Divided by states, united by food
As part of 73rd Independence Day celebrations in India, Blooms restaurant, Eros Hotel, Nehru Place has organised a 7-day long food extravaganza. 'Swad-e-Hind', which celebrates rich and diverse cuisines of India, started on August 8 and will go until 14 of this month. (Lunch and Dinner both)
Curated by Chef Sudershan Singh Bhandari, Executive Chef along with Chef Tenzin Losel, Executive Sous Chef, the festival will introduce you to one regional cuisine – Kashmiri, Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Sindhi, Goan, and Ladakhi – each day. After wrapping up the festival, the hotel will also host a mega brunch on August 15, where all seven cuisines will be served under one roof. (Timings: 12 pm - 4 pm, Price: Starting from Rs 2999+taxes per person)
Kashmir being the most sensational topic in India nowadays, was chosen to be the inaugural cuisine. The very closely-knitted menu for the first day included a list of popular dishes in the region like 'Kashmiri Goshtaba' (Traditional Kashmiri dish having tender meatballs cooked in flavourful yogurt gravy), When you take the first bite of the scrumptious meatball, the soft texture as well as the rich yet subtle taste of spices, takes over your senses. The well-marinated gosht in thin gravy complimented with bread is a sheer delight.
Next on the list was the peculiar dish made of lotus stem – 'Nadru ki yakhani' (A delicious lotus stem curry based on yogurt along with some aromatic spices). You would surely relish the creamy blend of lotus stem and Kashmiri spices, however breaking the stem into chunks might be a little difficult – either because of being undercooked or due to its natural texture. 'Lyader tschaman' (Cottage cheese cooked in rich creamy gravy) might not be a good option for those who are expecting everything on the menu to be extremely spicy. Moreover, if you have tasted cottage cheese or paneer in the region, you might find the dish a little out of the place. The very famous 'Dum aloo' (Baby potatoes simmered in a yogurt-based gravy, flavoured with dry ginger and fennel powder) was near perfect. Saving the best for last, 'Kashmiri roti- Sheermal' (Bread made with warm milk sweetened with sugar and flavored with saffron and cardamom) – popularly known as khameeri roti, is something that we all have tasted in Old Delhi. But I won't mind giving extra points to Eros for experimenting with the bread – soft, fragrant, delicious.
What makes this carnival better than other food festivals is that here the chefs haven't compromised with taste and quality of the dishes in an attempt to serve a 40-course buffet. Every day, a maximum of five dishes are being served under each cuisine.
CUISINES
August 8 Kashmiri
August 9 Bengali
August 10 Assamese August 11 Marathi
August 12 Sindhi
August 13 Goan
August 14 Ladakhi
Timings: 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm (Lunch) and 7:00 pm – 11:30 pm (Dinner)
Price of Buffet: Rs 1950+taxes per person
