Firdaus at Taj Krishna, Hyderabad is known for its round-the-year available Haleem along with traditional Indian Khana. So when I got an invite to the Southern Coast festival, I was again apprehensive.
Because I thought it would be all about Fish. And what would a vegetarian like me get there? But then, there are small lessons waiting for you wherever you go.
Southern Coast Festival at Taj Krishna, Hyderabad
Being a Taj restaurant, you obviously expect the food to be tasty and well-presented. But the advantage of media lunches is that you get to interact with the Chef and his team and get to ask them questions. So while everyone was biting into their Meen i.e. Fish, I asked Chef Nitin Mathur a simple and maybe silly question. What is the difference between the cuisines of the east and west coast of India? Think about it – do you know the answer? I did not know it before I asked the question. But once I got the answer, I said – Yeah that sounds so simple and intuitive.
On the west coast, the curry base is made from coconut and the souring agent is Kokam primarily. While on the east coast the coconut is not as dominant and the souring agent is tamarind primarily. There are other minor differences like the presence of coconut oil in Kerala, and the use of Coconut milk on the upper West coast.
In fact, they had a curry made of almost raw tamarind paste with green onions in it, representing the east coast. Stew, Avial, Appam, and Parotha represented Kerala. And steaming Sannas represented Konkan Coast and Karnataka.
I am looking forward to the Makki ki Roti & Sarson ka Saag that the chef told us they add every winter to their menu.
The festival is on till the 14th of Nov.
Thanks for sharing this, Anuradha. Something else for a vegetarian like me to look forward to.
Great write up. Thank you!
Beautiful photography .