The Lalit Ashok highlights Maharashtrian fare

Chefs of The Lalit Ashok in the country are travelling across properties as part of the Chef’s Pop-Up event. They aim to bring authentic flavours, unique preparations from their native regions, grandma’s recipes and more.

At The Lalit Ashok Bangalore, it’s a Maharashtrian Food Festival as chef Parimal Samant from Mumbai is all set to entertain his guests with authentic dishes till September 2.

Metrolife checked out some of the dishes the festival has to offer. Don’t worry, there’s definitely more than just vada pav and misal pav at this Maharashtrian fare.

We started our meal with the classic Solkadi which is a tempered kokam curry flavoured with coconut milk. This kept us ready for the other dishes we were about to try — quite delicious.

In order to keep the starts going, the famous papads, the Tomatochi Koshimbir kept us company. As part of the festival, there are a number of dishes you can opt for.

In the case of starters, the Kaju Kothimbir Wadi (shallow fried cucumber and cashew nut patties) or the classic Sabudana Wada (deep fried sago and potato dumplings) is recommended.

While Rawa Fried Paaplet (semolina crumbed fried pomfret) offered something different, the thick layer of rawa made it miss the mark. The Konkani Sukka Chicken, on the other hand, made the perfect accompaniment to the Konkani masala.

For the main course, we had the Masala Bhaat. If you like your rice to be spicy, this one is a winner. The mix vegetable pulao with Maharashtrian spices can be eaten on its own or with the curries available.

There’s also a Vegetable Kolhapuri curry that you can enjoy with the hot phulkas. To complete the Maharashtrian experience, the Soaji Mutton curry is a must-try. The mutton curry from Nagpur is flavoured with dry coconut and spices. The meat was cooked to perfection.

A food festival isn’t complete without desserts, so we tried the Fried Modak and Narlachi Wadi. Both of them weren’t too sweet or have that oily texture that one would expect. The Basundi, however, was too watery for our liking.

The festival is on till September 2 at The Lalit Ashok Bangalore. For details, call 30527777.