A Journey across Western India with “Best of the West” at Novotel

Recently there was a Gujarati food festival at Marriott which I had to miss due to work. When I was told later that there were some excellent preparations by a home chef, I was feeling a bit upset at missing out on some good Gujarati food. But little did I know that soon The Square, the all-day dining restaurant at Novotel, Hyderabad airport will be hosting “Best of The West”, a festival celebrating cuisines of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, serving some good dishes from that region.

Each of the three states have their distinctively different cuisines. Gujarat boasts of a predominantly vegetarian fare with a sweetish bias in many of their dishes. Rajasthani food ranges from snacks like Pyaaz Ke Kachori to the lovely desserts like Ghewar, not to forget the famed Lal Maans and other non-vegetarian delicacies. Maharashtra has distinct sub-regional tastes from Kolhapuri, Malwani and Vidarbha.

The Square has been decked up for the festival in an ethnic way, starting from a colorful entrance set up for the festival, a selfie station with a pic of Hawa Mahal in the background, Rajasthani puppets and the waiters turning up in Gujarati attire. Whereas the Rajasthani and Maharashtrian food were prepared by in-house chefs, a Gujarati home chef Mrs. Jahnvi Naik, helped them with the Gujarati dishes. The festival is part of the usual buffet, which means the Indian section of it has been replaced by offerings from Western India. The oriental and continental sections remain as it is.

Fish Koliwada

Invited for a bloggers preview, we were welcomed with some really good Thandai with nice flavour of zafraan and enriched with nuts. The starters were served on the table.  Fish Koliwada is a signature dish from Maharashtra. The dish was presented nicely with round boneless pieces of fish garnished with coriander leaves. The fried batter on the fish was nice though I would have liked a little bit more of spices in it.

Handvo

Another Maharashtrian dish of note was Aloo Til Tinka or potato croquettes coated with roasted sesame seeds. Gujarati Handvo, a spicy rice and dal baked snack was something which also attracted my attention. I cannot vouch for authenticity, but the dish surely had a different taste which I liked.

Haryali Murgh Tikka

There was also some Hariyali Murgh Tikka in the menu which surprised me a bit, I could not recall if any of the three states showcased were known for their kababs.

Dal Dhokhli

There were two live counters serving Pav Bhaji and Thepla. I tried the Pav Bhaji – the bhaji was exceptionally good tasting just like those served in Chowpatty.

Kadi with Khichdi

For the main courses, we started with the Gujarati delicacies. I liked the Dal Dhokli, where small pieces of wheat dhoklis are cooked in lentils. The dish went very well with rotis. I also enjoyed the simplicity of the well-known combination of Kadi with Khichdi. Undhiyu the slow cooked Gujarati preparation of mixed vegetables was decent. The vegetables were well prepared in oil and spices giving the dish a rustic taste.

Undhiyu

From Rajasthan, there was Gatte Ki Sabji, which is especially popular in the dessert areas where not much vegetables are grown. Dumplings made out of gram flour is cooked in a dahi based gravy. The dish was paired with some Bajra Roti. There was also Subz Jaipuri, a mixed vegetable curry in a tomato based gravy. The Bharli Vangi or stuffed eggplants from Maharashtra looked and tasted similar to our own Hyderabadi Bagara Baigan. Paneer Kohlapuri, a paneer dish from the region was as spicy as any Hyderabadi dish.

Shaoji Chicken Curry

Gujarat is not much known for its non-vegetarian cuisine. The only dish showcased for the day was Memoni Biryani, a dish popular among Memons from the Kutch area. The biryani had much lesser masala compared to the Hyderabadi counterpart, the rice was flavourful and the mutton was especially good. The Saoji Chicken Curry was like any other chicken curry, a resident of Nagpur commented that it needed to be super spicy and dark colored. The Ratnagiri Fish Curry flavoured with kokum had a nice balance of spices and a tangy taste.

The Desserts

I missed my favorite Lal Maans from Rajasthan. In fact I thought that some Rajasthani non-veg should have found a place. I was told that the festival has a menu which changes every day, so these will be accommodated on another day.

Ghevar

The dessert counter was extremely attractive with Ghevar, Malpua, Murmura Ka Laddu and Puran Poli. I liked the Malpua and the Ghevar, in spite of their high sweet quotient. There were also a range of Gujarati and Rajasthani namkeens on offer like Bhakarwadi, Namkeen Karela and Samosas.

The Best of The West Food Festival is on till 11th September as part of the evening buffet at The Square, Novotel Hyderabad Airport. It is quite a comprehensive buffet with lots of dishes to make it worthwhile to visit all the way to Shamshabad. The buffet is priced at Rs 1440 plus taxes.

Location:
The Square
Novotel, at Hyderabad Airport
Shamshabad
Hyderabad
Telephone: 66250000

Timings: Every evening till 11th September, 19:00 to 23:00 pm

Note:  Some pics are courtesy The Novotel.

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite from the restaurant.

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Quick Bytes: Dakshin Celebrates Franco-Tamil Cuisine from Pondicherry

Pondicherry was a colony of France for almost three centuries. The French had left a lasting legacy on the state which is still visible in terms of the architecture of many of the buildings, names of roads as well as many restaurants serving French cuisine. In the local Tamil cuisine here, the culinary influence of France is distinctly visible in the flavours and taste of food. Some of the names of dishes are even localized from French such as puyabaisse (bouillabaisse) and saladu (salad).

Masala Coated Fish

The influence of the French on the local recipes of Pondicherry is visible in many other ways. Vinegar is widely used here as a souring agent much more than tomatoes or tamarind.  The uses of spices are significantly less compared to other Tamil food, though frequently the curries use coconut milk as a base. Other highlights are the use of chicken or seafood stock in cooking and the appearance of baguettes amidst local desserts.

Meen Puyabaisse

Dakshin at ITC Kakatiya is easily the best South Indian restaurant in Hyderabad. Their regular menu has dishes with exclusive recipes from the four southern states. However, the promotions which are organized by Dakshin often delve deeper into food from a particular state or a region in it. After a successful festival of Tamil Brahmin cuisine of Mylapore last month, it is now time for a Franco-Pondicherry Food Festival here at ITC Kakatiya. Chef Pavan of Dakshin who has curated this festival has utilized his rich experience in working at Pondicherry a few years back.

Urlai Kola Urandai

We started our preview of this festival with Meen Puyabaisse. The seafood soup had small chunks of boneless murrel fish, and a distinctly fishy flavour. The dish is the localized version of Bouillabaisse, a seafood broth from coasts of France.

The starters included Urlai Kola Urandai, a potato dumpling. Mashed potato had been mixed with diced onion and green chillies as well as select spices and then fried, with a final sautéing in masala. Kassa Kassa Kola Urandai used mutton mince, but here the dumplings tossed in poppy seeds were far spicier. Masala coated fish is another popular recipe from the state, which was being showcased here.

Kassa Kassa Kola Urandai

The promotion has options of vegetarian, non-vegetarian and seafood thalis. We were served select delicacies from each thali. The highlight for me was Yeral Vindail, a prawn curry with coconut milk and vinegar. Executive Chef Paul Noronha was sharing that the cuisine of Pondicherry has influences from Portuguese food also, and I was wondering if the name of this dish had anything to do with vindaloo. The combination of coconut and vinegar in this gravy made the dish a winner with some appams fresh from Iyers Trolley.

The Main Courses

Kothina Kari Pulliperattal was a kheema preparation in red chillies and tamarind. We were served a large Veechu Paratha in the thali, and this was a perfect foil to the minced meat preparation. There was also Meen Inji Curry, a ginger flavoured gravy of fish. We were also served some Chicken Pulav from the area, which was flavourful with subtle use of spices.

Of the vegetarian dishes Keerai Kari, a dry preparation of amaranth in coconut went well with rice. Vendaikai Thair Curry showcased a curd based preparation of bhindi. The best of the vegetarian dishes was Markari Theeyal, a tamarind and coconut based gravy of drumsticks which had raw mango in it.  The rich and tangy gravy was extremely tasty both with rice and appams.

Dessert: A milk based dish with abundant fruits and nuts

The dessert served was milk based with abundant fruits and nuts in it. As is usual at Dakshin, we had the best Filter Coffee to end the meal.

Filter Coffee

A look at the festival menu revealed some other interesting dishes. COQ curry, an eggplant based recipe from the region is quite well known. Langouste Curry (mild spiced lobster) and Sudal (quail) looked interesting. The dessert list had Puttarisi Halwa (a rice and wheat dessert), Pondicherry Cake and Coconut Baguette.

Dakshin has again pulled out a winner for lovers of South Indian food.  The promotion will be on here for both lunch and dinner till 2nd September.

Location:
Dakshin
ITC Kakatiya
Begumpet
Hyderabad

Telephone 23400132

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite from the restaurant.

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Quick Bytes: Fungi Fiesta, the Festival of Mushrooms at Tuscany

Edible fungi and mushrooms do not find wide acceptance with the Indian food lovers. Some people are allergic to them, some people are put off by the looks and there is always the confusion whether mushroom is vegetarian or non-vegetarian food. However the real fans of mushrooms know how the fungi can bring a subtle to strong difference in flavour and taste of dishes.

Oriental Crust Pizza

Against this backdrop, it is very impressive to see Tuscany, the Italian restaurant at The Trident Hyderabad organize a promotion “Fungi Fiesta”, which is solely centered on Italian dishes incorporating mushrooms and other fungi. Among the top chefs in Hyderabad, Chef Manik Magotra is also one of the most experimental ones. As a result, the promotions at The Trident are often quite unique and brave.  At a bloggers table, we were exposed to a set preview menu, where starting from appetizers to the main course all the preparations were carefully planned and executed.

Wild Mushroom Cappuccino

We started with Wild Mushroom Cappuccino. Mushroom based soups and bisques are not uncommon, but this one had a special twist – espresso foam added a subtle flavour to the combination of porcini, shitake and button mushrooms. For me, this was the dish of the day with its rich composition and a refreshingly different aftertaste.

The appetizer in the set menu, Chocolate and Crumb Fried Button Mushrooms was also novel. These were served with saffron cream. I was surprised at the appearance of chocolate coated mushroom at this stage instead of being the dessert and queried Chef Manik on this. As per him, the idea was to present these together came from the fact that both chocolate and mushrooms are umami. A sprinkling of rock salt on chocolate enhanced the taste of the starter.

Chocolate and Crumb Fried Button Mushrooms

Tuscany is known for its pizza and pasta. Today’s offering was Oriental Crust, a thin crust pizza with fish, squids, white fungus on a tomato and cheese base, with lemon grass and galangal adding a special oriental touch.

Salmon stuffed Ravioli

Salmon stuffed Ravioli was a delight for any seafood lover. But more than the pasta I was bowled over by the taste of the sauce in which it was served. The jus had chicken stock with sun dried tomatoes, shitake mushrooms, dill cream and caper, and the Chef had got the combo right resulting in a brilliant taste.

I am not a fan of risotto at all. But the creamy Portobello Risotto with mascarpone cheese and sun dried tomato were flavourful. The cheese and tomato sauce complemented the taste of Portobello mushroom nicely; I wondered if it could have been done in a pasta instead. But that, of course, is a personal preference or prejudice.

Portobello Risotto

The dessert had Chocolate Mud Pie. It was served with truffle oil vanilla ice cream adding the fungi touch to it. The ice cream had a very different aftertaste which I enjoyed with the chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Mud Pie

I had a look at the menu for the promotion. Quite a few other dishes which looked interesting to me such as Porcini Glazed Chicken Breast, Assorted Mushroom Platter on a Bed of Ciabatta, a Pizza with four types of mushrooms and cheese and a pasta with black and white fungi.

What I loved about the festival is that each dish has been created and selected carefully to present the diversity of mushroom based Italian recipes. A wide variety of mushrooms has been showcased ranging from porcini, truffles to shitake and white fungus.

The promotion is on till 28th August and opens only for dinner. The dishes are available a-la-carte. Connoisseurs of Italian food will love the dishes served in this festival. It is also a must visit for experimental food lovers as well as lovers of mushrooms.

Location
Tuscany 
The Trident
Hitech City (next to Shilpa Kala Vedika)
Hyderabad
Telephone: 66232323

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite from the restaurant.

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Sodhi da Dhaba from Amritsar comes to Sheraton, Hyderabad

Of all varieties of Indian food, Punjabi cuisine is clearly the one which is most popular across the country. Even abroad, Indian cuisine means a localized version of Punjabi dishes like tandoori chicken and chicken tikka. However, often the recipes are fine tuned to the locate palate, and it is quite difficult to find authentic Punjabi food in the restaurants. To take an example the Punjabi food available in Hyderabad is often peppered with too much chilli powder and chaat masala, making one yearn for traditional tastes of the food from the land of five rivers.

Against this backdrop, Feast, the all-day diner at Sheraton Hyderabad decides to bring the earthy flavours of Punjab straight from a dhaba in Amritsar. Chef Sodhi, owner of Sodhi da Dhaba in Amritsar is here to curate “Aromas of Punjab” a festival of authentic Punjabi food. The restaurant has been decked up for the occasion in true Punjabi style. A live counter fashioned like a truck has been set up in the restaurant dishing out a range of Punjabi street food. There are other live counters as well serving some delicious lassi and garam chai.

I was greeted with some cool Kesariya Lassi as soon as I arrived for a Bloggers Table. The thick saffron flavoured lassi was a great refresher after a long journey to the hotel. To go with the lassi, there were some soft Paneer Tikkas and Vegetable Pakodas freshly prepared at the live street food counter.

We had a long chat with Chef Sodhi. Amritsar is the place which serves the best food in Punjab, and his dhaba is located just next to Jallianwalabagh. Their kitchen starts serving Chhole Kulche and Sarson da saag with Makki Di Roti from nine in the morning to late afternoon. In the evening it is time for Bhatti Ka Murgh, Butter Chicken, and other delicacies. As per Chef Sodhi, the original Punjabi recipes are very simple and use much lesser masala than the Punjabi food we get in Delhi or anywhere else in the country. In this festival, he has presented all the dishes in their true form as they are prepared in the hinterlands of Punjab.

Bhatti Da Murgh

One of the best dishes of the day was Bhatti Da Murgh, chicken prepared in an earthen kiln. The chicken pieces marinated in curd and select ground spices were so juicy that I did not need the mint chutney to go with it. Machhi Amritsari, the signature starter from Punjab had large chunks of fried boneless fish in a predominantly ajwain based masala.

Kulche Chhole

After the starters, it was time to taste the well-known delicacies from Punjab. Kulche Chhole was the first such dish, the stuffed kulchas were delicious but the earthy chhole was really the star. The Sarson da Saag was again a simple preparation paired with Makki di Roti. I tried the Keema Kulcha with a Pyaaz Chutney, the chutney became a constant companion for the rest of my lunch.

Sarson Saag with Makki Di Roti

Punjabi cuisine boasts of many tawa cooked dishes. Chef Sodhi explained that offals or lamb organs are popular as tawa dishes, and the day’s menu had Magaz (bheja), Kaleji and Gurda. The tawa counter also served Chicken Tikka Masala garnished with tomatoes and Boti Masala. For vegetarian, there was Tawa Tarkari and Paneer Tikka Masala. I tried a little bit of each with naan, the brain masala was especially good, with a distinct flavour of ground black pepper.

Food from the Tawa - Bhaja Kaleji Gurda and Chicken Tikka Masala

I could only try few non-vegetarian dishes from the main courses – Machhi Amritsari Masala and Rara Gosht were simply superb. The traditional Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken) had less of masala and more of butter, with the naan dunked in the gravy soaking in these flavours. As per Chef Sodhi, the taste of butter chicken is predominantly of the butter and spices should not overwhelm that taste.

The Main Courses 

The desserts had some hot and crispy Jalebies and Moong Dal ke Halwa. Malpua is one of my favorite desserts, though today it was a trifle too sweet. We ended a super meal with some garma garam chai.

Desserts

“Aromas of Punjab” is on till 2nd September as part of the lunch and dinner buffets at Feast. It is priced at Rs 1350 (plus taxes). For food lovers, it is an opportunity to try out the rustic preparations straight from the dhabas of Amritsar.

Location:
Feast
Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel
ISB Road, Financial District
Gachibowli, Hyderabad
Telephone: 49251111

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite from the restaurant.

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Gul-Ezaar-E-Gazak: A Kebab Feast at K&K

It has been raining kebab festivals this summer in Hyderabad and quite a few of the star properties have organized variations of it. But kebabs at K&K have always been very special, mainly because the depth they have in their team of chefs and the research on food that they have available with them.

Gul-Ezaar-E-Gazak or a garden of flower is the name given to the kebab festival at ITC Kakatiya. Chef Aamer Jamal, with his tremendous knowledge of Indian food, have curated the menu, which is inspired by Dehlvi, Awadhi and Hyderabadi kebabs, albeit with lot of in-house innovations. A great deal of thought has been put even in the name of the dishes to make it sound interesting to food lovers. An example is Abu Galambo Kebab, Abu Galambo is Persian for crab. Cakes of pounded crab meat had been prepared in roasted spices, ginger and green chillies. It was a very soft and flavourful offering which virtually melted in the mouth.

Abu Galambo Kabab

Murgh Shikanja Kabab was the first dish we tried out. The kabab draws its name from the metal equipment shikanja or clamp in which the kebabs are held while grilling. The marinade was essentially of green leafy vegetables and green chillies giving a distinct taste to the kebab.

Murgh Shikanja Kabab

Next was the Murgh Barrah, glistening with fat on top. The large chicken pieces were marinades in yoghurt and select spices. This was the first time I saw the word “barrah” used in a chicken preparation, as normally it represents lamb chops, but the meaty chicken pieces tasted exceedingly good.

Murgh Barrah

There were two Karare Seekh kababs, where the kabab was fried in a batter after preparation. The vegetable version had bhuna makai (corn) whereas the Kadak Reshmi had chicken mince with saffron flavour. The fried batter outer cover did not have much appeal for a traditionalist like me, though some others sitting with us enjoyed the combination.

Mallika-E-Dariya

Mallika-E-Dariya was a salmon based preparation in a rich spicy marinade with traces of honey and mustard oil. The fish was soft and had taken in the marinade well.

Zaituni Macchi

Zaituni Machhi had fillets of boneless fish with a masala of basil and other greens, prepared in olive extract. A dish with very subtle flavours, this was one of my favorites.

Habibia Chaamp

Another innovative name was Habibia Chaamp. The dish had been a favorite of Major Sahibzada Habib-ur-Rehman, a leading light of the Indian restaurant industry as well as ITC Hotels. The mutton chops marinated in vinegar with pickled onion relish had a distinctly sweetish taste which I loved.

Tarare Jhinge

We ended with Tarare Jhinge, a prawn preparation in hand pounded red chilly masala.

I am a big fan of K&K as this is one of the few restaurants where I did not ever have a bad experience. Also, their food promotions are extremely innovative and creative. In this festival, each of the kababs was unique, and not something you will get in usual outlets. The menu has been carefully curated keeping in mind the diverse tastes of food lovers.   The festival is on till 14th August.

Location:
K&K
ITC Kakatiya
Begumpet
Hyderabad
Telephone: 23400132

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite from the restaurant.

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Quick Bytes: Cuisine from Lombardy at Prego, The Westin

Prego, the Italian restaurant at The Westin Hyderabad has been playing host to regular festivals that showcase finer aspects of Italian cuisine. Some of the festivals have been theme-based and some offer cuisine from specific areas of Italy. A few months back, we had a close look at the predominantly seafood based dishes from Venice such as Squid Ink Risotto and Sarde in Sour. Currently, the food from the landlocked region of Lombardy is being presented through a promotion.

Involtini Di Melanzane

The northern region of Lombardy is best known for its capital Venice as a global seat of fashion.  However, the food from this area is no less interesting. Chef Ravi Kumar Nayak, who is curating this festival told us that the choice of food of the people in this region differs significantly from the food in other parts of Italy. The landlocked region prefers meat rather than seafood. Also, rice is the staple in this area, and they have a variety of risotto recipes in their arsenal. Gorgonzola, the blue cheese made from cow milk is another contribution of the region.

The special festival menu at Prego has around sixteen items which are neatly presented as a special flyer with the main menu. At a blogger’s preview of the promotion, we had the occasion to sample a few dishes from this. The first antipasti Involtini Di Melanzane had ricotta cheese wrapped inside a soft eggplant roll. The taste of this starter was quite different with the cheese combining well with tender eggplant.

Torta Di Asparagi Gratinati 

Torta Di Asparagi Gratinati a.k.a asparagus and cheese tart was the next bite-sized starter. The tart filling had wilted asparagus and parmesan cheese in abundance.

Cozze Gratinate Con Pomodori E Zucchini was a special dish with mussels, cheese and zucchini served on the shell along with edible soil. I had never encountered edible soil before, and as the name indicates it is made of edible ingredients but resemble the look of soil.

Cozze Gratinate 

The dish of the day for me was Fagottini Di Patata Porcini. The pasta was stuffed with potato and served in a delectable sauce. The saffron sauce was finger-licking good, and even a person like me who is biased towards non-vegetarian food enjoyed the subtle flavours of the dish.

Fagottini Di Patata Porcini

Next in line was Filleto Di Beckti, grill bhetki fish served with polenta and assorted vegetables. The fish which was grilled just the right amount with the skin on top was an absolute delight.

Cotoletta Di Pollo Alla Milanese was a nicely presented dish of crumb fried chicken served on a bed of potato mash and garnished with vegetables on top. However, the chicken was a tad too dry for my liking.

Cotoletta Di Pollo Alla Milanese

We had a sweet ending our meal with a fantastic Pan Seared Panettone with red wine poached pears and mascarpone gelato.

Pan Seared Panettone with red wine poached pears

I had a detailed look at the menu and found lots of other interesting items. There is a risotto with gorgonzola cheese, a hallmark of Lombard cuisine. Thyme scented agnolotti with lamb and grilled sliced tenderloin looked interesting too.

The a-la-carte festival which is on till 21st August is recommended for lovers of Italian cuisine as it provides an insight into the food of a specific area of Italy.

Location:
Prego
The Westin
Mindspace IT Park
Hitech City, Hyderabad
Telephone: 67676767

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite from the restaurant.

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