Forest & Fire, a limited-time food festival at Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre (NHCC) & HICC until July 26, is chef Harshita Kakwani's culinary journey through the forests of Central India.A food researcher and culinary storyteller at Permit To Grill and Food Exchange, Harshita who hails from Indore,, draws on her time spent documenting the food traditions of indigenous communities, uncovering ingenious ways of using seasonal ingredients, preserving produce, and cooking over wood fire. The result is an ode to simplicity, with dishes such as puri made with urad and khapli flour, jamun transformed into a curry, and elephant foot yam in a tangy buttermilk gravy. On a cloudy afternoon, though, it was the Saoji chicken curry — made with whole spices and finished with a rice flour slurry — that perfectly suited the weather.
Puri, jamun ki sabji, yam in butter milk, fried dal dumpling square and rice
| Photo Credit:
Prabalika M Borah
To go with it were crisp accompaniments such as ragi papad, lai badi and bijouri.Before the main course, a humble thali, I tucked into a bowl of dal-farra. The comforting, brothy dish features whole toor dal cooked until just al dente, with rice flour dumplings, finished with chopped onion, chilli, tomato and fresh coriander. If there is such a thing as OG vegan food, India has been making it for centuries.Chef Harshita agrees. “Having tea without milk or cooking without dairy wasn’t a choice. It was a way of life because many forest communities simply didn’t have access to milk. Likewise, they don’t celebrate World Millet Day as a one-off event — millets are their staple. Living in the forest, I realised ragi comes in many varieties. Until then, I thought it was just one millet,” she says.As part of its culinary innovation programme, Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre regularly collaborates with chefs and specialists from across India to showcase regional cuisines and lesser-known food traditions. With Forest & Fire, the spotlight is on India’s indigenous food cultures, an area that remains largely unexplored in mainstream dining.The menu features dishes such as mahua mushroom bao, van shaak ravioli, hay-smoked fish, kala mutton taco, patrapoda jackfruit, Saoji chicken, junglee mutton and bamboo bhurji, alongside traditional grains, regional breads and desserts inspired by forest produce.“The dishes I prepare reflect a deep connection to the land, highlighting ingredients and flavours that have shaped India’s culinary landscape for centuries,” says Harshita.
