The way to the airport is clogged so firmly with traffic that any flight I may have had to catch I would have certainly missed. It is a good thing, then, that I am driving to a dinner instead. While I would prefer to reach my food on time too, at least I know that it will wait for me.
My dinner this evening is at the ongoing Golden Triangle Food Festival at Food Exchange, Novotel. The hotel, situated in Aerocity, is a pretty long drive away, so by the time I do get there, the weariness of the journey sticks to me like flypaper. So really, it is a complete surprise, and a very pleasant one, when a little of it falls away when I enter the cool, calm lobby of the hotel. I am escorted to the restaurant housing the festival, and my mood lifts further. There’s something immediately eye-catching about the set up. It could be the obviously lavish spread in front of me, served buffet style and spanning the length and breadth of the restaurant’s centre, or it could be the cheerful, ethnic table cloths and generally festive ambience in the air. It is a weekday, and the weather outside can best be described as dreary, but inside Food Exchange, things are looking up.
The Golden Triangle festival promises to bring together the best known and loved dishes from New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, as well as a few other cities and towns around them. I take a quick first tour of the buffet, and I can see that this promise has been lived up to. The spread begins with a live chaat counter, the food served straight from the street vendors of Delhi –– papri chaat, golgappe, chhole kulche and a whole lot of other delicacies. Next comes a range of kababs, pakodas and fried goodness, a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian starters, accompanied by that green pudina and dhaniya chutney we know goes well with everything.
A counter for the daal baati churma serves up glistening baatis and three different types of churmas to choose from, all presented in earthen, colourful bowls to make your experience a little more authentic. The mains are interesting too and offer different preparations for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. The festival spread ends on a light, fun note, with bowls of pickles from across the three States and different types of those digestive pills (choorans) most of us have come to love.
My first course is made up of a little bit of everything, and I spoon portions of some vegetarian and non-vegetarian starters –– papad paneer, khumbh ki galaouti, silbatteki soya shami, as well as gosht ke parchey, sigrika tikka and talimachli — on my plate, before moving on the chaat station. There, I opt for a single golgappa (just a little taster), and a plate of papri chaat. A bowl of lamb shorba already waits for me at my table, and my first course has chased away any remnants of weariness from my system.
I begin with the chaat, and I am surprised at how authentic it both looks and tastes, considering the lack of traffic fumes and dust that generally add to the flavour of street food. There is a whole blend of flavours, spicy and sweet and tart, that go well together, and the crunch of the papri makes everything better. The golgappa, sadly over in a single bite, is good too, and I wish I had gotten more. But I have got my starters to tackle, and must concentrate on them now. While everything oozes with the fried goodness which accompanies dishes like these, I am especially impressed with the talimacchi, or fried fish, and the soya shammi. While the former is soft and retains all the freshness of the fish beneath the crisp covering, the latter is spicy and dense, and packs a whole lot of punch.
Now it is time for the mains, and I’m already beginning to feel a little full. Almost on cue, I am brought the most beautifully pink mocktail in a delicate little glass. It is called a guava Mary, and this spicy, sweet concoction promises to increase my appetite. Even though I don’t know if it’ll succeed in doing that, one sip of the drink convinces me to continue drinking it. It is light and delicious, and very cooling.
For my main course, I opt for the small portions of the lauki mussalam and the paneer pasanda, as well as the mushroom rice, the lamb biryani and the murg banjara. Everything is supplemented by a soft, generously buttered naan. The mains are rich, most of them drenched in thick gravy. The interesting thing is how each of them manages to distinguishes itself from the other, so that the paneer pasanda is sweet and rich while the chicken is a beautiful blend of spices.
My meal ends with a round of desserts, laid out beautifully at one end the buffet. There is kheer and gulab jamun and ras malai and phirni, and I am literally spoiled for choice. I pick up a bowl of phirni and a portion of gulab jamun, and when I taste both, am highly satisfied with my choices.
Venue: Food Exchange, Novotel New Delhi Aerocity
Date: On till August 7
Buffet Price: Rs. 1750 + taxes per person
