CHENNAI: When you’re a Mangalorean who’s spent all of her life eating Tamil food staples —there’s a certain curiosity when a Mangalore Food Festival comes to town. So you can imagine our surprise when walking down the buffet aisle at Buzz, The Gateway Hotel IT Expressway Chennai, we found...sambar and idli!
Turns out the sambar is prepared here with the slightest variation. “The coconut is not roasted before it is ground and added in, like in a regular sambar,” executive chef Meril Antony tells us. However, it’s the idlis’ plump cousin — the Sanna — that proves the highlight of the night. And we opt to try it with everything from the delightfully red but not-spicy-at-all fish curry to the all green (courtesy the spinach) mutton curry (Massa pacha kari) that we couldn’t resist a second helping of.
Also, for once the carbs on the menu are just as plentiful as the side dishes. “We’ve bought about 10 kilos of Kori Roti from Mangalore for the festival,” the chef lets on. With it’s paper thin consistency and wafer-like crunch - we’re advised to douse it for a moment in the Kundapur Chicken Curry before taking our first bite. And as Antony emphasises, this one is definitely a “must try”.
However, hands down this foodie’s favourite sampling of the evening is the Neer Dosa. The name literally translates to ‘water dosa’ and without exaggeration. Light, white and ever so versatile...we could have had 10 of these rice batter offerings and still wanted more. And you know you’ve fallen in love with a dish when that’s all you can think about for breakfast the next morning!
That, and a quick rewind to the appetisers we rushed past — do not miss the semolina-coated platter of nethili.
The Flavours of Mangalore festival is on at Buzz, The Gateway Hotel IT Expressway Chennai till September 21. For reservations, contact 66802500.