Hotel Mandovi,
located on the banks of River Mandovi, in Panjim, has been a part of the vibrant history of
the place and has literally seen the city grow around it since 1952. The sixth
edition of the Monsoon Sizzler Festival at The Mandovi’s Riorico is currently
underway and has been extended for another week till August 31, 2019. The
festival is a culmination of cultures and cuisines, serving a culinary bowl of
flavours surpassing continents. Still known as the leading restaurant for authentic
Goan and Portuguese cuisine, the festival doesn’t disappoint food lovers.
Chef Ramakant Talawanekar has been holding the reins in the
kitchen of The Mandovi for over two years but has understood the demand of the
festival, especially through the requests of the faithful clientele that
surpasses generations. “The Sizzler Festival is held every year in August.
Sizzlers have been a part of the menu for over 40 years and the festival was
introduced to solely focus on the different sizzlers. Over the last six years,
the sizzlers festival has gained prominence and we keep experimenting with new
dishes while keeping the people’s favourites on the menu. The new dishes this
year are Supreme Chicken Steak, Princess Chicken Steak, Ladakhi Murg which is
chicken chunks wrapped in egg omelette topped with chicken mince spiced gravy,
Rajasthani Laal Maas which is boneless lamb cooked with Rajasthani spices and
pork ribs. Lamb A La Polanaise is a highly recommended item and Chicken Corada
is an all time favourite at the restaurant,” says Chef Ramakant. All sizzlers
are served with a side of French fries, buttered vegetables and a serving of
pilaf or rice.
Those who want to try the seafood sizzlers are spoilt for
choice. The varieties include lobsters, crabs, tiger prawns, squids, moddoshi
(lady fish), shevto (mullet), chonnak (perch) /tamuso (red
snapper) and visvan (kingfish). A must try dish is the Lagosta (lobster)
A la Mandovi which is prepared with a choice of four different sauces –
therimdor, peri peri, cafreal or butter garlic. The Seafood Special sums by the
seafood section with the steak including squids, prawns and fish cubes cooked
in a creamy sauce of white wine, butter and olive oil. The fish steaks have an
option of being cooked in different styles of Cafreal, Recheado or Rawa Fried.
For meat lovers, the
festival offers a variety in chicken, lamb, pork and beef. The Supreme Chicken
Steak is a new addition to the festival and is a chicken breast stuffed with
chicken mince and mushroom served with pepperoni mushroom sauce. Another new
dish that has been well received by the guests is Princess Chicken Steak, a
chicken breast stuffed with chicken mince, spinach and cheese served with
creamy sauce. Chicken Corada sizzler is an all time favourite that features throughout
the year on the menu. The Corada is made using Goan traditional produce like
red chillies, Goan vinegar, garam masala and ginger garlic paste. Lamb A La
Polanaise is a traditional speciality of tender slices of lamb in roast sauce
finished with red wine and egg topping. For those looking forward to juicy pork
ribs, the sizzlers don’t disappoint. Pork ribs can be requested either in
Corada or barbeque sauce and Pork Assado is also available in sizzlers.
Tenderloin Steak is the only steak in beef, which is served with fried egg and
onion rings.
The vegetarian
section has four sizzlers. Two fast moving sizzlers from the menu include the
Bharatiya Bawarchi ki Peshkarsh is an Indian Chef’s presentation of stuffed
paneer, capsicum with saffron pulao and Baby Corn and Mushrooms Chilly Fry is a
spicy Goan style corn and mushrooms chilly fry served with Goan bread.
For our Hindu
brethren who are observing the month of Shravan, Riorico has something special
sizzling. The Riorico Shivrak Padharth is also a part of the Sizzler Festival.
The Riorico special vegetarian preparation has pineapple bits cooked with Goan
spices to give it a tangy and spicy taste. The sizzler includes Harve
Vatane, green peas, Caju Usal, Onion-Potato Bhaji and Goan Pulao.
The
desserts include the famed Mandovi special Baked Alaska, which is a sponge cake
with seasonal fruits covered with ice cream and baked with egg white; American
Crepe, which a stuffed pancake with banana compote; Date Pancake with Honey
Sauce; Honey Tossed Noodles with Ice Cream; Mandovi Traditional Tender Coconut
Souffle and Mandovi Traditional Chocolate Pudding.
