Event Update: 'Jamva Chalo Ji' - Parsi Food Festival @Cubbon Pavilion, ITC Gardenia, Bangalore

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Food festivals are the best way to experience great food and learn about their culture. With the Parsi Food Festival on at ITC Gardenia's Cubbon Pavilion, I looked forward to the Parsi food on offer but also learnt that -

(1) Parsi food is a mix of Persian food influenced by Gujarati style of cooking.

(2) Fish is a symbol of good luck and is always a dish at celebrations and feasts.

Seated on a designated table, we walked around to explore the buffet which was expansive not just in terms of the dishes but also the cuisines and courses.What centered the buffet and remained my focus was the Parsi food which had various vegetarian and non-vegetarian classics as a part of the spread. 

Parsi Food - Vegetarian Spread

Parsi Food - Non-Vegetarian Spread

For starters, there was 'Paneer Akuri' and 'Bharuchi Akuri / Egg Akuri' both eaten with bread. There was also the wonderful 'Patra-Ni-Machhi' and 'Prawn Kebabs' in starters for the non-vegetarians. What I loved about the 'Patra-Ni-Machhi' was that the fish wrapped and steamed in banana leaf parcels was the ever fabulous white pomfret. The marinate of coriander and mint successfully soaked in the flavor of the banana leaf which in all completeness paired beautifully with the perfectly steamed fish.
Caution! Not being a fillet, do expect bones as you eat.

Patra-Ni-Machhi - In the steamer

Patra-Ni-Machhi - On my plate

Prawn Kebabs

For the mains, there was 'Salli-Ma-Murgi' and 'Mutton Dhansak with Dhansak rice, kuchumber and meat balls'. 'Salli-Ma-Murgi' - spiced chicken garnished with finely sliced fried potatoes (Salli) is best enjoyed with Indian breads (Rotlis to be specific). 

Salli-Ma-Murgi

Mutton Dhansak is a whole meal by itself. Traditionally, Parsi families assemble their Dhansak on their own to suit their taste buds and that's how it is served here as well. Mine was fully loaded with rice,  mutton meat balls, mutton dhansak (lots of mutton) and kachumber salad to top it all. I liked this preparation - the meat balls and mutton were delicious and the daal added to the flavor. For me, the only weak-link in this otherwise wonderful dish was the kachumber. I've known kachumber to primarily include slivers of onion (if not only onions) but here it was chunks of carrots that drove the show.

Mutton Dhansak with rice, kachumber & Mutton meat balls

For the vegetarians, there was a veg. version of dhansak (with out mutton) and the 'Tarkari-Nu-Kebab' taking the place of delicious meat balls. There was also 'Kharo Papeto' and more but my focus for this dinner remained the non-vegetarian food.

Being a part of the buffet; in addition to the Parsi section, there was a whole range of cuisines spanning the globe wide horizon right from Japanese to the American with a whole lot in between. In terms of courses, there were soups, breads, Anti-Pasti (cute little mono-portions of salads and meat), starters, mains, desserts and tea/coffee to finish with.

It is believed that no Parsi meal is complete with out their signature dessert - Lagan-Nu-Custard and 'Yes' it was there. This was my first taste of 'Lagan-Nu-Custard' and I loved this dessert. The sweetness and flavor of the cardamom was really well balanced and the texture was smooth and fluffy right in between the consistency of jelly and mousse.

Lagan-Nu-Custard

Don't remember the name of this dessert

With Chef Parvez Patel of Ideal Corner, Mumbai at the helm of things - the Indian section of the buffet at Cubbon Pavilion has been taken over to represent the wonderful Parsi cuisine for the remainder of this week. So 'Yes' each night for dinner; on till the 21st of September, the buffet at Cubbon Pavilion, ITC Gardenia will feature Parsi cuisine along with its standard elaborate offering at the regular price of Rs. 1600 plus taxes.

Address: No. 1, Residency Road, Bengaluru - 560025

Phone Number: +91 80 2211 9898