This food festival in Chennai aims to give a taste of Punjabi food to those living down south

Punjabi cuisine is known for its rustic taste and use of spices, especially in the non-vegetarian format. That is not to say that vegetarian fare is any less lip smacking, but the ubiquitous butter chicken, Amritsari choley, naan, dahi vada, palak paneer – the list can go on, but there is no denying the fact that this is a category of food that tastes as good as it looks. So with our mouths salivating, we turned up at Ayna, the Indian restaurant at Hilton Chennai. To make matters easier, you get a choice between vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis, both of which contain items that take you back to the region.

Guest chefs Sidakpreet Singh Kalra and Rahul Wali have really put their heart and soul into the food. We started with a refreshing glass of Gulabo lassi, the famous curd based milk drink with rose flavouring. This gave us some relief from the heat outside, and we first tasted the teh pe the, which consisted of three layers of paneer with some mint and other sauces in between. This tasted really good and had our taste buds wanting more. We followed up with the dahi ke kebab, yoghurt with a filling of mango marmalade…this one just had to blow our minds away! In non-vegetarian starters, the mince filled tangri was quite delicious, with the flavours of tandoor intermingling very well with the keema.

Already starting to fill up, we decided to head for the main course. The first was guchi methi malai matar. Morel mushrooms with fenugreek and peas cooked in a cashew curry was simply decadent and mushroom lovers will surely trip on this. Turning our attention to the non-vegetarian, we first had the mutton Beliram, slow braised mutton pieces in brown onions, yogurt and select spices. The gravy was really flavourful and the succulent mutton was just falling off the bone – combined with a missi roti, this was a real Punjabi haven. But we were not done here. Next came the Keeme wali champ, basically ribs cooked with a mutton mince with tomato and other sices. This was an excellent part of the thali as well. And where would Punjabi cuisine be without butter chicken? Enter Murg Makhanwala, tandoor roasted boneless chicken cooked with butter and tomato – a divine combination!

Enough was enough, our tummies were bursting by now so we just tasted the ma kid al, that was quite light and delicious and straight away hit the desserts with a kulfi with rabri and mewa mawa kheer, a North Indian version of the payasam with dry fruits. Post this, we could hardly move!

The Pind ka Chaska festival is worth checking out if you are looking for an authentic North Indian food experience. Just make sure you fast for a whole day before you go!

Priced at INR 2,000 ++ onwards per person

Open for lunch and dinner at Ayna, Hilton.