2016 May 2
Simple yet delectable, the Spice Island Flavours food festival makes for an ideal summer meal and presents flavours of Sri Lanka on a plate. Unlike many attempts at Sri Lankan food in the city, this food festival that happened at ITC Grand Kakatiya, attempts to tap into the most authentic flavours of Sri Lankan cuisine and for a moment, make you feel like you’re sitting at a beachside restaurant in Colombo or a hilltop joint in Kandy.
There’s much more to Sri Lankan cuisine than just coconuts and curry and you are a greeted to a wide spread of entrees and mains.
There’s something in it for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. For starters in vgetarian, there is Vendakkai Sambal, which is crisp slivers of ladies finger, tossed with onions and tomatoes. In non-vegetarian, there are delicious fish cutlets (crumb-fried fish croquettes with mildy spiced ginger and black pepper). Light, soft and delicious, the fish cutlet serve as an ideal snack and can go very well with a glass of cold beer.
Up next, for mains, there is Isso-thel-dala, which is prawns mixed in a dry spice mix. The prawns are cooked perfectly and make you go back for more. For those who love spicy food, this dish musn’t be missed.
We Indians love rice and the Manjal Soru dish will satisfy your cravings for good rice. The dish is Yellow rice cooked in coconut milk with whole spices and beautifully cooked chicken. It tastes slightly similar to home-cooked mango rice but the spices add a unique touch to the dish and makes it stand out.
The chicken seamlessly complements the dish, making it one of the highlights of the menu. There are plenty of vegetarian options too, including Brinjal Moru (Brinjal cooked in pickling style), Kari Milagai (mild green chillies, stuffed with masala and simmered in coconut milk) and Paruppu (Masur dal cooked with whole spices and coconut milk). All dishes are perfectly well-balanced and there is enough variety to suit the preferences of all kinds of consumers.
For desserts, we were served with Kiri-Pani, which is a pot of curd and jaggery syrup. Though it is simple, the combination works beautifully. The sweetness of the jaggery deliciously combines with the sourness, creaminess and freshness of the curd.
Overall, The Spice Island Flavours food festival is nothing extravagant or grand, but it gives you the experience of a different cuisine and serves you with simple, elegant and delicious food.
The food festival titled Spice Island Flavors under the aegis of Kitchens of India is on at Deccan Pavillion, ITC Kakatiya Hotel.
This post was first published on The New Indian Express
