Enjoy a home cooked meal of shami kebabs, biryani and Lucknowi aloo chat

Tuck into shami kebabs, fragrant biryani and Lucknowi aloo chat at the Malad home of a young marketing professional

MALAD resident Altamash Aslam, whose family hails from Kanpur, grew up on Mughlai cuisine. "It was a part of my daily life. So, when I moved out of home, I started to really miss it, especially when I shifted to Indore to pursue my MBA," he begins.

Then, in 2015, a summer internship in Mumbai led to a job offer, which meant Aslam was farther away from home than he had been before. "I had trouble finding good Mughlai food in Indore, but Mumbai wasn't any better. I started calling my mother to ask her for recipes, and began making some of the dishes I loved in the comfort of my home," says the 28-year-old. He also enlisted the help of a cook, who learned the recipes from his mother and started replicating them.

'I started calling my mother to ask her for recipes, and began making the dishes at home' Altamash Aslam

Around the same time, the marketing professional had started blogging about his food experiences on a regular basis. He shares, "I enjoy eating and writing about all the food I try, be it at a roadside dhaba or a high-end restaurant. Even on my travels overseas, I would ensure that I tried the local fare and told people about it. That's when it dawned on me: instead of directing others to places where they could try authentic Mughlai cuisine, why not just call them over to my house?"

This led to Aslam signing up on Commeat, a marketplace that connects diners and hosts and allows people to get to know one another while eating an authentic, home-cooked meal.

The meal will begin with guests being served two types of drinks - tarbooz thandai and hibiscus sharbat. "The thandai is something I used to guzzle all the time during summers in Delhi. But I couldn't find anything like it in Mumbai, and thought it would be great to give diners a taste of this refreshing watermelon and Rooh Afza milkshake," says Aslam.

Altamash Aslam

For appetisers, diners will be treated to Lucknowi aloo chaat and bhuna murg. "The former is a must-try when you visit Lucknow, which is why I thought it deserved to be on the menu. The latter, meanwhile, is a dish that's often made at my home. It doesn't require a tandoor; it can be made on the stovetop," explains Aslam.

The main course will feature delectable shami kebabs (made with lamb), Mughlai chicken, and chicken biryani.

Chicken Biryani

The meal will end with two desserts - one that represents all that is sweet, and one that comes with a kick of spice. "The Eid ki sewain is a traditional festive preparation that you would be hard-pressed to find in the city, while the laal mirch ice cream, is my own invention."

On November 12, 12.30 pm to 3 pm
At Malad West (exact address will be provided upon confirmation).
Log on to commeat.com
Cost : Rs1,250

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