It’s Norwegian smoked salmon versus Tunday kebab in Lucknow

There’s a lot of steam already in the dressing rooms ahead of Sunday’s India-England tie at Lucknow’s Ekana International stadium. Much of this is from the teams’ kitchens though. While it was the exotic platter of Norwegian smoked salmon, quinoa pilaf and honey-glazed pork for the English players, for the Men in Blue, it was Tunday kebab & Lakhnavi biryani!
The England team arrived at a private hotel in Golf City on Friday while the Indian squad has been staying at a private hotel in Lucknow’s Vibhuti Khand since Wednesday.
While the hotel staff where Team India is staying refused to share details of their meals, sources said a few players were deeply interested in Lucknow’s famous cuisine and explored it. The food and beverages director of the hotel where the English team’s staying, Rohit Mishra, told TOI, “We worked without a break to bring flavours of England to Luckn ow and serve our guests the most delicious and super healthy cuisines. For us, it was not just a food serving job but an emotion and a message of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ to them.” According to Mishra, all the dishes served to the England team were extraordinary but the hero on the platter was the Norwegian fish dishes. “We used salmon fish brought specially from Norway, which is loved in England. It was basically smoked salmon cooked in olive oil which was very light on spices,” he said.
“The dishes were decided keeping in mind their super energy needs and the famous English palate. Honey-glazed pork cooked without oil was our top choice. Since we used belly pork which has fat, the preparation did not require any oil. It is rich in calories and nutritional value too. Lastly, our quinoa pilaf cooked on a low flame that melted in the mouth was a winner,” he added. “Other than these, we have also rolled out Lakhnavi dishes, galawat kebab, dum ka gosht, warqi paratha (layered paratha) and khamiri roti for the English cricketers,” Mishra said.