Whatâ€™s cooking in the wedding kitchens?

The lavish spread at weddings get talked about the most, even for years after the wedding is over. Here's an overview of what this year's wedding menu will look like

Admit it, the moment you walk into a wedding venue, the first thing you try to locate is the chow. Be it the delicious scent of freshly fried jalebis wafting through the winter air or the sizzle of the exquisite tawa fare or the sight of long, clothed tables loaded with beautiful, food-laden trays. There is something about food that makes any wedding a memorable affair — for years to come, the guests might not remember the colour of your wedding lehenga, but they will surely be talking about those succulent hara-bhara kebabs and that lusciously silken sitafal basundi. So what's cooking in the wedding kitchens this season, we find out.

Wedding food keeps evolving due to people's want for novelty and their awareness about different cuisines. Today, one is likely to find dhokla chat, ponk baskets, spinach and cheese bhakarwadis and even an Italian tawa menu as a part of the wedding fare. These hybrid varieties of traditional wedding food have emerged owing to the customer's wish to stick to a traditional menu and yet, give their guests something new and unique. Mocktails too have made an entry into the welcome menu, as have small-eats like tacos, tostadas, cigars, paninis, strudels and quesadillas et al with a masaledaar Indian twist. Singer Shruti Pathak says, "There was a Thai spread at a wedding I had been to, the taste still lingers in my mouth. Being a true blue Gujarati, I love all the Gujarati dishes at weddings and these international twists make them very exciting."

Earlier food was supplied from kitchens hidden behind makeshift tents. Now, live counters have taken wedding food to a new high. People queue up for their share of piping hot, stir fried veggies and tidbits, made to taste. Its not just the food but the style too, that has appealed to their palate. High flames erupt from a giant skillet, as a chef skillfully dishes out sumptuous food. You have live counters for fondue fountains and salads, roomali rotis, dhoklas, khaman to jalebis, halwas and even sancha-icecreams everything is made right before you. Wedding caterer Babu Maharaj feels, "People love innovations. They can eat regular food at any restaurant but a live tawa or a sancha churning our fresh icecream are visual and soporific treats that one looks forward to at weddings."

If there is one food item that has received maximum makeover, it has got to be the sweets. Move over ladoos and barfis, wedding fare today consists of elaborate sweets and desserts. Heard of almond-pistachio burgers, cashew pizzas, fig salamis, apple and mango sandwiches or mango/pineapple tawa puris? Well, that's what's hot on menus these days apart from a range of fruity tarts, creamy pies and exotic puddings. After the popularity of sitafal basundi, the new dish on the block is sitafal flavoured rabdis and rasmalais too, while cupcakes are the flavour this wedding season. Ex-Miss India Earth Tanvi Vyas reminisces, "I had this wonderful assortment of fresh exotic fruits at a wedding that I can never forget. Sweets are an integral part of wedding menus and the recent varieties have amused and amazed me!"