Kebab capers
Alibaba, the Persian Café, is playing host to the Iranian Kebab Festival, between July 1 and 20, with some mouth watering kebabs, at a special 20 per cent discount. From the Jooje Kebab, Chelo lamb kebab, Bakhtiyari, Soltani Kabab dipped in flavored curds, also Barg (leaf) Kebab, there is a wide range available here. For lunch and dinner, guests can savour the Fasenjan (walnut gravy and chicken with rice) or Deezi (Kabooli Chana with potato and ghoosht). The Alibaba Café opens at 9 am and downs shutters at 11.30 pm. It also serves fast food such as Olivieh, Streganof Dil-Jigar, Salami Roll, Hot dogs, Dolme and Fish Shinsel. It is managed by Sandeepraj Salian and executive Chef Ramin Alireza from Iran.

Nawabi treat
For those who love Khubani ka Meetha, Haleem and all other things Hyderabadi, here’s a bit of good news. Kokum, Viman Nagar, is playing host to a Hyderabadi food festival from July 3 to 10. You can sample the choicest Hyderabadi dishes here, prepared so as to transport you straight to the city of the eccentric Nawabs. Take your pick from Hyderabadi Biryani, Pathar-ka-Ghosht, Nahari, Haleem, Double-ka-Meetha and Seviyon-ka-Meetha.

A matter of taste
For over centuries, fine whisky has been associated with only a chosen few brands. So, it is only fitting to get the best brands in town to provide an opportunity to taste carefully matured whisky. With this thought in mind, the Taj Blue Diamond is playing host to the crème de la crème of Pune as well as some guests from various countries, as representatives from Whyte & Mackay give a presentation on the different types of whisky that they are famous for, the world over on July 7. While most distillers settle for one maturation, Whyte & Mackay insists on two and its Master Blender returns the whisky to sherry casks to marry for another year, in order to create a deep, mellow smoothness. The selected 13, 19 and 22-year-old blends of Whyte & Mackay are overaged by this additional year. So, head to the Russet Hall at the Taj Blue Diamond on July 7, 7.30 pm onwards to get into ‘apppreciation’ mode.

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