This star hotel doles out authentic flavours of Kerala at the Adipoli food festival

When it comes to comfort food, the ubiquitous flavours of Kerala are high on our list. It takes us down memory lane of growing up in the picturesque state. Needless to say, when we were invited to the Adipoli Food Festival at the Waterside Feathers Hotel, we felt like we were in God’s own country, literally.

As we stepped into the premises, the vibrant Pookula, Aana nettipattam (elephant caparison), and Pookkalam screamed for our attention. It seemed like Onam had arrived a tad early in namma Chennai.

And what’s a festival without an elaborate fare. The huge spread offered a multitude of vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies, and the array of tingling treats bowled us over with their enticing look.

We began our culinary journey with some refreshing Kulukki sherbet, which was served as a welcome drink. As for food, we decided to kickstart the gastronomic odyssey with one of our all-time favourites, appam and vegetable stew. The classic dish, we believe, was a match made in heaven. We loved the pillowy appam dunked in a medley of vegetables cooked in coconut milk.

As we polished off the finger-licking combination, we realised this culinary journey was going to be a long one. Without further ado, we dove into the vegetarian delicacies and loaded our plate with some Cheera thoran, Parippu curry, Papaya pachadi, Avial, and Thenga chamanthi, along with a few spoonfuls of matta rice. Coconut, which is an integral part of the Kerala cuisine, added a naadan touch to the food.

Life is better with a plate of biriyani, so when we spot biriyani, there is no way we would let it go. As the aroma of Thalassery biriyani wafted in the air, we launched a delicious attack. The icing on the cake was Tenderloin ularthiyathu, a classic Kerala dish prepared by slow roasting of tender chunks of tenderloin in aromatic spices. Our joy was evident on our faces, and the beef made for a perfect match with Malabar parotta.

We are hardcore fish lovers, and we like fish in all formats, be it fried, roasted, steamed, pickled, or curryied. The Malabar fish curry bursting with Kerala flavours was one of our favourites on the menu. The rich creaminess of coconut milk and aromatic spices with steamed rice was like a match made in heaven. We also tried the Chemeen varutharacha curry, prawns cooked in roasted coconut gravy, and they both made for perfect fits. The Karimeen pollichathu arrived piping hot, and the fried fish coated with masala and wrapped in a plantain leaf was melt-in-the-mouth soft.

We culminated our meal with traditional Kerala desserts, Ada pradhaman and Chakka pradhaman, payasam made with jackfruit and coconut milk. The payasam was a bit too runny to our liking but nevertheless made for a fitting finale to the meal.

Until July 28.

Lunch- INR 2,250 nett.

Dinner -INR 2,500 nett.

Brunch - INR 3,000 nett.

At Waterside, Feathers,

A Radha Hotel.

sangeetha.p@newindianexpress.com

@psangeetha2112