Chettinad arrives in Ahmedabad...

Dravida at Fern in Ahmedabad hosts Chettinad food fest. The fest is about serving authentic Thalis from Chttiar region of South India, which is apart from their elaborate South Indian Menu.

This unique food festival features mouth-watering delicacies from the golden era of the Chettiars who believed in living life king size! Their traditional food was well balanced & flavoured which helped them to stay healthy & fit. The Chettinad cuisine is further enhanced by the hand pounded spices, a tradition from the past and Chef Gersome from Chennai with his team painstakingly prepares the delicacies in the same traditional manner. To retain the authenticity of food, efforts are put in to such an extent that shallots, black sesame oil and spices are brought in from South India, which hels imparting the exact flavour to the recipes. Traditional stone grinder is used to fully extract and impart flavour and right texture..

Such initiatives taken by any hospitality group puts them on list of favourites for a connoisseur.

When one walks in alone, you tend to notice every detail, the crockery with geometric growing and rising pattern..the flat gold and white circular plates, nice extra large wine glasses.. No wine though ;) filled with warm water (my preference), within a while three kinda freshly prepared chutneys arrive at the table.

The culinary journey begins with a mutton soup (when you opt for a non-veg version of thali). A rich broth that has goodness of spices; a typical feature that continues for Chettinad cuisine.

The Gold plate is replaced by a full version of a Chettinad Thali, complete meal, comprising of starter, main-course and the dessert with carnatic music running in the back drop to complete the experience and soothe your auditory and olfactory nerves cells along with activating your taste buds.

 Aadi Kummayam made from Udad dal and Jaggery

Conclude with inhouse pan

Some of the highlights of the fest are :

·         - Kola Mutton (mutton ball starter) prepared with minced meat, khus khus, cashew, grated coconut,   cinnamon, curry leaves, pepper etc all mixed with desi ghee

·         - Viraal Meen Varuval: fish marinated with spices and grilled to perfection

·        -  Mutton Uppu curry: Onion shallots, black sesame oil, whole red chillies, garlic and mutton

·        -  Vazhapoo Vadai : Deep fried crunchy Veg starter made of banana flowers and chana dal

·        -  Ennai Kathri Kai: Eggplant cooked with roasted peanuts, sesae, tamarind gravy, dry roast spices and       whole red chillies

·       -  Urulai Pattani Koottu: Boil Potatoes, green peas with gravy of coconut, green chilli and fennel

Duration of Chettinad Thali fest 23rd Dec’ 2017 to 30th Dec’ 2017