Most of us in Delhi have very limited exposure to Chettinad cuisine. Today's pop-up at The Lodhi showcased an extensive choice of dishes from The Bangala Table. A lovely sit-down lunch proved to be a delicious celebration of the rich repertoire of this ancient cuisine. And trust me, there's much, much more to the cuisine than Chettinad Chicken! In fact, I was particularly impressed with the variety of vegetarian fare that left me licking my fingers.
Nestled in Karaikudi, The Bangala is almost a 100-year-old heritage hotel in the heart of Chettinad. It is renowned for its family kitchen, which has been rated the 28th Best Restaurant in India by Condé Nast Traveller in 2018. While you can book exhaustive masterclasses on Chettinad cuisine at the property, the recipes have been documented in a book, The Bangala Table. Co-authored by the family matriarch Ms. Meenakshi Meyyappan and Sumeet Nair, it includes classics like Chettinad Mutton Fry, Chettinad Chicken Pepper Masala and Quail 65; Crab Rasam to Anglo-Indian Mutton Cutlets; Pineapple Curry to Prawn Biryani; as well as the Chettiar vegetarian specialty Mandis to more familiar Pachadis.
Coming back to today's lunch: It started with koottu (mildly tempered seasonal vegetables), potatoes and peas masala poriyal, pomegranate raita, sweet mango pachadi, snake gourd bhajis and banana flower vadai. While there was a fair bit of aromatic mutton, chicken, crab and kingfish, the highlights for me ended up being butter beans kurma, pineapple curry and mandi made with bhindi, shallots and garlic with lemon rice, tomato rice, plain rice and a variety of poppadams completing the meal.
Chefs from The Bangala have flown down with special ingredients to make this experience as authentic as possible. This promotion is especially for DLF properties with an exclusive dinner on 20th September at Golf Lawns, for The Camellias and King's Court patrons; dinner on 21st and 22nd September at DLF Golf Club; lunch and dinner on 24th and 25 th September at The Lodhi, New Delhi and finally lunch and dinner from 27th to 29th September at Magnolias Club.
