Grand Mercure Bangalore presents Dawat-E-Khas, a ten day long Hyderabadi Food Festival which aims at bringing the rich heritage of Hyderabadi cuisine on to your platter. Enjoy a blend of handpicked spices with an art of slow cooking and rich flavors of exquisitely prepared dishes, which will undoubtedly tantalize your taste buds. The spread is organised for dinner only and offers a wide variety of specialties savored by the Nawabs! The best part about this festival is that it is set up in ‘By The Blue’, one of the most premium pool side restaurant in Bangalore which is housed inside the Grand Mercure property. The place has brilliant picturesque view of beautiful pool surrounded by lush greenery. Read on to know more about this all amazing Food Festival, details of which can be found at the end of this post.

The moment you enter, the first thing you notice is a huge, like really huge poster of Char Minar with a lifesize stand-ins of king and queen, a proper place to get clicked in quirky avatars. The tables here are draped in white linen making it look very elegant and cozy.

To make you feel like an actual king, you can opt to sit on a Durbar like platform with curtains and a mock hookah pot. There are live counters set up beside the pool which looks very attractive with all the ambient lighting around them. Art enthusiasts can indulge in pottery, yes you heard it right!

Like I mentioned somewhere above, the dishes which are part of this food festival are open only during the dinner. I was here on a Sunday for bloggers meet to get a preview of this food festival, we all enjoyed our dinner and kind hospitality which Grand Mercure is known for.

We had the six authentic Hyderabadi dishes which was served on our table. First to arrive was Zafarai Paneer Tikka followed by Hara Mutter Sultani Tikka – a greenish Tikka served with an assortment of sauces. I liked the way our third dish was prepared – Khatti meetta Aloo, these were tiny chunks of Aloo with loads of sweet and spicy flavors coming out of it.

Non Veg appetizers from the Hyderabadi lands are an instant hit among us, their street food preparations were replicated in the most fashionable manner in Grand Mercure. You have live counters set up to pick these up, or you can probably ask the staff to get it all decked up on your tables. We set off with Murg Angara, a very yummy and juicy Kebabs with mild spices. It came on a skewers which were placed on top of a copper pot which emitted smoke, interesting!

We then had the Ajwainin Machi Tikka and Charminar Sheek Kebab which were representing the fish and mutton appetizers on this extremely elaborate menu. I liked the fact that each starter that we had were not mighty spicy, they had enough flavors to make them juicy and extremely tender.

No Hyderabadi food festival can be complete without offering this greasy delight called Haleem! What makes this particular spread stand out from others is the fact that they even have Vegetarian Haleem. Not many places in Bangalore offer this. Being a hard core non vegetarian, I had my eyes set on Gosht Haleem. This was such a sinful preparation and had the right amount of viscosity. The smoky flavor emitted along with richness of meat easily makes this a must try dish here.

There are seven varieties of curries we could choose from the buffet counter, and they are – Hyderabadi Achari Ghost, Dum Ki Machali, Murg Hara Masala, Qubani Malai Kofta, Gobi Musallam, Nizami, Khumb Matar Masala, Subz Nilgiri Korma and Lasooni Dal. Each and every gravy here looked rich and high on taste, I was almost full and decided to try out few of them.

 

Hyderabadi Achari Gosht which is basically Mutton in pickled flavor, it has a spicy aftertaste. Qubani Malai Kofta was a creamy delight which was more on sweeter side, but I loved the way this dish was prepared as the sweetish flavor did not overpower the overall taste. The gravies were accompanied by the assorted bread basket which can be customized based on your choice.

Other specialties available during this food festival on random basis are – soups such as Gosht ka Marag, Badami Shorba, Tamatar aur Dhania ka Shorba, appetizers which includes Nizami Paneer Tikka, Pathar-ka-Gosht, Rajme ka Shikhampur, Aloo Neze Se and more. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian entrees and live tandoor stations like Nazakati Dum Aloo, Hare Pyaaz ki Subzi, Dum ka Paneer, Rogani Machhli, Hyderabadi Murgh Korma, Gosht Haleem, Chicken Biryani, Kabuli Biryani.

 

 

Culminate your gastronomical journey with sweet treats namely Qubani ka Meetha, Shahi Tukda, Sheer Khurma, Dates wale Gulab Jamun and other indulgent desserts.

Further details regarding this food festival are listed here:

Available from:   Friday, 1st July to Sunday, 10th July, 2016
Venue:                    By The Blue at Grand Mercure Bangalore
Time:                       7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Price:                       INR 1,250/- plus applicable taxes

Hotel Address:
Grand Mercure Bangalore
12th Main Rd, Koramangala 3rd Block,
Contact No.: 080 4512 1212

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