Navratri Menu at Zeera, Conrad – A Vegetarian feast

I am always fascinated by the Navratri festival. During the nine day festival, different forms of devis are worshipped. Basically a fair of colors, food, dance and festivities for nine days. Few people observe fast while few turns vegetarians and its difficult to find good vrat or even veg menu.

Conrad has come up with their first ever food festival at Zeera and that too on the auspicious occasion of Navratri. Zeera is the sophisticated fine dining Indian speciality restaurant at Conrad where you can savour fresh grilled sea-food or signature veg dishes with family or friends.

One big move by Exec.Chef Mandar Madav to turn the tables exclusively at Zeera to vegetarians for 10 days. Quite innovative list of mocktails and the food at a reasonable price is what I look for when I plan to visit a restaurant and that too coming from Conrad, there is no second thought about it.

One set menu with limited yet appealing dishes. One can relish 6 lip-smacking starters, 6 main course dishes, Pulao and 2 types of desserts at just Rs. 1099/- only. That a steal! Right! Here is the set menu...
Mocktails::

Chettinad Mojito (Good)
Dhaniya Lemonade (Not tried)
Gulkand Mojito (Highly Recommended)
Kerri Pudina (Recommended)
Tamarind Cooler (Recommended)

Appetizers::

Jimikand ka Gullair (Highly Recommended)
Shammi Kebabs (Recommended)
Tandoori Malai Aloo (Highly Recommended)
Sabudana aur Sprouts ki Tikki (Highly Recommended)
Shakarkandi ki Chaat (Highly Recommended)
Peli Mirch ka Paneer Tikka (Recommended)

Accompaniments::

Puneri alu wadi (Recommended)
Kothimbir wadi (Recommended)
Chaas (Recommended)
Specialty Papad
Dahi ki chutney – Tamatar ki chutney – Mirchi pudine ki chutney
Cucumber raita

Mains::

Mutter paneer (Recommended)
Punjabi aloo wadiyan (Recommended)
Khatte meethe kaddu ka bharta (Recommended)
Bhunna hara saag (Highly Recommended)
Pindi chole (Recommended)
Gavarfali ki subzi (Recommended)
Dal - E- Khass (Highly Recommended)
Zafrani kaju pulao (Highly Recommended)

Desserts::

Fruit rabri (Highly Recommended)
Anjeer ki phirni (Highly Recommended)

Staff was all decked with the traditional attire. We started with the drinks.
Chettinad Mojito : Mojito with a twist of south indian 'tadka' of mustard seeds and curry leaves. It tasted good.

Gulkand Mojito: Fresh Rose Petals into virgin mojito was adding freshness to the drink. One of the best mocktail of the lot. Not to be missed. I loved the color, the sweet taste and strong flavour of rose.

Kerri Pudina: Served in the martini glass, this mocktail had cool slush of raw mango and freshness of mint. Quite refreshing!

Tamarind Cooler: This drink was also a nice twist to the regular ones. Tamarind water infused with black salt and simple syrup was making it bit tangy.

We then moved on to the delicious starters. Quite eager with the name, I wanted to try Jimikand ka Gullair. Trust, it was delish! Crisp deep fried patty with right amount of spices and flavours was perfect for the cold evening. With first bite, the filling of sweet pickle will ooze out and trust me it tastes amazing! A wholesome dish.

Shammi Kebabs are Chef Kamleshwar's signature dish. Made with grated cabbage and secret spices, it was yum. Did not have any smell of cabbage. It was gooey and soft kebab. Tasted well with the chutney.

Tandoori Malai Aloo was also one of my favourite of the evening. Quite rich and heavy dish! The hollow tandoori potatoes were stuffed with dry fruits and mawa. They were nicely grilled and tasted best with mint chutney.

What an innovation of mixing sago (sabudana) and sprouts. You can find right here at Zeera. A successful attempt to present sabudana and sprouts tikki needs an applause. The crisp, perfect fried tikki was lip-smacking.

Chaat is the thing you should not miss when at Conrad. One of the finest chaat, I have had is here. Shakarkand ki chaat surprised me. Adding healthy twist to the chaat was wonderful. Subtle flavour of spices mixed with yoghurt and topped with sev was oh so delicious.

Peeli Mirch ka Paneer Tikka was again a nice filling appetizer. Yellow colored marinated paneer was grilled to perfection. Paneer or cottage cheese they make is in house and is super fresh. Loved it.

Stomach full but not the menu! :P Our main course and desserts were on their way. Main course was light on spices and tasted like home made.

Mutter paneer was nicely prepared. Not much playing around with the basic recipe.
Punjabi aloo wadiyan is again a very homely dish. Lentil dumplings with potatoes is one of my favourite. Subtle flavours.
Khatte meethe kaddu ka bharta is the dish which not many people prefer to eat. But I liked it. Kaddu or pumpkin made with sour and sweet taste makes it a balanced dish.
Bhunna hara saag goes well in winters. Very healthy spinach preparation tempered with garlic and ghee. The addition of ghee was enhancing the flavours.
Pindi chole and Gavarfali ki subzi were a regular affair. Gawarfali had crunch of toasted peanuts.
Dal - E- Khas was my super favourite of the evening. Dal Makhani with that extra punch of butter was just WOW! You could eat it like that only. A bowl full of that dal is what I am craving!
Zafrani kaju pulao looked so appetizing. The aroma of kewda water stole the show. Crunch of roasted cashews in between the bites of pulao was superb!

You have one extra stomach for desserts! Right!?
Anjeer ki Phirni was a show stealer though Fruits rabri was also at par. Loved the texture and taste of both.