Best of Konkan dishes come to city

Food festival to celebrate Konkan cuisine is on till January 25 at Nook.

Fried shrimps

Candied Coconut with cardamom

Bharleli wangi

Poori

Fried Shrimps

In a city that has a plethora of restaurants, it might not always be possible to find authentic dishes. But if it’s Konkan cuisine that you have been looking for, you are in luck.
A 10-day fest of the diverse and seafood rich cuisine will begin at ‘Nook’ in Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park from January 14 onwards. ‘Grandiose Konkan Katta’ will be on till January 25.

While the festival has a variety of seafood options, there will also be meats and vegetables on offer.

Aloft’s executive chef Aniket Das, explains, “All the dishes are authentic and their uniqueness is intact. The food is presented with all of its originality to get rid of any misconceptions of the cuisines.”

Executive Chef Aniket and his team, Sous Chef Ameet Rane and Chef de cuisine Narayanamurthy, made sure that they maintained the authenticity of the dishes when presented to the guests.

Just before the festival, the team travelled to these locations and learnt everything they needed to.

In fact, they even stayed with a family to understand the cuisine better and brought back authentic masalas to curate the dishes.

Their hard work clearly reflected in each of the dishes presented. The festival includes dishes from each of the coastal areas. You can also expect dishes from Maharashtra, Mangaluru, Udupi and Cochin.

Here’s what the menu has to offer. The ‘Bonda Soup’ from Udupi has the tangy flavour to it but yet refreshing. It sets the stage for upcoming dishes like the ‘Kothimir Vada’, stuffed Pomfret and Mackerel.

The deep-fried prawns was a perfect addition to the seafood-filled course. The food was light and flavourful. The dishes were effortlessly true to their roots.

The main course was served in earthen pots reflecting the rustic beauty of the cuisine. Black Pomfret curry, Mutton curry, Prawn curry along with aromatic Vangi Bhaat and a Brinjal dish filled our table. The aroma of fresh ground masalas from these dishes was fantastic.

While the mutton was juicy and well-cooked, the simple, yet filling fish curry was a hit with brown rice.

The two-course meal was topped with a pink-tinged Kokum drink which was made with kokum fruit and coconut milk.

The drink helped our palate cool down after the heavy meal. Bonus points to the drink as it helped us make more room for dessert.

We finally got our hands on the ‘Coconut Barfi’. Made with just two ingredients — coconut and sugar — the barfi was the perfect way to end the filling and satisfying meal.

The cosy ambience of was an added bonus to the dining experience.

Overall, we couldn’t help but agree with Chef Aniket Das who rightly said that the team “travels to various places and brings the core of it to the tables.”

*To experience Grandiose Konkan Katta’, visit: Cessna Business Park, Sarjapur – Marathahalli Outer Ring Road, Kadubeesanahalli, Bellandur Post. Lunch is available from 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm and dinner from 7 pm to 11 pm. It is priced at Rs 1,150 (exclusive of tax) for lunch and dinner.