Mangalore: Rajasthani Food Festival On at Gateway Hotel
 
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RS/CN)
 
Mangalore, Sep 4: The Gateway Hotel in the city is celebrating a Rajasthani food festival from Friday September 4 to Sunday September 13 in an attempt to bring to its customers the cuisine of the ‘Land of Princes’.
 
As part of the event, folk musicians and dancers from the state are also here to provide entertainment for visitors to the festival.

Vishal Sharma, manager of sales, said that they are conducting festivals every month. “Last month, Italian and Moplah food festivals were celebrated. Food festival is an opportunity to enjoy the food of other states and countries”, he said.
 
“Each cuisine is strongly associated with the culture of the land it originates from. Rajasthani food is linked to the love of ‘shikar’ (hunting) the Maharajas had and, along with the shortage of water and the weather in this area, is largely responsible for the taste of this cuisine”, he said.
 
“The Rajasthani food festival has recipes from the royal kitchens of Rajasthan. Some of the recipes were passed down generations while the rest have been lost forever”, said Vivek Walia, assistant manager of sales.
 
“‘Daal’, ‘Bhati’, and ‘Churma’ are the most popular in Rajasthani cuisine, but besides these there are a wide variety of items in the festival”, he said naming a few items and added that spicy chutneys are made of locally available species like turmeric, coriander, mint, and garlic.
 
“In non-vegetarian dishes, ‘Lal Maans’ (red meat), a fiery heavily-spiced dish, and ‘Safed Maans’(white meat) cooked with almond, cashewnuts, and coconut, are the highlights”, he added.
 
Vimal Sharma and Ajay Kumar from Rajastan are the chefs for this food festival. The food festival is being held at ‘Cardamom’ everyday after 7.30 pm.