BANGALORE: One of the many pleasures of living in a vast country like India — is the immense variety in menu.
If only someone would bring those choices to tease and please the palates! Lalit Ashok came up with a concept —‘Unified Flavours of India’. The idea is to host a chain of food festivals with cuisines of every region of India highlighted in each of the festivals. It also has another motto behind it — to fight divisive forces and show India is united.
At present, the 24/7 restaurant is hosting a Marathi food festival, which is on till March 22. Harshal Rajurkar, the sous chef, said, “There are many nuances in Marathi cuisine. One traditiuon is the coastal style (Konkan, Malvani, Goan) which uses kokum, cashew, coconut and of course, seafood, including dried fish.” The other variety is from the Vidarbha region, where food is spicier. 24/7 has tried to represent all the traditions in their menu.
The Malvani pomfret curry with its potent coconut and curry leaves flavour, is very typical of Marathi cuisine. Fish addicts should not miss it. You can pair it with the kolambi bhat (rice with prawns). With the enticing sweetness of onions complimenting the crispy prawns, the rice does not drown the pomfret's taste. The mutton cha rasa (rasa is a light gravy) will remind one of an assimilation of north Indian recipes. It is tasty, but not very unique. But for those who like chicken, the kombdi sukha is well done, with the mix of spices tantalising the tongue.
The vegetarian fare is more typically Marathi with homely recipes like masala dal, or gobi chi bhaji (cabbage with sprinkling of coconut and diced tomatoes). You cannot give a miss to the desserts with the shrikhand, karanji and puran poli topping the list. A better appetizer spread would have completed the fare.
