Savouries from the City of Joy

Bengali food festival underway at Novotel up to August 10.

A Bengali food festival is underway at Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre’s ‘The Square’. The event would conclude on August 10 and is being held from 6.30 pm to 11 pm.

Chefs Biplob and Arnab have designed a menu comprising vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes from across the eastern state. The former has a knack for vegetarian items. His repertoire includes Shukto, Ambols and other Bengali vegetable and rice preparations. Biplob prepares biryani using subtle spices entrapped in dum (a technique that was brought over by Kolkata’s nawabs).

He accentuates most of his dishes with whole spices, adding a touch of ghee or mustard oil.

The latter specialises in non-vegetarian Bengali delicacies and has a mastery over fish preparations, including Bhapa Ilish, Papda Shorshe, Bhetki Paturi and Pui Shaak Diye Ilish Maacher Matha. He believes in preparing simple dishes with focus on the use of homegrown spices and ingredients.

The spread includes a number of traditional savouries, including Chingdi Malai Curry (jumbo prawns cooked in a spiced creamy sauce made with thick coconut milk); Ghoogni (an evening snack made of black gram or peas in gravy) ; Ghee Bhat; Luchi (a Bengali variant of puri); Kosha Mangsho (spicy mutton curry); Bekti Fry (a side dish that goes well as a side dish with Muger Dal and Gorom Bhaat, and also as a snack with Kashundi (mustard sauce) and Aloo Posto (potato cooked in poppy seed paste, generally eaten as a dry accompaniment to steamed rice and dal). Desserts include Misti Doi and Rosssogolla.

G Muthukumar, the hotel’s executive chef, said, “The food festival has been designed to provide our guests the authentic and traditional flavours of Bengali food.”

“It is aimed at bringing alive the artistic culture of West Bengal at Novotel. We are hopeful that our guests would really enjoy the culinary journey,” he added.