Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest |

The spicy route

Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

Food from Telegu land At Rathna Regent

There is a fun element in the Andhra Food Festival going on at Rathna Regent.

A cardboard Charminar with Royal icing welcomes you at the entrance.

Then some gents in pancha kachcham and angavastrams and folded hands usher you in.

Look closely and the name tabs pinned on to their kurtas read Reddy, Rao, Balaram Naidu (a character Kamala Hassan plays in Dasaavatharam), and so on — all Telugu names to go with the theme!

That is not all. The folks here have taken extra pains to ensure authenticity.

With the help of members of the Andhra Association, they have planned the menus, had trial runs, got the stamp of approval, before going ahead.

One watches in some concern as a gentleman at the next table is overcome by hiccups.

That is the Andhra cuisine talking — spicy and hot.

The meal starts off innocuously enough with Senga Pappu Charru a dal based soup. An assortment of starters follows.

The plump chilli bajji is a winner stuffed as it is with wonderfully fragrant omam and onions.

There is a delicious keerai pakoda and of course, the inevitable and insidious paneer.

The salads are refreshing, particularly the one that is made of vazha thandu and another that is nellikai based.

The nicest thing about food festivals is that one actually gets to taste vegetables one normally wouldn’t in restaurants where paneer and mushrooms rule.

Where would one order a ridge gourd preparation, or something made of beetroot or yam? Well, you could do it in Rathna Regent.

There is chicken and dry coconut, chicken and gingelly, lamb and gongura, prawn and ridge gourd, and so on.

You can have them with the traditional vangi bhaath, a brinjal and rice dish, ghee rice, coriander rice or mutton or chicken biriyani.

Or, you could mop up the gravy with pesarattu or ulli paya attu that is a spicy onion dosa, which are both served with lip-smacking chutneys.

You could brave the celebrated gongura pachadi, allam pachadi, nuvvulu podi, karivepaku podi and lots more.

They are all served with generous helpings of ghee (a must to counter the chillies).

The other great way to douse the fire in your insides is to have the delicious curd rice with everything.

Desserts are again different from the run-of-the-mill.

There is a perfect ravaa kesari, wheat halwa, badam kheer, Balaji laddu, bobbatlu, and for the unadventurous, vanilla ice cream.

The festival offers you a choice of a buffet (Rs 350) for lunch and dinner all through the week.

Or, if you prefer, you could also choose from an equally extensive a la carte menu. The Andhra Food Festival is on till July 20.

For reservations call: 0422-2213099/98940 93637.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail