HYDERABAD: Novotel Hyderabad Airport (NHA) was buzzing with activities and filled with food enthusiasts to experience their latest culinary extravaganza — “The Great Highway Food Adventure.” This extraordinary culinary journey enabled food enthusiasts and connoisseurs to embark on an exploration of the diverse and delectable cuisines along the iconic NH44 Highway.
The month-long “The Great Highway Food Adventure” showcased the distinctive cuisines of 11 states connected by the longest highway in the country on every Saturday. This exceptional event aimed to unite the North, the Deccan and the South in one delicious feast. Hosted at Novotel Hyderabad Airport’s Food Exchange, the festival served a variety of dishes commencing with the fragrant spices of Kashmir and culminating with fiery flavours of Kanyakumari.
Talking about the festival, Sukhbir Singh, General Manager, says, “Novotel Hyderabad Airport is delighted to host the Great Highway Food Adventure, offering a unique opportunity for our guests to tickle their taste buds with the diverse and delectable cuisine that our country has to offer. It is an epic road trip of flavours that guarantees to be a culinary experience of a lifetime.”
The menu was an extensive one with the best dishes from Nagpur, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in focus when we visited. “Every Saturday we are changing the menu so that people can taste cuisines along the iconic NH44 Highway. From hundreds of dishes, we have shortlisted a few to highlight the state’s cuisines,” shares Executive Sous Chef Ganesh Gangoni, NHA.
We started off Telangana’s speciality, Paya Shorba with Sheermal. The shorba was full of flavours and the sheermal was the perfect accompaniment. From the starters menu, we had Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur Kodi Vepudu and Tamil Nadu’s Keerai Wada. Both had a zesty aftertaste which tingled our taste buds for the good. It was our turn to check out the live counter, and from there we tasted Nagpur’s Katori Chaat and Karnataka’s Naatukodi with Raagi Mudda. The chaat was tangy and aromatic and Naatukodi with Raagi Mudda had authentic rustic flavours.
From the main course menu, we got small helpings of Hyderabadi Mutton Dum Biryani, Miryala Mamsam (Andhra Pradesh) and Chettinade Kozhi Curry (Tamil Nadu), as we were almost full. But when it came to the desserts, we couldn’t help ourselves and indulged in Palkova (Tamil Nadu), Bobbatlu (Andhra Pradesh) and our very own Double Ka Meetha.