Of gandhar jhol and shukto bowls
BENGALURU: Taste a little bit of East, following the festivities this month, with the ‘Bengali food festival’.
The event organised by Marriott Hotel, Whitefield offers guests a chance to indulge and experiment with dishes from Bengal. While Bengali cuisine is known for its desserts and sweets, M Café dig a bit deeper and explores, the munchies, street food along with vegetarian and non-vegetarian main course preparations.
The buffet starts off with Gandharaj jhol (a curd and Gandhar lemon drink) and Aam panna (ripe mango preparation).
The chicken cutlet, beetroot carrot chop and mutton chops – all fried preparation, serve as teasers to the main course menu that is set in mustard oil.
Bekti Bhapa, a steamed fish preparation made in mustard and coconut paste gravy is delicious and so is Shukto, a plethora of vegetables, cooked in the most unique spices with creamy milky gravy with the slightest hint of sweetness.
Basanti Pulao, which takes its name from Basanti, which means a shade of yellow, denoting the colour of spring, is light and flaky and is subtly flavoured. It is slightly sweet in taste and goes well with the curries.
Kosha Mangsho – the mutton curry has well cooked meat teamed with a mustard oil based sauce.
The luchi and dal combination was kind of a disappoinment, leaving stabs of oil, everytime you tore a piece of luchi (puri) to dip in the sweet dal.
None of the preparations were overpowered by the mustard oil taste.
Speaking about the festival, Chef Sanjay Rawat, who has spent over five years in Kolkata, says “We’ve picked the most famous Bengali dishes and tuned it to the likes of our guests. Staying authentic with the food, won’t please everyone”.
Chef Mahesh, Executive Chef, Bengaluru Marriott Whitefield says, “Bengali cuisine is often limited to its fish preparation and sweets but there’s so much more that it offers. This festival will be a surprise to every guest. The buffet will offer a little something to non-vegetarians, vegetarians as well as those who love to indulge in sweets and desserts.”
The vegetarian dishes tastes more authentic to the Bengali palate than the non vegetarian ones, informed a fellow Bengali who shared the table with us.
The rasgulla and pati shapta (Bengali pie) stood by expectation, but the mal pua, which was chewy and sticky on the teeth failed in comparison.
Try out the Bengali buffet at the Bengali food festival, especially for the non vegetarian preparations. The shall be hosted today at Marriott Hotel, Whitefield.