A Navaratri spread worth coming hungry for

Sattvic cooking is one of the hardest things to do well. Strip a kitchen of onion, garlic, and meat and most menus collapse into something dutiful and joyless: food that technically qualifies but does not actually want to be eaten in our personal opinion. The Navaratri buffet at Royal Indianaa, is the counterargument to all of that.

A rotating menu of starters, hearty mains and an expansive dessert selection makes this Navaratri buffet worth exploring

The vegetarian spread here makes you forget you are eating within constraints, which is the only meaningful test of whether those constraints have been handled with real skill. The buffet runs on a rotating menu across five different spreads through the nine days. It is entirely vegetarian but it is not entirely sattvic: the spread includes both a no-onion no-garlic section for those observing the fast and dishes that include them for everyone else at the table who showed up less willingly. Our meal opened with Kulukki sarbat with lemon, chilli, and chia water, a very refreshing drink. The Murungai malli chaaru that followed was thick and dal-like, the drumstick and coriander working together in a soup that felt more substantial than a soup has any right to be.q

The starters are where the kitchen showed its hand. The Paneer katha mitha tikka is addictive and soft, the sweet-tart balance in the marinade keeping you reaching for another piece before the first one has settled. The Veg sheek kebab is potato-based and does what a good sheek should: it holds its shape, it has flavour through the whole thing, not just on the outside. The Arbi tuk and Chilli soy chap are both absolute must-tries. The arbi has just the right crispiness, a detail Chef Dinesh perfected after visiting a Sindhi family to learn the nuances of the dish.

The Sukka chakarakand in the main course section was the revelation of the afternoon. Sweet potato, dry-spiced, the natural sweetness of the vegetable doing most of the work while the seasoning just keeps it honest. Amazing is the word and it is the right word. The Paneer kurchan was hearty and well-executed, the Sabudana khichdi light and perfectly textured without any of the clumping that ruins it when it is made carelessly.

Dessert is generous in range: Makhana kheer, Rajgiri halwa, international desserts, ice creams and cut fruits, the spread wide enough that the table kept returning.

Meal for one: Rs 2,200. On till October 20. From 12 pm to 3 pm and 7 pm to 11 pm. At Royal Indianaa, Accord Metropolitan, T Nagar.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels