Do you know that Dakshin is apparently a chain of restaurants associated with Sheraton in India, known for their authentic south indian food? Interestingly Dakshin at Crown Plaza Chennai was Sheraton hotel couple of months back. The management of Crown Plaza decided to continue with the brand of dakshin, though Crown Plaza is no longer part of Sheraton. Chennai is ofcourse known for serving most authentic food from different regions of south India, especially chettinad.
Crown plaza, Gurgaon hosted a week long chettinad food festival, where they Chefs from Dakshin, Chennai. This was an invitation that I couldn’t have refused.
Chettinad cuisine is perhaps one of the very few South Indian cuisines where you will find ample non-vegetarian dishes. Though they don’t eat pork or beef, however sea food, fish and lamb are always major part of their meal.
Chettinad is a region of Tamilnadu and it’s known for the most aromatic and spicy food. People of this region are mostly traders and business men. Cinnamon, black pepper and clove are the most important spices of chettinad cuisine. Chettinad cuisine also adds lot of tamarind to their dishes.
Kari kari mandi (Okra cooked in tamarind and garlic) , kari chops masala ( lamb chops) ,chicken chettinad ( kozi uppakari),Mean kozhambu( spicy tangy fish curry) and vegetable stew were the highlights of the ongoing chettinad food festival at Cafe G, Crown Plaza, Gurgaon. Raw banana fritters and mutton fritter were superb amongst appetizers.
Festival is on till 20th of this month and shouldn’t be missed. They have a rotating menu so it will be great if you call them and find out the details before visiting. Nevertheless, each dish has an amazing and authentic taste! It is a gastronomic journey to the heartland of Chettinad which has a mix of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes , with non-vegetarian items, occupying more space.
EVENT: Colors of South
OUTLETS: Café G
DATE: 11th till 20th march
PRICE: Rs. 2000 + taxes
