Coastal treats from Goa at Machan
Though it might not sound very ‘cool’, I haven’t been to Goa, yet. However, the same is in my destination list for my quest to try upon authentic Goan food. Whatever little dishes that I have tried till now are from Goa Bhawan.
The other day, I had a privilege of being invited to the much acclaimed restaurant in Taj Mahal Hotel- Machan ,to relish the rich Goan delicacies. I was actually looking forward to have an awesome food experience at Taj and I really had. It was indeed great to interact with the Chef Arun Sundaraj and to taste some of his signature dishes at the Coastal treats from Goa over a Saturday brunch at Machan.
I must tell you that you can enjoy this sumptuous spread over a Saturday Brunch till the end of October, 2015. The offering is actually a part of the ongoing celebrations of regional cuisines at the iconic restaurant. However, Taj seems to have taken quite an offbeat step to organize brunches on Saturdays, gradually setting up a trend. Thumbs up to the new trend!
Chef Arun Sundaraj, Executive Chef, The Taj Mahal Hotel was instrumental in relaunching the Lobster Shack which earned the reputation of being the best shack in South Goa. Inspired from his brief spelt in Goa, he has curated the Goan brunch on Saturdays at Machan.
While the live Goan band performed some classic Goan numbers, I had Chorizo Pulao, Clam Masala, Exotic Vegetable Malaguetta, Mutton Xacuti, Prawn Balchao, Goan Fish Curry,and Okra coconut.
Out of all the dishes, I loved Clam Masala the most. The Goan catholics and the Gowd Saraswat Brahmin, both have different ways of making Clam Masala. As told by Chef, the one being served at Machan followed the middle path in style of cooking. It was full of flavours- not too spicy. Chorizo Pulao- minced pork sausages cooked with rice was extremely flavourful. Mutton Xacuti was made with goat’s meat that has the flavor of coconut milk, curd and other spices.
Okra, a common vegetable, apparently changes it flavour after crossing the regional boundaries and I seem to love it in every form. Here, Okra was cooked with shredded coconuts which added a nice flavor to the whole dish. I relished all the dishes to the core.
One noticeable and outstanding section was that of the desserts. I had never seen something like this before. Although there were no specific Goan desserts but the hall was actually full of colourful desserts ranging from carrot cake to kalakand to suji ka halwa. I was really spoilt for choice.
Date: September 2015 – October2015
Price: INR 2600 plus taxes per person for adults, INR 2100 plus taxes per person for kids(6 -12 years);INR 3000 plus taxes for Goan Buffet with Port
Venue: Machan, The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi, Number One, Mansingh Road
