It took just a year for restaurateurs and hoteliers to reach the conclusion that there’s indeed a clear, ‘distinct’ character to the Telanagana cuisine. During last year’s festivities, they had wondered about what to show as ‘truly Telangana cuisine’. But this year at the food fests, none took the easy way out by passing off Hyderabadi biryani as the face of Telangana cuisine.. With a renewed enthusiasm, F&B managers belonging to various hotels in the city worked overtime to put together common everyday dishes culled out from the entire region in their respective restaurants.
Menus were collated, discussions held and many travelled to the districts to see and taste and pick the finer elements of the otherwise less talked about cuisine. And the outcome was a satisfying one. “It was an opportunity for the chefs to do their best. The focus was on offering guests a regional cuisine which is not often seen on the menu. Gokarakaya koora, dal vada, palakura badilu, Telangana mamsam pulao and the likes emerged out of their attempts,” says Rishi Chopra, General Manager, Taj Deccan.
Executive chef, Taj Deccan, Rishi says, “We were pleasantly surprised at the variety we could offer. The essence of the rustic Telangana cuisine lies in cooking in a clay pot. So, we have done a similar thing. To give that taste to the dishes we prepare the basic curry in the clay pot and finish it in indirect heat (hot plate) to avoid burning it. We can now proudly say we have a signature Telangana mutton curry, which has a brown to slightly red colour and has a tinge of tamarind juice to add a tangy flavour. We also want to do away with the standard five star notions and are offering what is eaten in Telangana homes on a day-to-day basis.” To make the fest memorable, Taj Deccan has exclusive sections in the menu offering Telangana and Hyderabadi sections.
Every hotel in the city has put in serious efforts to ensure the Telangana food fest is a sell out. “When it’s a State Formation day celebration, everyone gets into the festive mood. With so much happening in the city, good food adds to the mood. We have a special buffet section for Telangana cuisine where the menu changes everyday.
Some dishes relished well are Birakaya royyalu koora (Ridge guord with prawn curry) kanda bachali koora (yam and Ceylon spinach ), Chinta chiguru pappu (tender tamarind leaf dal), Uragaya chepala koora (pickled fish curry), Uragaya mamsam (mutton cooked in pickled gravy),” says executive chef Manik Magotra, F&B manager, Trident.
This year, Marigold went all out to display 72 items on different days. General Manager Akesh says, “Last year we were in a hurry but this year we were well prepared. Our team along with Chef Suman made sure everything was special, right from the buffet décor to the menu.”
And what did their menu have which isn’t heard of earlier, “ Keema mutthi, veligadda endrakayalu, nattalu aaku koora, kunda kori, kobbera chennigaya, bachalia koora pappu are a few of the items we had. Our starters included Telangana snacks like sakkinalu and special desserts like and sojja bakshalu ,” says Suman with pride.
Hotel Park offered dishes prepared with regional ingredients. “We had an exhaustive menu and worked on keeping it stylish. On offer was Makka pudina vada , punti koora kodi , gangabayal mamsam, challa pulusu, boti koora, thalakaya mamsam and the much talked about ‘Karimnagar mutton fry’,” says chef Mandaar Sukhtankar.
Along with the Karimnagar mutton that is gaining popularity, Nizamabad veg korma and Warangal kodi curry is getting a special mention in ITC Kakatiya’s menu. They are calling the fest ‘Tantalising Telangana’ and offering a thali and a la carte option which looks too good to resist.
