Date: On till 16th Nov 2019
Venue: Pluck, Pullman New Delhi Aerocity

Food and travel go hand in hand. Both of us at Delhi-Fun-Dos are ardent foodies and love travelling only if through a culinary experience. The Sri Lanka Food Festival at Pullman, New Delhi, Aerocity in collaboration with Movenpick Hotels and Resorts Colombo engaged us in some Sri Lankan gastronomical delight. We have been to Pullman a few times for trying Thai, Turkish and continental food.

But Sri Lankan cuisine is special. In terms of world cuisine, we share a curious relationship with Sri Lankan food. The fare in that country is familiar and yet not quite how we cook in India. There is copious use of coconut milk and spices in their cuisine.

To celebrate the Sri Lanka Food Festival, we attended a Sri Lankan Master class at Pullman, New Delhi, Aerocity. The class was conducted by Chef Sanjay who had come all the way from Movenpick, Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka. Chef Sanjay cooked a prawn curry – spicy succulent, and a sweet sour eggplant dish – both in Sri Lankan style. The pickled brinjal curry was more like a tangy salad and a beautiful balance to the fiery prawn dish. The recipes comprised familiar seasoning – onion, garlic, chillis, tomato puree, curry leaves and coconut milk. In fact we found similar seasoning in the other Sri Lankan dishes on the menu. Among the Sri Lankan menu at Pullman, do try the Kottu Paratha. This is minced bread mixed with chopped vegetables and mildly seasoned so that it could be had with other dishes. Also, lentil soup, or daal, cooked in coconut milk, was exceptional.

The regular buffet at Pluck was also on full swing and we dug into that as well. We loved the cold cuts, salads and desserts. The tomato meatball soup was mind bogglingly tasty. The meal ended with a unique Sri Lankan wine. This too was flavoured with coconut milk and the sweetness hit our palate on first sip. But gradually it grew on us.

A great way to know a country is through its food and to that end, our neighbour Sri Lanka provides great options both in terms of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. The Sri Lankan Food Festival at Pullman is a great opportunity to know this country. The festival is on during dinners till 16th November, 2019.
Bon appétit!