It is unconventional and a shift from the regular dosas and idli. South Indian food is much meatier than we ever think. Dakshin at Sheraton Hotel brings a quirky menu from the southern belt at its ‘Taste of Coorg Festival’. IKNOOR KAUR checks it out

When you first think of Coorg food, images of pork curry, fishchutney, tamarind rice and bamboo shoot curry pop up. But visiting Dakshin at Sheraton for the ‘Taste of Coorg Festival’ was a different experience. Contrary to the conventional Coorg preparations, they have twisted the menu into an interesting blend.

For coconut admirers, Dakshin seems to be a paradise. And for someone like me, who abhors it, the restaurant has the surprising ability to revise the taste-buds. Served to you as a welcoming drink is a mix of ginger — ale and mint in shot glasses. This is followed by a menu that opens a door to the vast variety of dishes including the ones from the sub–regions of South. So, the place brings here South Indian flavour with its authenticity.

Served on traditional banana leaves, the food majored itself around pork and mutton. Kodava food has pork as an important component and their pork dishes owe their magic to the masalas used in their making.

Plated as starters, traditionally called Prarambham, was one of their unique preparations of pork called Chilkana Pandi where the pork was marinated in local spices, Coorg vinegar and was browned in onion and green chillies. Along with it was the Prawns Rave Fry with sermolina coated prawns which were lightly batter fried. The distinct flavour of pepper highlighted the pork while the tangy taste of the prawns made for a good appetizer. Both of these were served with four kinds of chutneys, coconut, tamarind, tomato and coriander.

Digging into sub–regions of Coorg, known for its exceptional flavours of the Western Ghats, the fine–dining experience brought out a rustic feel. The main course, known as the Saivam called for a nice variety of dishes including pork, mutton and chicken. Their main dish started with Koli Mangyepajji which was boneless chicken cooked in green chilli, raw mango paste and drum stick.

Pandi Curry was festival’s trademark dish with Coorgi boneless pork preparation, enhanced with Coorg vinegar and pepper, eye chilli and Coorg spices. This was accompanied with kadumbuttu (rice dumpling). The subtle flavour of coconut with enhanced tanginess made this chew an exceptional experience. Another dish part of the same course was the Dry Pepper Yerechye which was tender mutton marinated with spices and fried with onions, tomatoes and chillies.

Though Coorg is primarily famous for red preparations, a bit of green was experimented too. Part of their vegetarian menu was Kuroo Curry which was an amalgamation of red beans and vegetables simmered in local masala gravy, flavoured with ginger and green chillies.

As it is said, ‘either you have it with rice or a rice based roti’, Dakshin provided a range of items to choose from as acoompaniments. Some of them were akki ooti, kadumbuttu and paaputtu. They had a non-vegetarian version of this too called yerchi koolu which was mutton cooked with rice and served with mango paji and raita. Even though the menu consisted of limited dishes, it managed to whet the appetite for Coorg food. Dessert Mangai Rasayana was a nice blend of ripe mango puree in sweetened milk with shopped mango. The texture of the pudding reminded us of kheer.

Fondly referred to as the ‘Coffee Cup of India’, this is one epithet that Coorg proudly carries with itself. Living up to that, the meter coffee of the region has a taste in the blend that comes only with precision while mixing the coffee. The chefs at Dakshin boast of this ability and offered some to us as a post meal beverage. With keeping a definite distance during the mixing process, the chef managed to bring out a blend that one would only find in Coorg.

The chefs in the Dakshin kitchen have personally spent months in Coorg, understanding and learning the authentic preparation of the food. That is one of the main factors that provide the authenticity in the food.

source: http://www.dailypioneer.com / The Pioneer / Home> Vivacity / Friday – June 28th, 2013