uss1e

Mulwarra lamb is making inroads into the Indian palate through a host of traditional and non-traditional dishes

JBY MINNAL • KHONA ..... .....

There's no doubt that most Australians love their Aussie lamb, but a taste of this viand cooked to suit the Indian palate in the Indian subcontinent is unusual. Recentl y, the Hyatr Group of Hotels in India has collaborated with Mulwarra Export, a Viccoria.n company, to supply lamb to its properties at the Hyatt hotels in Chennai, H yderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai.

Prom Australian wines ro coffee, a n d now lamb, products from down under are ga.i.o.ing popularity and acceptance in India. To promote tl1eir product in partnership witl1 Hyatt Hotels, Mul warra Export Pry Ltd, Meat and Lives tock Australia, and Treasury Wine Estates recently organised a.u 'Australian l amb exper ience' The participating Hyatt Hote ls include the H yatt Regency in Chennai and Delhi, the Park H yatt Hyderabad and Gra nd Hyatt i\'1umbai.

I attended a media lunch at the Park Hyatt in Hyderabad for a taste of Auss ie lamb, India.n.-

INDIAN LINK style. 1 was curious to see how Australian lan1b would fit imo Hyderabacli bir yani and other meat dishes for which the city is ren o wned. The lunch was hosted by "Mike Tafe, Corporate Chef, Jl,{ulwarra Export, at The Dining Room, Pack Hyatt's Indian fine dining restaurant. Accompanying the food was the Koonunga Hill Chardonnay and Koo n unga Hill Shiraz from Penfolds.

Greg Darwell, Managing Direccor of Mulwarra Export, told me his company's lamb is being exported to over 30 countries. Greg revealed, "Eady this year, we decided co introduce our product in India. The Hyatt group is one of our largest end users. 1t has been very well received in other parts of the world, and we hope to repeat tliat success in India".

IncidentaU)~ the partnership means that any lamb dish served at any of the Hyatt prope r ties mentioned will be the ivlulwarra lamb, and not the local variety

The Mulwarra lamb is all -natural prime lamb sourced from the pristine lamb regions of Victoria, which has specialised growers and some of the finest lamb producing areas in the world.

The lamb is halal certified and USFDA approved.

Chef Tafe, who also has his own spice marketing company, has been using the M ulwa.rra lamb for over 12 years at all the hotels in which he has worked.

"I am not afraid co use spices to appeal to the lndian palate, but at the same tin1e I don't W{e to overshadow the lamb,'' he said , commenting on the menu for the day Minimal marinades, slowly braised curs of shoulder or leg of lamb were served in different avatars.

We started with a lamb and lentil soup Aavoured witl1 cumin and lemon - scented yoghurt. The soup tasted a lot like our dal 111akbni, except for the b its of lamb added and the hint of lemon. It was delicately Am7 oured and the lamb and lentils were easily distinguishable, even though both bad absorbed the flavours of the spices This was followed by a Japanese salad, a tataki of lamb loin with gi nger, sesame a.ud soy

Chef Tafe, it seems, really knows his lamb The several options that were served in tl1e main cow·se, all lamb - based of course, were full of Aavour a.nd each one was different from the other.

"I have created different recipes," Tafe said. "Some are traditional ones. Essentially, tl1e d ishes are appropriate for the international traveller who is exposed to global cuisine. l try and incorporate Aavours from the J\iliddle East, South East As ia and the Mediterranean as well as India ," he said, adding that the lamb lends itself very well to rogan josh and Chertinad style curries. l\lixed w itl1 the bread, it was rea.Uy t.c'lsty. This was followed b y the ligh tl y smoked lamb cutlets w ith chipotle butter, also quite d ifferent. The roast lamb rump w itl1 ras-el-hmumt had a distinctly Middle Eastern AavoUL

True to h is word, each serving had a different Aavour. The barbecue MuJwa r ra l an1b, butterA ied witl1 Greek spices and served with a basil tzatziki was refreshing and very soft. The breaded lamb rack cutlets with I tal ian herbs evemually emerged as my favourite from all t he dishes I tried , and was replete wi th the aroma an d taste of Italian herbs.

The o n e aspect that repeatedly stood om in all the lamb dishes served was that tl1ere was no prominent odour that lamb can sometimes have. ln fact, even tl10ugh all me dishes were delicatel y flavoured with a minimum of sp ices used, none of tl1e dishes had any odour.

Chef Tafe definite ly accomplished h is goal of not overshadowing the lamb.

W/e ended witl1 a mango pavlova and though none of the dishes were traditional co the lndian palate, I could see satisfied faces all around me