Relish The Tastes Of Telangana At The Westin Mumbai Garden City

Stepping into the quaint ambience of Kangan, the tranquillity took over and the traffic noise resonating in the head ceased. We were given a heart welcome at this beautiful restaurant at The Westin Mumbai Garden City and as we made ourselves comfortable, Chef M.V. Naidu graced us with his presence.

An Interaction With The Chef

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Humble, courteous and passionate in what he does, Chef Naidu spoke about the food of Telangana with such zest and enthusiasm that the eagerness to relish the meal seeped right in. Working as an Executive Sous Chef at Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre he had flown into Mumbai to give the city a zest of his hometown – Telangana.

He explained how Punugulu was a street food, initially made out of left over batters of idli and uttapa in different households. When asked on how the food of Telangana is different from the neighbouring states he emphasised on the fact that there is significance of using tamarind and the food needs to be hot with the use of native chillies. We then waited for him to cook up delicacies on the menu as we enjoyed the marvellous views of the city highway.

The Food

We begin with a platter of vegetarian starters that included – Punugulu, Aratipandu Uttapam and Masala Gaare. The Pungulu, made out of green gram lentils was deep fried, spicy and crisp. It went really well with the variety of chutneys – Tomato, Tamarind and Peanuts. Each one was a delight with tomato being spicy and tangy, tamarind being spicy with a hint of sourness and peanut chutney was rich and went well with the spicy snacks. Next we tried the Masala Gaare which reminded us of the famous dal wada of Mumbai but of course, Indian dishes do come together in a various versions. This one was spicy and so delicious that we finished it off in no time. To give a relief to the spices there was the Aratipandu Uttapam which is a pancake made out of bananas and we loved the cashews in it too!

Next came the non-vegetarian platter and we began with Kothimeer Royalu Fry, prawns with the freshness of coriander and spiciness coming from chillies, ginger and garlic. Absolutely delectable! The chicken, marinated in the spices of Telangana was called Kodi Vepudu and it went quite well with the peanut chutney. We tried the Khaima Koora which is spicy mince lamb cooked with finely chopped vegetables and a tempering of curry leaves. Essentially a main course dish, we tried this delicacy with a hot butter roti. The fish called Bandameeda Chepa was cooked simple ingredients like chilli and lemon. The chef explained that here in Mumbai he used the catch of the day but ideally in Telangana Murrel would be used. The preparation of the fish was simple and delicious.

The mains were served with steamed rice and hot rotis. We first tried the tangy vegetarian preparation – Mukkalu Pulusu. The dominating flavour was tamarind and the gravy complimented the vegetables beautifully. The tamarind flavour was evident in the fish preparation too and it was called Orugallu Chapala Pulusu, a must try.

Even though our stomach was full we couldn’t help but try the Kacche Gosht Ki Biryani and Saalan. The biryani was absolutely delicious, a different version altogether and the saalan made out of chillies tasted flavourful and we enjoyed it with the rice.

Last but not the least we loved dessert which was Double Ka Meetha. A layer of creamy rabdi served on hot and crisy bread pudding and the distinct aroma of cardamom was evident. The sweet was the perfect end to a grand meal and we recommend you visit Kangan at The Westin for a delightful dinner by 10^th of November as Chef Naidu will be in the city for a limited time.