Mövenpick Hotel & Spa, Bangalore is currently hosting a Karnataka Food Festival at their popular eatery, My Place. Karnataka food has an array of lovingly and proudly invented dishes with top-notch ingredients and creative flavors. I was invited to have an exclusive preview of the dishes. Here's a photo tour...
The intimate setting with glass water walls abetted by great lighting makes My Place a good place to hang, talk and share...
Welcome drink came with two options. Butter milk and Kokum drink. I picked the Kokum drink, a sweet and tangy concoction made from Garcinia indica fruit. The fruit from the Mangosteen family has many health benefits that includes ability to reduce allergic reactions and optimize digestion...
Here's how the Kokum drink looks...
The dinner is curated by Chef Gaurav Bathla, whose creative touch can be felt in the fare...
By now my appetite is sufficiently whetted in anticipation. The delightfully done table top...
The accompaniments for the starters arrived in the form of a variety of pickles and chutneys. The idea is to use these to balance the flavors of the dishes according to your taste...
Chicken Ghee Roast is a deliciously spiced Mangalorean dish which uses clarified butter to roast the chicken...
Congress kadalekai or Masala Peanuts is a popular drink time snack of the region, made from roasted peanuts. The name 'Congress Kadalekai" originated sometime in the 1970s when the Congress Party of India split into two. Peanut was called 'Congress Peanuts" as it always split in two parts...
Bhajji - Raw banana and Jalapeno fritters...
The star of the starters was the Clam and Mussel fry. This dish spectacularly hits the right spots...
Nippattu masala is a popular street food from the region. The nippattu crackers and puffed rice is tossed with a variety of tangy-salty spices that makes it a mouthwatering snack...
For the movie buff, there's a small enclosure where some classic local language movies are screened...
Moving to the main course, there was Akki Roti, a bread made from cooked rice dough infused with dill leaves...
I had it with the Mangalorean Prawn curry, served on a plantain leaf...
The prawns simmered in a thick and spicy coconut gravy is quite remarkable...
My Place has an extensive wine and cocktail list which I didn't bother to peruse. Plain water goes best with this food...
Neer Dosa is a crêpe prepared from rice batter...
I had it with the Coorg Pandi Curry. The melt-in-the-mouth pork curry remains my favorite of the day...
Another classic dish from South Karnataka is the Ragi Mudde made from finger millet flour. It is packed with nutrients and that's why it is almost a daily food of south Karnataka populace...
Ragi Mudde is broken down into smaller balls using fingers and swallowed hot dipping them in Saaru. It is not supposed to be chewed...
Another tasty and healthy dish is the Sabasige Soppu Palya, made from Dill leaves, lentils and a generous sprinkling of grated coconut...
Holige/Obbattu is a delicious dessert . It is a sweet flatbread with a Jaggery and yellow gram filling. It is had with a drizzle of clarified butter...
Dharwad Peda is a dessert unique to the state of Karnataka. It is made from thickened milk and sugar...
Overall the dinner was outrageously delicious. Servers were efficient and the setting is charming and comfortable. The Karnataka Food Festival continues till October 13th.
Need I say more?
