Most of us in Delhi
have very limited exposure to Chettinad cuisine. Today's pop-up at The Lodhi
showcased an extensive choice of dishes from The Bangala Table. A lovely
sit-down lunch proved to be a delicious celebration of the rich repertoire of
this ancient cuisine. And trust me, there's much, much more to the cuisine than
Chettinad Chicken! In fact, I was particularly impressed with the variety of
vegetarian fare that left me licking my fingers.
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The delicious Chettinad spread served beautifully at The Lodhi. |
Nestled in Karaikudi, The Bangala is almost a 100-year-old heritage hotel in the heart of
Chettinad. It is renowned for its family kitchen, which has been rated
the 28th Best Restaurant in India by Condé Nast Traveller in 2018. While you
can book exhaustive masterclasses on Chettinad cuisine at the property, the
recipes have been documented in a book, The Bangala Table. Co-authored by the
family matriarch Ms. Meenakshi Meyyappan and Sumeet Nair, it includes classics like Chettinad Mutton
Fry, Chettinad Chicken Pepper Masala and Quail 65; Crab Rasam to Anglo-Indian
Mutton Cutlets; Pineapple Curry to Prawn Biryani; as well as the Chettiar
vegetarian specialty Mandis to more familiar Pachadis.
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For the real thing, head to The Bangala and book yourself a Masterclass. |
Coming back to today’s lunch: It started with koottu (mildly
tempered seasonal vegetables), potatoes and peas masala poriyal, pomegranate
raita, sweet mango pachadi, snake gourd bhajis and banana flower vadai. While
there was a fair bit of aromatic mutton, chicken, crab and kingfish, the
highlights for me ended up being butter beans kurma, pineapple curry and mandi
made with bhindi, shallots and garlic with lemon rice, tomato rice, plain rice
and a variety of poppadams completing the meal.
Details:
Chefs from The Bangala have flown down with special ingredients to make this experience as authentic as possible. This promotion is especially for DLF properties with an
exclusive dinner on 20th September at Golf Lawns, for The Camellias and King’s
Court patrons; dinner on 21st and 22nd September at DLF Golf Club; lunch and dinner
on 24th and 25th September at The Lodhi, New Delhi and finally lunch
and dinner from 27th to 29th September at Magnolias Club.