Celebrating Vishu the Zambar way
Vishu is the Hindu new year festival celebrated in the state of Kerala and coastal Karnataka. This marks the beginning of the first day of the month called Medam according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar and falls on 14th April. It also connotes the completion of spring equinox ( wherein the Sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is equal). I was invited to taste the Vishu Sadhya (feast) at Zambar, which is a fine dining place known for it's coastal delicacies. Vishu feast is a pure vegetarian fare which consists of more than 2 dozen dishes and accompaniments. Here's the menu - We were served in the traditional Malayali style on the banana leaf. The food looked so tempting that it was very difficult for us to wait till all the items were served. I started nibbling on the Sarkara Varrati which is like our very own Gur (Jaggery) Sev and Banana Upperi ( banana chips). Unniappam is another delight almost like the sweet Pua's we