It is uncanny how food has this ability to surprise with memories. Raju and I sit at Fairfield by Marriott, waiting for the Gujarati/Rajasthani thali to be put before us and almost simultaneously we say, “Remember the Gujarati place in Hyderabad?” That was 1987. We were newly married and lived in the Mess, so were constantly on the look out for places to eat. This Gujarati thali place (neither of us remembers the name) was on the upper floor of a drab building. We sat on stools with strangers on either side of us, behind long bench-like tables, and, before long, a relay of servers doled out food on our thalis. Kadhi, undhiyo, steaming dal, an assortment of vegetables and, of course, the indispensable farsan . Rotis made of various grains came rapidly and the owner/manager stood right over us urging us to try this and that. For me the highlight was him insisting I have melted ghee and gur with a roti! I did and have been a fan ever since.
Chef Kalluram Mehta and the generous thali
I am older now, of course, so there is not so much of that ghee and gur thing happening in my life right now, but meeting Chef Kalluram Mehta who has orchestrated the Marriot Fest brings back the sweet memories. He is a chef with much experience and, as a Rajasthani who has grown up in Gujarat (Surat), he is the perfect choice to bring the best of cuisines from both states. And so it begins. We are served with lovely thandai with a hint of pepper to moisten our palates. Then we get a fragrant khus-khus drink with which we wash down our farsaan (in this case alu bonda and methi na muthiya).
Chef Mehta gestures and out come big, shiny thalis arrive with many katoris. I love that about a thali. You get a sort of a preview about what is in store and you can always ask for seconds, sometimes thirds and fourths and so on. I can instantly recognise the kadhi, the undhiyo and the sprouts dal. We have had it many times in our travels across Verawal, Junagarh, Vapi, Surat, Baroda, Ahmedabad and Rajkot. For me, a Gujarati thali aces any other kind. The Rajasthani element is the Dal Baati Churma. Soaked in ghee, crunchy and served with hot dal. There is a satisfyingly spicy pulao of sorts. “It is a Rajasthani masala,” says Mehta. A tad spicy for me, I put out the fire with the creamy shrikhand. The undhiyo is everything I remembered. Made of 18 different vegetables, some not so common ones one finds in restaurants like the sweet potato and yam, that is just lovely.
There are several pickles, Shurti Dal, Gatte Ki Sabzi, Panch Milli Bhaji, Ker Kumbtiya Sangri, Ram Khichidi and a chaat counter. We polish off the thali and Chef Kalluram nods approvingly. “ Khaana Annapoorna ki den hai. Waste nahin karna chahiye. ” (Food is a blessing from Goddess Annapoorna. We should not waste it), he says. It is a philosophy we would all do well to follow. We discuss the many train journeys that were made extra special because there were Gujarati co-passengers who always shared the contents of their massive steel tiffin carriers complete with pickles, chutneys, farsan and dessert! We refrained from sharing our sorry parcel of cold idlis as we heartily tucked into their delicious food! On that sweet note, helped along with another bowl of Shrikhand, we take leave of Chef Kalluram and stagger home.
Gujarati & Rajasthani Food Festival
On till August 19 for lunch (12.30 to 3.30 pm) and dinner (7.00 to 11.00 pm)
At Fairfield By Marriott on Airport Road
Cost is ₹599 plus taxes per person
For reservations, call 0422-6644300 or 7094446604
