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Mama mia, it's pasta
Mmmm.....! If you are someone who is eager to experiment with your tastebuds, here is a chance. Try out pasta...
How about Fusilli? Or Taglia-telle? That's Italian, mind you, where it is the staple food. Italians have an innate knack of matching the multitude of different pasta shapes with appropriate sauces.
Well, the flavour of this exquisite dish is now available for Kochiites. The `Pasta promotion' fortnight is on at the Treasure Trove Restaurant at Le Meridien till the second week of April.
Pasta in Italy, traditionally means a dough or paste. While speaking about pasta in any of its many shapes, this boiled flour-and-water item is often referred to as macaroni by Italians even now, whether it is tubular or not.
Pasta, mainly used by commoners in olden times, is extremely popular in the United States too. In fact, the semolina flour used by Italian pasta manufacturers is now produced in a large scale in the United States.
``We have presented ten varieties of pasta for this event,'' remarks a beaming Ajay Markan, chef with Le Meridien. He leaves the option of choosing your pasta from the different varieties which are displayed in an exquisite way.
The pastas can be identified with their shapes and sizes. Fettuccini, Ravioli, Lasagna, Penne, Farfalle are the names of some of them. Of course, he suggests the best for the occasion for first- timers with the details which leave you wondering which one to choose.
Within a matter of seconds, pasta smothered with melted cheese is ready for you. ''Pasta tastes exotic when eaten hot,'' reminds Mr.Markan.
Focaccia, the Italian bread or Garlic bread is ideal with pasta. A salad can be ordered which goes along well with the dish followed by dessert and coffee. The restaurant also offers `Tira Misu', the Italian dessert, on demand.
Well, for those who are interested in the history of pasta, here goes: One version claims that it was Marco Polo who had first brought pasta to Italy from China in 1298. Not everyone buys this one though. The city archives of Genoa reveal that the listing of the assets of a dead man's estate, written in 1279, included a basket full of macaroni!
The argument goes that the two essential ingredients in pasta, flour and water, were used to make many other foods including bread and porridge. Food for thought, what?
``We were the first to organise the Mongolian Barbecue fete in the city,'' claims an upbeat Ajay Kumar of Le Meridien. ''
That event and the more recently, Punjabi Dhaba, were widely appreciated. The response encouraged us to think of this pasta promotion''.
Besides the regular customers who have responded very well, enquiries have come from far away places too. The clients include foreigners and they are extremely happy that we are using imported food items including the oils and the sauces,'' adds Mr.Kumar.
The offer during the pasta promotion fortnight is `unlimited' quantity of the different varieties of pasta for Rs.125, says the organisers at Le Meridien. ''We are not aiming for profit at least this time around.
Remember we call it pasta promotion,'' says one of them. So all ye young 'uns with gifted appetites, make hay while the sun shines.
The beautifully done up decor of the restaurant to mark this special occasion takes you to a different world altogether.
The pasta evening comes to an end with a cup of Cappuccino, yup, that's the Italian coffee for you. The lingering taste of Cappuccino gives you a fresh feeling. It comes in three layers. That's coffee, milk and froth, in that order.
For the nutritionists in you, pasta is a perfect source of carbohydrates and acts as a conduit for carrying a myriad of flavours to one's mouth.
Taste a pasta?
VIJAY GEORGE
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