Kerala Food festival- till 25th April, Spice Haat, Hyatt Residency

Ellarkum sneham niranja Vishu Aashamsakal!! [Happy Vishu]... is what I read on a friend's page on April 14th! What a beautiful way to send out New year greetings, right? 

When I dug about on this festival, I came to know it is a festival where people decorated their homes with lights and burst of firecrackers (Vishupadakkam) as part of the celebrations. Apart from this, it included buying new clothes- Puthukodi, exchanging gifts [in many cases it is money] -Vishukkaineetam ,and the highlight being the Sadhya[feast]. 

The feast consisted of dishes made with various flavours in them - salt, sweet, sour and bitter. Some of the speciality dishes were  Veppampoorasam, Mampazhappulissery, Vishu kanji and Vishu katta. What is interesting is that there are a lot of similarities between Vishu and Tamil New year [esp with reference to food].. In tune with this festival, Hyatt Regency came up with a Kerala Food Festival at their restaurant Spice Haat. Here is a glimpse of what lies in store at the festival that is on till the 25th of April. 

As we got comfortable, we were served two drinks [ just what you need to beat the chennai summers]

Pineapple Breeze: I took just a sip of this but it was indeed refreshing and had chunks of pineapple that added to the drink. 

Sparkling Coco: Well, lets just say it wasn't a favourite. It felt like a blend of coconut milk with fizz..  

To kick start the meal, we were served a medley of three dishes, authentic kerala dishes.. 

Chakkavaratti: It is a sweet made with Jackfruit and jaggery, cut into pieces and served up. We make this at home, except it is consumed in halwa form. it was low on sweet and resembled the Goan Bebinca..  Loved the flavours in this [maybe cos I love chakkaravaratti per se]

Puli-inji : This is one of those dips/chutneys/pickles that will have you licking our fingers. it is tangy, slightly sweet cos of the tamarind and packs quite a punch. Loved it.. 

Papaddam: Well just what you need to complete the medley. Little appalams with bubbles all over, just like what a papadam looks like.  

Appetisers

While the conversations flowed on one side, so did the food. First came the appetisers - pazham port [banana fritters, made with Nendram Pazham], the ulli vadai [onion bajji/vadai]and then came one or two non veg starters as well. During the course of the evening, we chit chatted with Chef Gourab and the other Chef to learn about the history of the festival and how they zeroed in on the dishes. The one that had stood our so far was that the dishes all tasted pretty close to the real deal, and Kerala food is one that I quite love and enjoy.  I also told Chef that my all-time favourite Kerala Dish was Kappa [made with tapioca]  

Mains

I ordered myself a cold coffee while we waited for the mains to arrive. The one common phrase that everyone quoted the minute the dishes were served up was that I was one lucky bug. Why? Cos almost all the dishes were Vegetarian[ for once.lol]

 The main dishes can be found as part of the large buffet they have at the restaurant. I tasted a few of them,  Peera [snake gourd cooked like a dry curry with grated coconut], Avial [a mix of vegetables cooked with coconut oil, ground coconut green chillies red chilli and yoghurt], Puliserry [yet another koottu of sorts made with pumpkin with the base made using yoghurt and coconut] and finally there was the Parippu kuttan   [a gravy with mixed vegetables and lentils to give it the smooth texture].We had these with flaky parotta and red rice [which is common in all Kerala Households and is quite a healthy one at that] 

Desserts:

The minute I read about the Kerala Food festival, I began salivating thinking of the  Ada prathaman and well, I wasn't disappointed  One of the desserts was indeed Ada Prathaman [a payasam of sorts it is made with rice sheets, jaggery and of course coconut milk] . The other dessert is not a big favourite of mine, it is the Chakka Prathaman [similar to the other one but made with Jackfruit pulp] . While we licked the bowls clean, the conversations continued to flow late into the night. A cup of tea/coffee, some water and the night wore on...  

If you love Kerala food and have been looking for a place that served up authentic dishes, I suggest you head over to  Spice Haat before the 25th to get a taste of the same. 

This festival is available only for Dinner- 6.30 - 11.30 pm 

The dinner buffet is priced at 1550/++ 

The Kerala Vegetarian Thali is priced at 1000/++, Non Vegetarian Thali at 1200/++.

Do call +91 44 6100 1234 for reservations.

Address:

Hyatt Regency 

365, Anna Salai, Teynampet ·

Ph: 044 6100 1234

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)

Coorgi Food Festival, Taj Club House, Chennai

Ah, the lush greenery, mist covered mountain tops, monks in red chanting in unison are some things that come to my mind when you mention "Coorg". During my visit there, I came to know that the Coorgs’ (Kodavas) love their food [Kadi] and their liquor [Kudi[] equally.  Their food is largely influenced by the geography (hills and forests) and their culture which is quite unique. 

They are essentially rice eaters, but eat rice in various forms - Akki Ooti (rice chapathis made like rotis using cooked rice and rice flour), Puttus (steamed rice dishes), Kadambuttu (ball shaped puttus made with finest rice flour), Thaliya puttu (flat puttus steamed in plates), and a wide variety of puttus [ some made with coconut milk, others with broken rice and then ther are some made with banana or jackfruit. There is also one puttu called Madd puttu (made of a medicinal leaf called Madd Thopp). Oh and how can I forget the Thambuttu that I tasted in Madikeri, a dish made with roasted and powdered rice flour mixed with mashed ripe bananas. Apart from these, they make quite a few varieties of Biryani and pulaos [ both veg & non veg]

The region is also filled with tea and spice plantations which is why we find all dishes laced with cardomom or cinnamon.  Therefore when I heard about the Coorgi festival at Club House restaurant in Taj Club House, Mount Road, Chennai, I was quite excited and eager. This is a cuisine that is yet to find a place in Chennai and so with all my memories and stories I had heard from friends, the curiousity levels were quite high. 

Chef Naresh has put together a simple yet intriguing menu based on Coorg cuisine and he hails from their Hotel in Coorg. The dishes ranged from Akki Ooti to Pandi Curry and Cardomom Custard as well. It had quite a few Non veg dishes, but I was happy to note that us Veggies were not left out. 

The meal opened with two starters - one was Kummu Barthad [chilli spiced Mushroom, lightly dusted with flour & fried] and the other was Kari Bale Cutlet  [Raw banana patties]. I loved the mushroom but the raw banana one was also good, the chutneys that accompanied these were amazing [one had a strong sesame kind of flavour while the other seemed to be made with ginger]. And then came the Kummu soup [Classic mushroom soup from Coorg], it was thick, it had coconut paste & curry leaves, and was tad spicy [very different from the other Mushroom soups I have had].. 

During the course of the dinner, we learnt more insights about Coorg way of life and food, how each family has their own version of making a dish [ very alike the rest of the world]. 

For the main course, there was Akki Ooti, Kadambuttu, a kind of simple Puttu and Tarkari Pulao[ veg pulao] that was served with 2 veg side dishes- Molai Kuru [mixed sprouts curry] and another made with Spinach which was really yumm.  The non veggies got to try the Pandi curry[pork gravy] and Koli curry[ chicken cooked with spices]. I quite liked the Akki ooti and the spinach the best, probably because I have eaten Akki ooti quite a few times before [in Coorg and at an aunt's house]. 

Just when we were talking about food, the conversation drifted towards Desserts and before we were done, a portion of Cardomom Custard [it was Caramel custard but with a good sprinkle of cardomom on top] served with traditional sauce. And then came the Akki payasam [ rice payasam] that i enjoyed as it was hot and low on sweet quotient.  Oh and how can I not mention the interesting drink we all tried- it was warm, filled with spices and just sinfully light.. 

This festival is on at Taj Club House till the 28th September. So, all of you who have never tried Coorgi food or knew what this cuisine was all about, go for it... 

Lunch and Dinner |A la Carte | INR 2000 onwards per couple

Address:

No. 2,Club House Road, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600002

For more details and reservations contact +91 44 6631 3131

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)