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| Meen Huli (Fish cooked with tamarind & tomatoes) |
Well, it is not every day that we get to indulge in royalty right?
India was a land of many kingdoms at one point and one of the most powerful and flourishing of them was Vijayanagara, the cuisine of which we�ll be talking about in this post.
This post is all about the Cuisines of Vijayanagara food festival at the Cubbon Pavilion, ITC Gardenia which is on till the 4thof June.
This comes under the Royal Repasts aegis of Kitchens of India by ITC.
The food was exquisite, rich & spicy but was like comfort food at the same time. This region was known to use a lot of spice, especially chilli in their food & care was also taken so that it does not overpower the natural flavours and that is what we experienced.
This cuisine is also considered as Hampi cuisine which is also long gone, but the master chefs from ITC took it to task to recreate this in as authentic a way as possible keeping modern dining in mind.
Now, moving on to what this festival has to offer:
More or less equal options for vegetarians & non vegetarians. We won�t be stressing too much on the details and we�ll mention the must tries. There was nothing disappointing about the food we were served, but some were exceptional whereas some were decent.
From the starters: All the 3 are highly recommended! From the raw banana dumplings to the spicy dry chicken preparation and the lamb & coriander dumplings, simplistic brilliance we would like to call it.
The raw banana was shallow fried and it had a homely touch to it. The chicken was very spicy, well-cooked and not overpowering. The lamb balls were amazing. They are pretty small in size but big on impact! The freshness of the coriander & the flavour of lamb are an impeccable combination.
From the mains: The Ivy Gourd preparation, The Lamb Chops, Prawns with Black Pepper are a must! The accompaniments were equally amazing.
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| Balakkai Vada (Raw Banana) |
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| Kaima Unde Bartad (Lamb & Coriander dumplings) |
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| Koli Menasakai (Spicy Chicken) |
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| Urida Mamsa (Lamb chops) |
The Ivy Gourd had a rich coconut flavour and was cut into very thin slices which gave a delicate crunch to each bite. The Lamb chops were heavenly. The best part about them was that the flavour of lamb was present because they were not smoked. The masala used really boosted the taste & that�s the drawing line for a non-vegetarian!
The Prawn preparation was very simple. The prawns were fresh & sweet and the black pepper gave the contrast in flavour.
The other preparations include: Chicken in Coriander & Coconut gravy, a lentil preparation, a Brinjal preparation & a Sear fish preparation cooked in tomatoes & tamarind.
All of them were palatable. The fish had a unique tangy taste. The Brinjal preparation had a few shortcomings in terms of balance. The chicken had the characteristic flavours.
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| Ennai Badakanai (Brinjal) |
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| Centre: Raw Mango rice. From left: Ivy Gourd, Brinjal, Chicken, Lentils, Fish, Koli Pulao |
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| Akki Payasa |
The accompaniments like Raw Mango Rice, The Koli Pulao (Chicken cooked with rice & spices) & the Akki Roti deserve a special mention. The first had an amazing aroma & was lip smacking. The Koli Pulao was mouth-watering! It was very light on the stomach, lightly spiced & the meat retained the flavours.
For dessert, we tried the Akki Payasa which was very comforting. It was dilute but gave a sweet finish as always. We felt it was a tad bit over sweet.
That�s all from our side!
The festival is on till for another week so quite some time left to gear up.
Such opportunities are hard to come by and we definitely recommend a visit.
Do try out what we mentioned and other things as well and let us know about your experience if you visit. This is available only for dinner (07:30 PM - 11:30 PM) and priced at 1950 ++.
This festival might not have much for dessert, but the other things are sure to satisfy you.
We�ll be back soon with a bang ;)
Till then�stay tuned & bon apetit!
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