Last weekend, I went for a blogger meet-up with friends to try the food at BonSouth. The invite mentioned that it was a Hyderabadi/Nawabi food festival. I went to the event expecting traditional Hyderabadi cuisine. Boy, was I in for a surprise!
Generally, Hyderabadi cuisine draws its flavor from two rich legacies – the Deccani cuisine of Nizams with its delectable biryanis (rice flavored with meat and vegetables), haleem (pounded wheat and mutton dish) and kebabs, and the spicy Andhra style of food, laced with mustard, garlic, and chilies and eaten with doles of chutney and pickle.
BonSouth did a kind of fusion of Hyderabadi with some other South Indian cuisines, making it a most exciting and unexpected dining experience.
I knew the dining experience would be unusual almost immediately when presented with the amuse-bouche.
Interestingly named a curd atom bomb, this curd and chaat combo dish was an explosion of taste in my mouth and made the perfect start for a most unusual and innovative South Indian dinner that played with all our ideas of what makes up a South Indian meal.
After the amuse-bouche, we had multiple rounds of starters presented to us – all of which were universally good.
Here are photos of some standout items we sampled.
The Vegetarian starters
Because everyone at my table was non-vegetarian, I got to gorge myself on the veg starters. There was a lot of variety, but I loved these items the best—mouse over for descriptions of the food.
The kuzhi paniyaram (also known as paddu) and the banana twisters especially were very addictive, and they vanished out of the plates and into our mouths.
Another table favorite was the veg kurkure, which is like a South Indian spring roll.
The Non-vegetarian starters
I am a vegetarian, so I didn’t try any of the dishes mentioned here (except for the eggs) but based on other bloggers’ comments and the speed at which the food was consumed, I think these were the top non-veg starters.
But the real star was the Nizami murgh thangadi – a kabab of chicken leg – which everyone agreed was the best among the non-veg.
There were plenty of other starters offered to us as well – such as grilled paneer, grilled corn, Chicken 65, and so on. I am merely highlighting above what was the best of the best.
The main meal
Understandably, I wasn’t too excited to try the main course after such a generous helping of starters. So, we spent some time chit-chatting, taking photographs of all the food in the buffet. Eventually, I helped myself to only a select assortment of dishes.
The biryanis at the buffet looked incredibly tempting. There were three varieties – a chicken biryani, a mutton biryani, and a Zafrani Badami Pulao (the vegetarian option).
All the three biryanis smelt heavenly. I, of course, opted for the vegetarian option.
And of course, no South Indian meal is complete without the helping of curd rice.
Dessert options were there, but not plenty. I wasn’t too interested in the desserts after the curd rice anyway, choosing to end the meal with a small tumbler of filter coffee, finishing a most unconventional South Indian dinner on a very traditional note.
Details
Address: Bonsouth, #131,1st Cross, Koramangala 5th Block, Jyoti Nivas College Road, Bengaluru
Timings: 12 noon to 3.30 PM and seven – 11 PM
Reservations: 080 2552 6363
Pricing: Rs. 650/- onwards
Indian food is so interesting and flavorful. I would be right in there sharing the vegetarian dishes with you!
@glutenfreeazblog:disqus And lot of gluten-free options too!
I don’t know much about South Indian food and now I am very curious to learn more about it, what a great post.
@dianelarue:disqus Thank you. I’ve noticed that Indian cuisine abroad tends to focus on North-Indian food (mainly because the dishes are not as spicy). South Indian food when well done is awesome (but yes, the spice levels can be really high).
It all sounds rather yummy if challenging on the quantity. I doubt I could have eaten much after all those starter options
@disqus_gmoXW9BOB2:disqus the starters were shared by the entire table. However, still a lot.
I love Indian food so I can only imagine how good the food was.
Everything sounds so tempting, would like to have been there. I do love Indian food!
wow, I think I would have been full after the starters — no wonder you passed on the dessert. Everything, vegetarian and nonvegetarian. looks wonderful!
@BethFishReads:disqus Oh, yes! I was too full. I just couldn’t cope with the rest of the food.
If I lived near you, I would try this restaurant. Indian buffet restaurants in the US couldn’t compete with it.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
@maesander:disqus I’ve found that high-quality Indian restaurants are quite rare. And when they exist, they seem horrendously expensive.