Nagpur: This year will be the 16th that Haldiram will be hosting their annual winter food festival under the name India-in-a-Thali.
This is basically food festival of specialty foods of four Indian states : Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab.
It will begin with Rajasthani thali called “Rajwadi Rasoi” from 2nd to 7th December. Unique Rajasthani cuisine will be served like Dal Bati, Kair sangri etc.
This will be followed by Maharashtrian “Peshwai That” that will have all popular Marathi dishes.
Mr. Naresh Duggal, G.M. of Haldiram and man in charge of all their menu planning told the media that Marathi food will not be the oily, spicy kind you get in restaurants locally. (He probably meant Saoji joints!).
“The play will be on typical masalas made locally and very popular with people here. You will be able to smell the aroma and know what masalas have been used before you enter Thaat Baat.”
NT learnt that some of the dishes on offer will be puran poli, bharli wangi, peshwai paneer ec. This paneer preparation will not be like their Punjabi dish at all – the ground masala will be made of khas khas and onions etc. This will be from 9th to 14th December.
Marathi food will be followed by Gujarathi festival called Ras Ranjan which will be held from 16th to 21st December and lastly will be Punjab da Swad from 23rd December to 28th December.
Those who miss their state cuisine can enjoy authentic Surathi Undhion during Ras Ranjan festival. This dish utilizes almost 30+ vegetables and ingredients some of which are not available locally. These will be imported from Gujarath.
Lastly speaking about the Punjab da Swad, Mr. Duggal could not help raving about Punjabi food since he is Punjad da Puttar himself!
“Punjabi food is very rich and one not used to it cannot eat much, but Nagpur winters are so delightful and cold everyone will enjoy the creamy Sarson ka sag and other dishes we shall offer” he promised.
It appears as if there are a single day gaps between any two festivals but Thaaat Baat will remain open on these days too serving their normal thali.
“We will be using this day to set up the decor for the next festival and will also be trying out the cuisine in our kitchen” informed Naresh. Nromal thali food will be served on these days.
He emphasized that Thaat Baat is open 364 1/2 days – only being closed in the first half on Holi when people play colour.
Timings will be 11 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. everyday.
An attractive feature of these festivals is the Family Pack of 4 thalis that can be home delivered ( by Haldiram if it is within 2Km radius or through Food Panda anywhere in the city). It will cost Rs. 925/ only. Individual thalis will be priced at Rs. 289/ per head. Thali for a child will be for Rs. 199/
Besides bringing India to you in a thali, there are a host of fantastic prizes Thaat Baat bring to you to be won daily, weekly or through a Bumper Draw. The 1st Prize in this draw is a Honda Activa Scooter from Sudarshan Motors; the 2nd Prize is a LED TV; the 3rd Prize is a Refrigerator; the 4th Prize is a Washing Machine; 5th Prize is a R.O Water Purifier; the 6th Prize is a Microwave Oven; the 7th Prize is 3 days 2 nights holiday stay in Hotel V W Canyon; 8th Prize is Weekend Holiday, 2 Days 1 Night stay at V W Canyon; 9th Prize is an air ticket for couple, Nagpur to Goa to Nagpur; 10th Prize is a double bed mattresses, 11th prize is a geyser and the last and 12th prize is four burner gas range.
A great favorite with the ladies has been the Free Mehandi and Nail Painting. Valet Parking has been provided for convenience of the visitors.
