Food fest celebrates Tamil Nadu’s coastal culinary riches

CHENNAI: To offer Chennai food enthusiasts a truly unique experience, Radisson Blu Hotel GRT Chennai has introduced Kari Theory. This diner specialises in traditional Tamil Nadu street foods while embracing a multi-sensory concept. In celebration of Kari Theory’s first anniversary, the hotel is hosting a food festival called Kadal Virundhu.

Discussing the idea of offering street food in an exotic setting, executive chef Kishore shares, “I have travelled to over 10 countries and mastered Mediterranean and European cuisines. However, I deeply desired to expand and elevate Tamil cuisine. Bringing street food to a resto-bar setting was a unique concept I wanted to explore. We spent six months travelling across various regions of Tamil Nadu, from North Chennai to Thoothukudi, documenting traditional recipes. We introduced a multi-sensory concept by presenting these traditional dishes in a contemporary style, evoking nostalgic memories for our customers.”

Kishore gave us inputs on why regional cuisines have been trending for quite some time now. “Regional cuisines give the freshness of the ingredients and people prefer that to taste the authentic and local flavours of that particular region,” adds the chef, who has more than two decades of culinary experience. He stated that with growing social media usage, people are becoming aware of the local cuisine and wish to experiment with the flavours.

For the Kadal Virundhu food festival, the diner concentrates on seafood across regions and handpicked the best ones from documented recipes.

We visited the food festival and started with the nandu rasam, which had a perfect balance of seasoning and flavours. The nandu omelette was good but could have benefited from more meat. The pala pinji tawa roast was light and made for a delicious quick bite. The presentation of the nethili fry was particularly noteworthy, with the chefs creatively recreating a beach scene by grinding parotta to resemble sand. The texture of the Pichavaram eral pidi urundai was excellent, with a flavourful and appetizing taste. We also enjoyed the beach sundal, which took us on a delightful trip down memory lane with its nostalgic flavours.

The Thiruvindhai karuppu ulundhu wadai with chutney is not just a must-try but also a healthy bite. The masala of Fore Shore Estate kanava tawa roast was splendid with a balance of spicy and other flavours. Sennakuni podi idli also aced our list with the right incorporation of the sennakuni taste. The Pazhaverkadu meen kozhambu was tangy and the Kayal Pattinam yeral urundai biryani had more of a mint flavour.

Coming to the traditional desserts, we liked the luscious balck rice halwa. The Muscoth halwa was also palatable and delicious.

Kadal Virundhu festival is happening till June 16 Kari Theory, Radisson Blu GRT Chennai.