Mouthwatering seafood from land of Raavan

BENGALURU: South Indian restaurant Bonsouth is hosting Raavans Kitchen Version 2, a food festival dedicated to the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka.Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its liberal use of local fruits such as coconuts and jackfruit, seafood and a myriad of spices. While the menu is vast as it is part of a buffet, with several mouthwatering dishes on it, a few were more memorable than the others because of their lack of Sri Lankan-ness. The Amuse-bouche was a delicious coconut honey saffron foam, and was just what we needed to get the meal kicking. This was followed by a vegetarian soup - Mushroom Cappucino - which was light, yet creamy and fully satisfying.

Among the starters, we recommend the Shrimp Miri Koki, which was a prawn cracker topped with spicy shrimp sambol - a Sri Lankan staple. The Crisy Curry Leaf Prwans were also good, and the prawns were fresh and juicy. The Tapioca Skewers are a good option for vegetarians, if one doesn’t mind generous amounts of coconut. ‘Devilled’ meat and eggs are a common feature on Sri Lankan menus, and the Devilled Chicken Wings took us back to the pristine beaches of the beachy country. Another appetizer we enjoyed was the Pineapple Acharu, a Sri Lankan style pineapple pickle.

Among the mains, and there were a lot, the Sri Lankan Raw Mango Fish Curry, the Pumpkin Dumpling Curry and the Kings Chicken Curry were good accompaniments to rice or the crispy appams they served. A personal favourite was the Colombo Squid Dry, and we were sure to ask for seconds. There were two types of biryani on the menu - the Iddiyappam Biryani and the Sri Lankan Biryani. While the first wasn’t available, the second was comforting and very similar to a Kereala style Malabar biryani. As this menu was part of a buffet, there were several deserts on offer, most of which can be found on any other buffet. For a Sri Lankan experience, do go for the Wattalappam - a steamed coconut and jaggery custard or the Elaneer Payasam. We especially loved the Sri Lankan Curd and Treacle. Those who’ve visited Sri Lanka know of how popular Treacle is there, and when paired with curd, it is a match made in sweet heaven, which isn’t too hard on your waistline either.
The Sri Lankan food festival is on till November 26.
Buffet cost:  `636 (veg) and `734 (non-veg)