After a rather satisfying meal at the Baluchi restaurant at the Intercontinental Grand Bombay UpperCrust was intrigued, nay, mystified by this regional cuisine that appeared to be a blend of the culinary traditions of the Mughal, Turk and Iranian cultures.

The Executive Chef Mark Wilson and the Baluchi Chef Mohammed Shokey together dished out a delectable meal and a great experience it turned out to be as the two connoisseurs who accompanied us commented on the authenticity of the dishes.

This restaurant �Baluchi� was started about four years ago and is very popular. The food in Baluchistan we were informed, is richly seasoned with exotic spices and retains the texture and flavour of the meats cooked to perfection on flaming coals, wood fires and the flat patthars (large stone discs) heated and thin slivers of marinated meat, chicken and even fish are cooked on these. The ubiquitous curries are eaten with the naan and sometimes accompanied by the delicately spiced & fragrant pulaos of the fine long grained basmati rice of the region the aroma of which drives out all other thoughts save food from the mind.

In order to delve further into the mystique of this cuisine we decided to find out more about Baluchistan. It is one of the four provinces of the North West Frontier of Pakistan and is located at the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau. The staple food of the region includes lentils, vegetables and thick yoghurt scooped up with thick rotis or naan.

This province is the largest in Pakistan but the density of population is low due to the mountainous terrain and scarcity of water. Quetta is the capital and is situated in a river valley near the border with Afghanistan with a road leading to Kandahar in the northwest. There are climatic extremes in that, the summers are hot and dry and the winters extremely cold.

The people are hardy, mostly tribesmen and herdsmen and food plays a very important part in their lives. The womenfolk mostly homebound take great pains to hand grind the various spices and cook over slow fires to ensure their meats are done to perfection. Spices like green and yellow chilly powder and zakaar which is a special mixture of coriander and cumin are generously used. As the region offers a large variety of dried fruit and nuts which also find their way into their pulaos and stews.

The street food of Quetta caters primarily to the meat eating population and a favourite is sajji which is a whole leg of lamb roasted over an open fire, using green raw papaya as a meat tenderizer. Then there is the more exotic khadda kebab where a pit is dug into the ground and a whole skewered goat or lamb is lowered into it and a fire lit on four sides to gently roast the meat to perfection. Another favourite is the rosh very much like our roast where large pieces of meat are steamed in a large covered dish and eaten with naan.

The desserts would be rich in milk, nuts and calories. And finally all this is washed down with cups of either black tea with or without milk or green tea at home or at chai khanas to aid digestion as is widely believed in these parts of the world you just might need help at that stage.

Method:
Heat oil in pan, add the whole garam masala, diced green chilli, beaten curd add stock and reduce it
Then add powder masala and mutton cubes.
Add lemon juice, cream and salt. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Method:
Mash the cottage cheese very nicely and the add mashed potatoes to it�
Add chopped green chilli, salt, amchoor, coriander roots chopped, cheese and a bit of chana masala.
Mash it together so that it becomes a smooth dough and then put this mixture on sheekh and cook it in tandoor.

Method:
FIRST MARINATION: Prepare marination first with ginger garlic paste, salt, lemon juice, green chilli paste, add fish cubes to it and keep it aside for 1\2 hour.
NEXT MARINATION: Then prepare second marination with cheese, hung curd, garam masala, ginger garlic past, green chilli chopped and cream, then add the fish cubes. Coat the fish ticka with til and cook it in tandoor. Transfer to a plate and serve hot with chutney.

Method:
In pan heat oil, add chopped ginger and garlic then saute it.
Add chopped onion saute till it becomes golden brown, then add chopped tomatoes continue to saut� till tomatoes are cooked.
Add mint and coriander paste, beaten curd, garam masala, green peas, lemon juice, cream.
Then add prawns and boil until prawns are cooked.
Transfer it to a portioned bowl.
Serve hot with roti or rice.

Method:
Marinate the prawns with ginger garlic paste, garam masala, lemon juice ajwain, chopped green chilli, oil cashewnut paste and salt
Rub cheese very well and then add hung curd and cream to it
Then marinate the prawns with the mixture
Cook it in tandoor till done, put some butter and leave it for another minute and take it out
Serve hot with mint chutney.

Method:
Marinate lamb slice in mustard oil, red chilli paste, ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder, salt, hung curd, roasted chana powder.
Cook it on tava, serve hot with chutney.

Method:
Heat oil in a pan, add shahi jeera, garlic chopped, green chilli chopped, baby potato. Add powder masala, butter, and salt. Serve hot.