You might have heard about the Finnish video game Angry Bird but have you heard of Angry Chicken? If not visit Poppy’s Hotel to test the strength of your taste buds. The pan fried chicken diced and infused with sour cream, yoghurt and sprinkled with chilli flakes well and truly stings. ‘Kozhi Koovuthu’, the weekend food festival has more such recipes to grab your attention.
The swanky lobby of the hotel is fully decorated to suit the occasion and the corridor leading to the Melting Pot restaurant, the venue of the festival, has panjaram (a big size basket used for covering country hens) to stack hens. Cucumber Aqua Fresca (Tender coconut served with cucumber wedges) was a perfect welcome drink to start the dinner. The live counter section was flooded with line of recipes both spicy and bland to suit different palates. Apart from the regular Chinese recipes like Chicken Dynamite and Hot Pepper chicken, there were Theeyil Sutta Kozhi (chicken roasted in fire and glazed with herb sauce), Varutha Nagara Meen , Moti chicken kebab (Three varieties of chicken tikka, selection of malai, tandoor spice and Hariyali chicken skewered in charcoal pot), Orange chicken (Steamed chicken cooked with fresh orange juice, a tangy speciality) to woo the visitors.
“Try out the Gunpowder chicken,” V. Arul Murugan, Vice President of the Poppy’s Group of Hotels, springs the next surprise. Supreme pieces of chicken are tossed with fresh dal powder, spiced with red chilly and deep fried. “The trick lies in the secret ingredient that we use after the chicken is grilled,” says Arul Murugan. After a lot of persuasion, Executive Chef A. Ponnambalam breaks the secret, “It is nothing but idli podi, which nobody would guess it right. The grilled chicken is rolled over the podi that enhances the taste and adds pleasant aroma,” says Ponnambalam.
The festival could not have come at a better time as it has been timed to cash in on the vacation crowd. “We chose chicken as our main ingredient as we wanted to showcase our ability to tweak regular recipes to offer different colour and taste to the dish. Also we tried out funky names to attract people. Like the one Kozhi Potta Muttai Thokku which is nothing but egg cooked with coconut milk, onion, tomato and ginger garlic paste,” says F.Rozario Rajkumar, Food and Beverages Manager.
Naatukozhi Biryani was much sought after for its unique taste but the highlight of the evening was Attur Kozhi Milagu . Chicken sautéd with shallots, handpicked herbs, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed.
The vegetarian main course had Kadapa Vegetable Kurma, Honey Panneer Masala, Dal Peshawari, Curd Semiya and Mango Curd rice. The variety of dosas on live counter that include paneer, gobi, palak, onion, tomato and apple are well thought out by the chef to satisfy the kids.
From Ellu and Kadalai Urundai to Thaen Mittai and coloured sweet boondi to Bombay Halwa, the dessert section has much to offer.
The festival is open on weekends.
