, it was celebration time at the famed five-star hotel with music, dance, and speeches and, of course, the delicious food, reflecting the Indo-French cuisine of those times.
At Shamiana, the popular restaurant at the hotel, the menu of three courses was set to cabaret entertainment, albeit rationed as per government regulations at the time, say officials of the Taj Group of Hotels.
The rationing conditions were applicable to all restaurants at that time and diners had to choose course combinations rather than feast on each choice.
Dosabhai Framji Karaka also known as D F Karaka, an Indian newspaper editor and then owner of Current Weekly, addressed the guests, the officials said quoting from the book 'The Taj at Apollo Bunder.'
Nitin Mathur, executive chef at Taj Krishna, Hyderabad, pointed out that no photographs of the dishes were available and there were no vegetarian choices in the menu.
There were a total of five combinations on the original menu, comprising a soup, a starter, two dishes in the main course and one dessert. Words like 'al Indienne', 'a l'Hindustan', 'independence' and 'liberation' were added in tune with the significance of the occasion.
Main course comprised Paupiette de saumon joinville (Salmon roulade, soft creamy mash, wilted spinach, turned vegetables and joinville sauce) and Poularde souffle Independence (chicken souffle with steamed vegetables and lemon parsley sauce).
