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Straight from Kashi

Delicious Kamal gatte ka halwa served at the festival

Granted, the world is a many splendoured festival of cuisine varieties, and every country offers gastronomic mysteries and adventures of its own. But as we are bombarded day after day with exotic sounding food names, we sometimes forget what’s cooking in our own backyards. So it was a pleasant surprise when Jaypee Siddharth hotel decided to mount a Banarsi food festival recently.

The thought behind the festival, which ended this past week, was that Banarsi food is quite popular yet unfamiliar to many of us. People know of it but haven’t often tasted it outside Varanasi.

The meal started with nimona, a mixture of green peas and dal pakode. There was also a delicious kathal ki sabzi (jackfruit), the base of which was a mixture of many spices. The dal was not just dal. It was panchver ki dal, made by mixing five dals — masoor, chana, arhar, moong and urad.

The hotel’s Chef Shiva Nand Kain told us these preparations were chosen keeping in mind the festive season of the monsoons when people often turn vegetarian and love to have spicy food. With every course there was a different kind of pickle served, potent with the typical taste of north India. For dessert, there was the excellent and rich kamal gatte ka halwa.

Speaking of delicious lessons! And in the true tradition of learning, it left us with something to chew on. The meal ended with a beautifully served Banarsi paan.

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