Monday 8 February 2016

Know what's the Mangalorean Cuisine?

What really impresses me about India, is the number of cuisines here. Just last month, I was travelling in the north and experiencing the Kumauni cuisine. Not that it was the first time, I was relishing each dish there but each time it's like a new experience. While I was travelling, I got an invite to be a part of the chef's table at Four Point Sheraton, Navi Mumbai, to try out the Mangalorean cuisine.

Super thrilled about trying out the food I had never tasted before, I googled about the variety of food in Mangalore. Even though I knew a major chunk of it would be non-vegetarian food and heavy on spices, I accepted the invite and joined the other bloggers at the chef's table with my better half Moksh. The dinner table was set at the hotel's multi cuisine restaurant, Asian Kitchen. We were the last one's to arrive, when everybody was already proceeding towards the desserts. However, a blogger couple and a few others decided to give us company, while we had our dinner. To my surprise, the main course was mainly vegetarian, with a few non-vegetarian dishes.
The food was prepared by the homechefs duo Mrs.Vijaya S Bangera and Mrs. Rekha S Salian who are renowned for their traditional preparations and have catered for various community events and also cooked for the late Mr. Bal Thackeray and  his family.
We started with Tomato Rasam, which was a little pungent for me but I guess most of the people savoured the flavors.

The vegetarian snacks included a chickpea chaat and baby corn sauteed in mild spices. Because, I wanted to taste each dish there, I also put the salads in the same plate. Tomato and Coconut salad was absolutely delicious and highly recommended.


A few other dishes which were a part of the buffet are- Kori Sukha, Bangude Puli Munchi,  Neer Dosa with Jinji chutney and the Mangalorean staple Ganjee rice served with assorted chutney.
Kadle Bele Kosambari (chana dal and coconut salad), Matte Sukha (Boiled Egg with dry coconut & Mangalorean spice), Genasu Podi (Sweet Potato Chips), Kappu Manji Meen Rasa (Black Pomfret Curry) and Bisi Bele Bhat

What I enjoyed the most was the Pineapple Stew, very mildly spiced Dal and Rice. It was a perfect meal to end a hectic day and kick start the weekend. The whole food gave a very homely feel and no points for guessing, the amount of love with which it was made.
 The dessert included Hannu Kesari Bhat, Sweet Appams, Gajar Halwa, Godhi Payasam, Mysore Pak and much more.
We ended our dinner with a hot cup of cappuccino and a group picture with fellow bloggers and the hosts.

The Mangalorean fest is on till 10th February, 2016 and in my opinion, nobody should miss it :)


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