BENGALURU : How about indulging in a sumptuous, desi meal with a marvellous, mountain view? Well, almost similar to this experience, Nook-Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park, is hosting ‘Flavours of Uttarakhand’, an all-encompassing 12-day journey of comfort food from the North.
As we were seated comfortably in a carefully organised dim-light ambiance, red wine was the best drink to reach out to, according to me. Since a lot is abuzz about food and wine pairings, this was a great opportunity to try it out. We started off with Pyaaz Aur Palak Ke Pakode with Pudina Chutney. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, but loved the limited quantity of oil used to make it healthy. The Hare Patte Ki Tikki was a combination of peas, radish leaves and coriander leaves, which is interesting as there are hardly any dishes made out of radish leaves anymore. The flavour was quite contrasting as opposed to the coriander leaves that leave quite an aroma in the mouth.
Moving on to the mains, the chef sent over Garhwali Chicken Curry, Aloo Ke Gutke, Urad Ki Chainsoo (Dal with special mustard known as Jhakiya), Mooli Ka Thinchoni (mashed raw radish), Bhutta Bath (rice) and Chule Ki Roti (ragi roti). Yes, when the thali came, I whispered “Phew!”. After taking a bite from each, they resonated pure home-cooked food. The Urad Ki Chainsoo deserves special mention, and for non-vegetarians, the chicken curry was Nati-style, and felt too soft on the palate.
The course immediately sent a feel-good wave to the brains, or was it the wine? It was hard to tell as they went perfectly together. However, the radish dish did not quite make an impression, as I felt it did not have the necessary flavours in it to remain in long-time memory. But do try the Aloo Ke Gutke, it’ll surely be a fulfilling meal for you.Kheer and Halwa are two desserts which make a difference to North Indian food, and in this case too, they did. It was quite a satisfactory end to our dinner.
The festival is on till August 30 and cost for two: Rs 2,000 (approx)