I’m delighted that my very first food festival review of the year is back at the place where I started my very first big time food review. Feast at the Sheraton Grand, Bangalore introduced patrons to the desert flavours of Rajasthan. I wouldn’t say that I am the greatest fan of all the food out of that region, but there are certain dishes that define what Rajasthani food is to me, and I always enjoy those. One of my favourite vegetarian dishes – Ker Sangri is from Rajasthan. When I did receive the invite, I was eagerly looking forward to trying some authentic ker sangri.
The other food bloggers and I were welcomed with a Sattu ki Sharbat. This was the first time I’ve had this drink, the taste was pretty good. While the non veg appetizers of Murg ka Sula and Jaisalmer ke Boti didn’t leave me wanting more than the one round, the surprise package came in the form of both the vegetarian starters. The Sangri ki Sheekh kabab and the stuffed paapad were both new dishes that none of the bloggers at the table had tried before. With the very subtle flavour of sangria, the sheikh kabab was flavourful. The mini-papads stuffed with a potato filling were crispy and had a slight tang that was enhanced with familiar spicy ginger chutney.
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| Sattu ki Sherbat |
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| Murg ka Sula |
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| Jaisalmer ke Boti |
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| Sangri Sheekh Kabab |
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| Mini Paapad Rolls |
Another very familiar and comforting appetizer was the daal-baati churma, a Rajasthani cult dish.
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| Daal Baati Churma |
The main course had its fair share of hits and misses. While this could have been an opportunity to show case much more than just the famous laal mass curry, which was a tad too spicy for my taste buds that are still recovering from the two months of tasteless food. The non veg section was a bit of a letdown as dishes like the Marwari fish curry and Chicken cooked in the Rajasthani style tasted fine, but didn’t make me want to go back for a second helping. Trumping the non-veg once again was the vegetarian section with the Ker Sangri and the Dum Aaloo Jodhpuri. The former was almost as good as what my friend’s mother makes while the latter had the right amount of chilly and spices to make me go back for more. The Gatte Pulao was my favourite among the three varieties of rice that were served; this was an excellent complement in terms of flavour for the dum aaloo. While there were other dishes in the spread, these are what I remember eating for all the right reasons.
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| Laal Maas |
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| Ker Sangri |
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| Aaloo Dum Jodhpuri |
Dessert was a relatively muted affair with the Gawar and rabdi.
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| Gawar with Rabdi |
Overall, the flavours have been muted a fair bit keeping in mind the client profile of Sheraton Grand. While the menu didn’t top their Chettinad Food festival (which was the best that Feast had put up till date), some of the stars in the vegetarian section helped bring the team across the line, just barely. For those looking for something different with regard to their veg cravings, this might be the festival you want to head to.
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