Navratri is known for various things and the festive season is also the time friends and family gather up to sing and dance. Well, after an exhilarating night of Garba, wouldn't one want to have one of the tastiest meals of the year? That is where the Navratri special thali comes in ITC Grand Chola and we tried one of the best thalis that was curated for the festivity.
Also read: Go Gujarati this Navratri
Curated by chef Siddharth Chowdhary and Shruthi Shenoy the thali contains 18 dishes in total. Admittedly, we couldn't try them all, but we did get a taste of all the main dishes that are on offer. Having gulped the customary refreshment drink in one go, we were presented with the thali, which contained nine dishes in total. The chefs explained that each day the dishes on offer would change, so that there is something new to look forward to every day.
We began with the Khoya Paneer Tikki which is a stunning starter, for it is soft and delicious and hits the spot when served hot. The Sabudana Vada that we tried next had the perfect crunch and interestingly, of all the dishes present on our plate, it was the only one to have been cooked using oil. Most dishes had ghee in them and of course, since people are concentrating on getting healthy more so now than ever, the chefs even made sure not to use sugar anywhere and make use of jaggery instead.
Digging further into our healthy platter that is rather colourful, we find that many of the dishes are made using curd. The Dahi Wale Aloo and the Kheera Ka Raita are notable dishes. While the first was steamy, with the right texture, the raita was cold and made the experience all the more enjoyable, kind of like yin and yang. There were also other dishes such as the Karari Arabi (which was very tasty), the Singhare Pakode Ki Kadhi and our second-most favourite, the Singhare Ke Poori which was as puffy as a fresly baked bread.
So, what was our favourite dish of the lot you ask? It was, without a doubt, the Thande Phalo Ke Kheer. The fruit kheer simply hits the right spots, making you let out noises, the right stuff of course!, even. Oh! did we mention that the famous Samak Chawal Ki Khichdi was also offered to us. We did like it a lot, for it was rich in every sense.
INR 2,590 (all-inclusive) per person. 7-11.30 pm. On till October 24. At The Madras Pavilion in ITC Grand Chola.