Marathi manducations! Expect delicacies from Vidarbha at Radisson Blu Atria's new pop-up

The first image that comes up in one’s mind when one thinks of Maharashtrian food is quite sadly, the ubiquitous vada pav. For some, it might be the misal pav and for just a few, it might also extend to other favourites like thaalipeeth, varan bhaat and Malvani or ‘Kokan’ cuisine.

It’s only once in a while that food festivals celebrate the foods of Vidarbha or Marathwada and so when we heard that One Atria Café at Radisson Blu Atria Bengaluru was organising a Maharashtrian Food Fest pop-up focusing on those regions, we were there in full attendance to relish the flavours of this region that skirts the Vindhyas.

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“The idea is to give patrons an idea of what Maharashtrian home food is all about. We’re focusing on vegetarian favourites from across the state, but since I am from Nagpur, there will be quite a few Vidarbha favourites like poha served with tarri, jhunka served with jowar rotis and a whole bunch of other dishes that are native to several regions across Maharashtra,” says Meera Deshpande, a Bengaluru-based home chef, who is curating the menu.

Look forward to a dozen dishes every day comprising vegetarian main course, desserts, breads, rice-based dishes and a non-vegetarian speciality. “We’re sticking to interesting simple desserts like shrikhand, rava laddus, besan laddus and much-loved favourites like thaalipeeth and bhartas to ensure anyone would enjoy the festival,” adds Meera.

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Non-vegetarians can look forward to specialities like Mutton Maratha, Chicken Pandhra Rassa, Chicken Kolhapuri and Chicken Saoji. We dug into a delicious thaali put together by executive sous chef, Abu Backer, featuring the delicacies made for the evening and were mindblown by the jowar roti paired with home-style paneer and a vangyache bharit (baingan bharta).

We were pretty satisfied with just that and wrapped up our meal with a generous serving of saffron shrikhand. The dinner buffet also features 30+ other dishes in case you want to satiate your craving for food beyond Maharashtra.

INR 1,800 onwards. On till September 3. Only for dinner. At One Atria Café, Radisson Blu Atria Bengaluru, Palace Road.

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