I was invited for an experiential meal on the occasion of 25th Anniversary of The Gateway Hotels signature restaurant - Karavalli. This iconic restaurant known for its authentic South Western Indian Coastal delicacies. Karavalli has, over the years, delighted gourmets, critics and celebrities alike with the aromas and flavors of home-food recipes from the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
Since I am a Goan, this cuisine is very close to my heart. The cuisine of our community was confined to the family kitchens in the deep interior. Karavalli, at The Gateway Hotel, Bangalore, captured and showcased them. The chef's were actually sent to the kitchens of traditional homes to learn the authentic recipes from the place of origin.
The ambiance was really beautiful. Karavalli at The Gateway Hotel, is located in a beautiful bungalow. They have 3 sitting arrangements namely outdoor, indoor without AC and indoor with AC. The Indoor with AC looked royal and ancient. We were seated in the indoor area without AC, but since they have huge windows this place is cool and airy just like traditional homes in the coastal region. Guests here prefer the outdoor seating area because of the beautiful decor which brings one close to nature.
Beautiful brass plates with banana leaves were placed on the table where the food was served.
We started with some coastal nibbles.
The star dish of the day was The Tiger Prawns Roast was made of fresh tiger prawns. These were tossed in a Kerala spice mix full of fresh flavors of tomato, ginger, coconut slivers, lemon juice and traditional spices.
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| Tiger Prawns Roast |
There was another star dish named Meen Eleittad from the Malabar region. This was a black pomfret marinated in Malabar masala, wrapped in banana leaf and pan fried to perfection. Each and every bite of this left me craving for more.
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| Meen Eleittad |
Next came Koli Barthad from Coorg. It was made up of chunks of chicken, pan-fried in a blend of roasted spices and the tart flavours of Coorg Vinegar. This dish is made up of black pepper from Coorg which has become the "Gold Standard" for pepper throughout the world.
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| Koli Barthad |
We were served with some mocktails too.
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| Virgin Pinacolada |
There were some cocktails which suited the Karavalli theme.
The virgin martini was customized made specially for me.
Next came a dish from Mangalore - Kane Kaidina that is whole lady fish pan cooked after being seasoned generously with finely ground Mangalorean spices.
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| Karavalli Special Cocktail |
The virgin martini was customized made specially for me.
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| Virgin Martini |
Next came a dish from Mangalore - Kane Kaidina that is whole lady fish pan cooked after being seasoned generously with finely ground Mangalorean spices.
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| Kane Kaidina |
In the veg starters we had Oggaraneda Aritha Pundi which is steamed rice dumplings, flavored with coconut and cumin. These dumplings were deliciously soft.
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| Oggaraneda Aritha Pundi |
We also had Pachakkai Varuthathu which is a dish of Kerala origin that is crisp fried raw banana, tossed in a tangy Kerala spice mix.
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| Pachakkai Varuthathu |
The main course consisted of different curry pots which were served with different accompaniments like Appam, Malabar Paratha, Idiappam and plain steamed rice.
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| Malabar Paratha |
My favorite dish in the main course was Allapuzha Meen Curry consisting of seer fish, simmered in a moderately spiced gravy of coconut, ginger and raw mangoes. The fish curry was cooked to the mark of perfection and I thoroughly enjoyed eating it. They have used Byadgi chilies in the curries which they have sourced from its place of origin - Dharwad. These chilies provide the rich orange color to the curries and have a mild spice level.
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| Allapuzha Meen Curry |
Kozhi Malliperlan was made up of boneless chicken pieces and vegetables in a tender gravy of coconut milk and fresh spices.
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| Kozhi Malliperlan |
Next was a gravy from Travancore, Kerala - Attirachy Ularthu. This gravy was made up of lamb cubes cooked with onion, tomato and fresh spices,including ginger, green chilies and fennel powder.
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| Attirachy Ularthu |
The Maavinakai Mensukkai which comes from the Havyakas region of Mangalore consists of chunks of preserved mangoes cooked in a blend of coconut and chilies. The curry consisting of coconut and red chilies and was not grinded in modern electric mixer but in mechanized stone grinders to preserve the robust flavors of the coconut-rich masalas. This is a secret why the dishes taste as delectable as they should be.
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| Maavinakai Mensukkai |
We also had some nice hot rasam to drink and crispy fried cauliflower. The rasam was one of the best rasam I have ever had in South India.
Delicious Pathrade were also served which was made up of steamed rice in spicy masala in Colocossia leaf.
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| Rasam |
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| Deep Fried Cauliflower |
Delicious Pathrade were also served which was made up of steamed rice in spicy masala in Colocossia leaf.
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| Pathrade |
Pachakkari Stew was an exceptionally tasty veg curry with seasonal vegetables which were gently simmered in coconut milk.
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| Pachakkari Stew |
Urullakkizhangu Roast is a dish from the Malabar region consisting of Baby potatoes which are roasted with fennel, chili, Malabar masala in a blend of several spices and lime juice.
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| Urullakkizhangu Roast |
Every bite of the meal took me into a flash-back of the past. It took me to my childhood where my aunties used to make Idiappam which we call "Shirvolyo" in Konkani.
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| Idiappam |
We also had appam which were made of rice batter fermented in toddy to give it an authentic taste. The Malabar paratha was also as it should be.
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| My Plate With Food |
For desserts we had some signature dishes from Goa like Bebinca and Dodol.
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| Desserts - Kheer, Bebinca, Dodol With Ice-Cream |
Bebinca is a delightful coconut based multi-layered, Goan specialty served warm with Vanilla ice-cream. This is a difficult dish to prepare but the chef's here have mastered the art of making Bebinca and they make it at their own kitchen at Karavalli. The most impressing things was that the layers were very thin adding extra taste to the dish.
Dodol is another Goan specialty. It is a rice cake which is gently cooked in coconut milk and jaggery. It was served warm with vanila ice-cream.
We also got to taste some Elaneer Payasam i.e. chilled tender coconut pudding laced with jaggery.
Chef Naren Thimmaih shared lots of stories from the kitchen from his 25 years of experience with us. He also told us how some dishes were made and how the beautiful cutlery was custom made. The chef and the staff were extremely friendly and provided world class hospitality. K25 Karavalli Classics consists of 25 dishes handpicked by the Chef. Since the last 25 years, neither the Chef changed nor the taste of the dishes.
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| Chef Naren Thimmaih |
The evening ended with a surprise dessert which was not on the menu. It was banana caramel ice-cream which was as yummy as possible.
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| Banana Caramel Ice-cream |
The food here was really good and it will linger long for years to come. Synonymous with best-in-class food and service in Bengaluru, Karavalli has also been voted amongst The S. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants.
My Rating: 5/5
Address:
Gateway Hotel, 66,Residency Road, BangaloreFor more interesting posts of this type follow Raksha's Kitchen on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
