Banish onion and garlic, Satvik food is the order of the day at Dakshin's ongoing Udupi Food Festival
Banish onion and garlic, Satvik food is the order of the day at Dakshin's ongoing Udupi Food FestivalIS it possible to recreate the ambience of a temple inside a five-star hotel? How do you match the striking contrastsu00a0-- one a devotional place where you shy away from all luxury and ask God for whatever you want and the other oozing with all comforts where you get whatever you want without asking, sometimes (and of course that comes at a premium).
An Udupi thaliSheraton's Dakshin didn't try to shed the place of all creature comforts, yet the place did become a mandir, not for any sect but for gourmands.
Far away from templesWhile the ambience is not exactly that of south Indian temples -- despite the brass bells hanging from the ceilings or silver-plated crockery, idols of deities and Nandi bull and the typical spice basket -- the food is quite satvik, and authentic, if I may add. And no onions or garlic, mind you!
Banish the thoughts of masaledar coastal cuisine or any form of meat, this is food at its simplest best, meant to cleanse the soul, not add a tang to the tastebuds. Being the absolute non-vegetarian that I am, I approached the menu with some bit of apprehension, mentally kicking myself for getting into this.
We started with majjige uri -- buttermilk flavoured with green chilli, ginger, coriander and curry leaves, nibbling on sihi guliappa (fried rice and lentil dumplings) and golibaji (no, this has nothing to do with guns you evil-brained morons!) which is a Mangalorean dish of deep fried flour and yoghurt dumplings. The golibaji was tasty, so I did give in to second helpings. For rasam, there was tomato saaru which was so good that each flavour could me made out.
By the time I moved on to the main course I was partly hooked (this, despite the absence of meat or alcohol, for that matter). The saivam, or main course, was a platter full of the chef's selection. So it arrived in bowls placed on a thali (complete with a banana leaf in place) which consisted of different dishes from the temples of the south.
By this time I was past the nibbling stage. While the neeru dosa was passable, the bisi bela huliana, spiced rice and lentils with mixed vegetables really left me wanting for more. Something like a khichdi, this one was well-cooked.
Kissa coconut ka
When it comes to south India, how can coconut be left behind? So there was avil, a delicious concoction of selected vegetables cooked in a paste of coconut and yoghurt; tendli aajotno which was baby tendli cooked with coconut and was not too spice and just about okay and ambat, a typical Udupi Brahmin preparation of lentils with tamarind, coconut and spinach. If this is what Brahmins those days ate, they must have been a happy lot, me thought. My tryst with the all-purpose fruit wasn't over as I still had to get over beans upukari, French beans tossed with coconut and tempered with mustard and red chillies. While I do not have the faintest clue as to whether French beans would have been available in the south India of yore, all I can say is that the item was quite tasty.u00a0
Away from the coconuts, the kukuda mensikkai, mango cooked in sweet and tangy gravy, was just that -- tangy and quite finger-licking. I quite liked the dal thove, which was tempered with mustard and pretty
delicious but could have given the majjige huli -- ladies' finger cooked with yoghurt and chillies -- a miss any day.
Kuchh meetha ho jaye
For madhuram (desserts), it was kasi halwa, but I could have done with an ice cream instead.
Dakshin
Food: Tasty
Service: Very good
Ambience: Nice
Where: Dakshin, Sheraton New Delhi, District Centre, Saket
On till: August 14
Timings: 12.30 pm to 2.45 pm and 7.30 pm to 11.45 pm
Ring: 42661122
Meal for two: Rs 2500 + taxes
