Dussehra is one of the most celebrated festivals in India and the most important festival in West Bengal. The state is full of festive vibes, pandals and a lot of Bengali food.
I’ve never had an experience with a full fledged Bengali feast prior, I missed them earlier due to some or the other reason but not this time. The Park , Somajiguda , Hyderabad has begun its Maach, misti and more festival and is on till 15th October.
The menu is curated by Ms.Swarnali Pal and is a tribute to kolkatar khabar and festivity. The menu is planned in a way that one can try all the famous delicacies and is in the form of a buffet. The ambience is kept simple with a few added decors related to the festival. The table set up has a few props and condiments that are native to the region.
Lets get started. #Hyderabadfoodexplorer (Hyderabad food blogger)
The meal began on a high with the welcome drink, it was a yogurt based drink with the aromatic Gondhoraj lemon.
For the appetizers we had some of the classics, we had mochar cutlet, vegetable chop, fish fry and chicken cutlet. The cutlets are Crumb fried and had a crisp coating. Mochar chop is made with banana flower and is quite a favourite among the locals.
Other appetizers more like condiments that are a part of the buffet are Begun bhaja, uchhe bhaja and jhuri aloo bhaja. ( fried eggplant/ brinjal , Bitter gourd and grated potato).
The main course includes another wide range of delicacies, starting with the Kosha mangsho. One of the most popular dishes made with mutton. Its a simple preparation in terms of ingredients but the magic lies with the expertise to cook. Doi maach as the name suggests is fish cooked in a yogurt gravy, a mild gravy with hints of mustard. Narkol diye cholar dal is another traditional preperation, which is made with chana dal, coconut along with some tang.
Chena rasa, dum aloo , mochar ghonto and shukto are from the vegetarian section. Chena rasa has a thin gravy with dumplings made of chene ( curdled milk). The shukto doesn’t need an introduction, it has a mix of seasonal vegetables.
Kolkata style biryani is known for the addition of potato. This was my first experience and I being used to the Hyderabadi version would take time to understand it better and enjoy it equally. The mishti pulao is a sweet rice preperation, luchi is similar to the puri. Luchi goes extremely well with kosha mangsho.
The final course was the desserts, Bengali cuisine is known for its desserts and it didn’t disappoint here. You have a choice of sita bhog, payesh, bhapa sandesh and cham cham.
Sita bhog is unlike any other sweet, it has rice mixed with chena , sugar , kesar etc. Payesh is a kheer, this was the best dessert for me. Super Creamy , rich and rightly sweetened. Sandesh is a simple classic made with reduced milk and sugar. Its often molded , embossed and flavored to create variations.
The buffet is priced at 1200++ , open for lunch and dinner with limited capacity to ensure social distancing.
Apart from the buffet they have a delivery menu which is reasonably priced . A non veg combo for 2 is priced at 800 which is an absolute steal.