Mood matches the menu

Osho and Chettinadu cuisine! At the first glance they do seem an unlikely combination. But last Saturday night they jelled well. Catching up with an old friend after years at the Raintree at the Taj Connemara was fun.

The setting couldn't have been better. Done up with all the right traditional touches, including a mami in madisar just to make the nibbles and the inevitable Bharatanatyam recital, Raintree was pretty as a peach. The weather too cooperated.

A selection of dishes from the Best of Raintree festival provided the sensory stimulation for the metaphysical moksha theory.

We caught up with the happenings in our life through a selection of starters. Over an interesting Yerra knolkol melagu, the conversation veered off to, what else, but water scarcity!

How can one live in the city and not talk about it at least once a day? As the topic was depressing, it was the yerra alone that sustained me.

Then came the next demoralising topic, scams. This time, it was the Sora meen puttu that saw me through. Soft and lightly spiced it did cheer me up. An excellent Karuvepilai yerra, prawn fry with curry leaf masala, too lightened the mood.

Osho and his teachings reflected in the menu. My plate was piled up with Yellu sadam, Cauliflower palkatti podimas, Vendakai melagu and Kozhi varutha curry after a trip to the buffet table. My friend suddenly popped the question, what is happiness? Chewing on the harmonious combination of the exquisitely flavoured rice and the vegetables, I was living the moment, experiencing the emotion. As he described his journey of self- discovery through Osho's books, I was making a temporal one--- Paya khorma and Appam made a perfect union. By the time we reached the dessert stage, my earlier picture of Osho had changed. Savouring Somas and Rangoon puttu, I was willing to explain away the Rolls Royces and other controversial media reports about him.

Ah! The effects of satiety. Simple, yet lovely was the transformation of the ordinary puttu to a sweet. The other choices were Pazha payasam, Rava kesari and Pumpkin halwa. It is Rs.450 a person for the buffet.

The plus taxes proviso is very much there. The fest will be on till September 16.

MARIEN MATHEW

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