K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Curd Chilies – Oh so good!!!
South Indian Food Festival, K19 Restaurant, Park Plaza Hotel, Kolkata

 

     K19 restaurant over at Park Plaza Hotel, Kolkata is holding a South Indian food festival which started on the 26th of February and will go on till the 6th of March. The lunch is a-la-carte and the dinner is a buffet (Rs 1299/- + taxes). When I first heard about it I was super excited to try it out coz I love South Indian food and no I just don’t mean the dosa or idlis or upma…which I do love a lot…but what makes my soul happy is some appam with spicy coconut curry! Oh sweet lord! So good!!! I was quite looking forward to the meal and the food over at K19 has not disappointed me yet. I have had some of the best food there and no I’m not just saying to promote the place 😛 I have not yet forgotten the Awadhi food festival I had the pleasure to enjoy last time so I had high expectations of this one too…
 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
South Indian Food Festival

 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Welcome drink – Hallu Hussru Panaga

 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Pineapple and Curry Leaf Salad
 
     The meal started with a welcome drink called Hallu Hussru Panaga which was a concoction made with green moong dal and jaggery. They used the ‘milk’ of raw dal to make this and though it felt cooling but it was not something to my taste especially cause of the raw taste. The chef mentioned that what we were about to sample was not even the tip of the iceberg compared to what they had planned for the festival ie in terms of the items being made. The veg starters consisted of Masala Vadai and Pazha Dosai. I love vadas in any shape manner or form! The dosai was very interesting as it was sweet and made from bananas. We were served the soup next called Murungaikai which was made from drumstick and moong dal. It looked like rasam to me but honestly it was so good! Very light yet flavorful. I didn’t stop until I finished the bowl and would have asked for more if we still didn’t have to go through a lot of food. 
 
K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Pazha Dosai

 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Masala Vadai

 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Soup – Murungaikai
 
     The mains came in next and in vegetarian I had Pumpkin Erussery, Kathrikai Kaza Kozhumbu (brinjal sabzi/curry), Mokkachonna Meriyali (babycorn sabzi/curry), Sambar, Rasam and Kavari Karai Khuska (rice made with raw banana). I still don’t believe that I had pumpkin and rasam! And liked them the best!!! There was no way I was going to have brinjal but I tried the gravy which was good. The babycorn also was quite good. And the rice was very different and I could not believe there was banana in it. But nothing could come close to the pumpkin and the rasam…nom nom nom! This was the first time I tried curd chilies and fell in love. The mix of spicy and sourness was so good! It was not overtly spicy and I just munched on one while waiting for the new course to get served. 
 
K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Sambar

 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Pumpkin Erussery

 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Mokkachonna Meriyali (babycorn)
 
     In the dessert we were served Aval Payassam (rice kheer/pudding) and Ukkarai (made from moong dal and coconut). I loved the flavor of the payassam which was another thing I could not stop eating. Made with jaggery and topped with a lot of cardamom this was the perfect end for me for an amazing meal. I was expecting the food to be very spicy and heavy as I had that preconceived notion about South Indian food. When the chef mentioned that the food was made in coconut oil I was very surprised coz I could not make that out at all. I have had a bad experience in the past of having food at my South Indian friend’s place where the food reeked and tasted of coconut oil. Not a pleasant memory. But the food was really good with it not being overtly spicy nor did it make me feel bloated. You must definitely try this out! Me and my friends are so going back there again as once was not enough for us. Check out Poorna’s or Dolon’s blog to find out about the non vegetarian options. I will see you soon! 
 
K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Rasam

 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Kavari Karai Khuska

 

K19 Park Plaza Hotel Kolkata
Aval Payassam (L) and Ukkarai (R)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PS – The author was invited by the PR of the restaurant to try out the menu. Views expressed are genuine and the author’s own.