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From God’s own country
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The ongoing Kerala Food Festival at Taj Garden Retreat is worth the palate
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PHOTO: G.Moorthy
Delicacies Kerala cuisine on a platter
Sipping a bowlful of ‘attukal soup’ or tasting ’chemeen chammanthi’ while sitting under a green canopy can be pretty enticing. And it is the Taj Garden Retreat providing this opportunity right now. Its not only a taste of Kerala that one gets here but even the feel with the leisurely green thrown around.
From ‘kalan’ to ‘thoran’ and ‘theeyal’ to ‘kappa’ and ‘meen curry,’ savour authentic taste of Kerala delicacies at the ongoing Kerala Food Festival Daily between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. The festival offers an irresistible opportunity to sample authentic Kerala food right here in the Temple City.
Kerala delicacies
The festival feast opens with a welcome drink ‘coconut moru veelam,’ ‘melagu rasam,’ a traditional spicy pepper flavoured soup and ‘attukal soup,’ a thin soup made out of young lamb bones with a touch of mild southern spices. For the main course, choice is aplenty both for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The dishes on the array are: ‘Nadan kozhi roast,’ ‘Alleppy fish curry,’ ‘beef kizhangu curry,’ ‘kappa’ and ‘meen curry,’ ‘kalan,’ ‘kizhangu stew,’ ‘vendakka mappas,’ ‘parippu cheera thalichathu,’ ‘chene theeyal,’ ‘cabbage thoran,’ ‘kuthari choru,’ ‘mutton neyye choru,’ ‘beef coconut fry’ and much more.
Live preparations
The ‘vazhapoo with thengapoo,’ which is made up of raw banana flowers blanched and dressed with fresh coconut and black crushed pepper and ‘chemeen chammanthi’ which is made of sundries shrimps dressed with fresh coconut, tamarind pulp and southern spices are the star attractions among many visitors.
The live stations that offer flavoured ‘appam,’ ‘Malabar paratha’ and ‘dosa’ help to heighten one’s anticipation. It attracts food connoisseurs as they get to watch the chef grilling and grating, concocting and producing a range of dishes before one’s eyes.
The best way to round up of course is with the must-taste dessert “pazha pradhaman” or the banana fritters coated with honey.
“The food festival is organised mainly to encourage regional cuisine besides introducing the culture of a State,” say Jobby George, assistant manger sales and Raj Sekhar.P., executive chef.
Enticing ambience
Everyday the festival brings in 20 to 25 dishes including desserts and salads. To give choices to the diners especially in desserts, the restaurant had added a few general items like the pineapple soufflé.
In dining, ambience takes a major share. To suit the diners’ mood, the organisers have decked the venue all with traditional Kerala diyas and coconut palm leaves decorations that invariably invoke the mood of festivity. The instrumental music of Kerala literally elevates the spirits.
It is more enhanced by the traditionally dress mudu-clad chefs and assistants, who take up the role of explaining the name of the dish, ingredients and method of making it. “To suit the international and non-resident guests, we have made the items less spicy without altering the original method,” claims Mr. Sekhar.
The food festival is certainly a feast to your eyes and taste buds with the exotic preparations of Kerala food items that are cooked to perfection with a team of cooks led by Kerala-based chef Shyam Lal.
The wallet gets slimmer by Rs. 666 plus tax for a single person.
The festival that began at July 26 will go on till August 17.
S.S. KAVITHA
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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