Tango with mango

The ‘Aamilicious festival’ offers a thali with a mango flavour in every dish, from starters to dessert

Aamlicious thali

HYDERABAD: First things first. How big a mango lover are you? Your love for the king of fruits is bound to be put to test at Khandani Rajdhani restaurant when you are served the thali as it celebrates the Aamilicious festival this season. The king-sized thali includes a menu with regular dishes and those made with Aam (mango). The restaurant on Road No. 3, Banjara Hills is gripped with a yellow and green fever for the annual Aamilicious festival. Walk inside during lunch time and one can see stewards moving around in cheery bright yellow caps. Food lovers here celebrate the Aamilicious festival with near devotional fervour. Every year during summer, they enjoy a bevy of dishes and discover how mangoes can be relished in many ways beyond a juice, shake as part of a dessert. Marketing manager Soumali Chakraborty of Mirah Hospitality shares how there is more this summer for mango maniacs.

The table is set and the king of fruits arrives as starters in the form of a papad roll and potli with four dips including the ubiquitous raw mango pachhadi . The pachhadi is a new item the restaurant has introduced in the menu to cater to southern tastes. Experience a tangy taste of raw mango with every bite of Aam bhare papad roll. While Kairi potli kachori is crispy with its raw mango, spinach and green peas masala, Mango dal dhokli exudes the mango’s subtle taste. The dishes get the subtle taste of mango and not overpower them. “Even in the tangy kairi chilli samosa , the cutesy looking samosas are not too tangy in taste and the whole zesty mango thing doesn’t overpower.” The Alphonso variety of mango being used for this fest is sourced from Mumbai. “They are flown in on a day to day basis through our vendor,” points out Soumali.

For the main course, one can enjoy

Aam ki Launji with khoba

roti or have the all-time favourite

puri with

aamras .

Mango pulao will keep the rice lovers happy. Keep some space for the treat of the season mango

jalebi . As you bite into a slice, the jalebi feels heavenly and in the end a smile beckons when the mango stuffing touches one’s palette.

Corporate chef Maharaj Jodharam Choudhary reveals, “We think and try to experiment with each mango delicacy. Sometimes the dish does not come out well but we try again,” he states. What is his favourite? “ Aam ki Launji is everybody’s favourite thanks to its khat-meeth taste. In Rajasthan, this dish is prepared regularly in summer in every household,” he says.

The menu changes every day and includes one or two mango delicacies on a rotation basis. Aamilicious festival is for lunch and dinner and priced at Rs. 400 (weekdays) and Rs, 450 (Weekends) is on at the Banjara Hills and Sujana Forum Mall outlets till June 15.