BENGALURU: Working lunch at a five-star hotel is a routine for Rajesh Sachdev, a businessman. An interesting switch has been made on his food selection at these meetings. He has moved from buffet staples like butter chicken and biryani to ordering home-style food like fish or mutton curry with rice or phulka.
“While my business partners flying down from other cities prefer sticking to light food during their stay in Bengaluru, chef-prepared home-style food from different parts of India becomes specialty for me,” says Sachdev.
Catering to the needs of the increasing number of business travellers, buffet spreads are changing at five-star hotels. A dedicated home-style food or ghar-ka-khaana is the trendy addition now to the traditional continental, pan-Asian and rich Indian cuisine counters. Never-seen-before vegetables on five-star menus like apple gourd and brinjal have made it to the daily lunch and dinner buffets at JW Marriott. Dishes in their ghar-kakhaana section are made from scratch with less oil and minimal home spices like cumin, green chilli and ginger and garlic.
Hotel’s executive chef Daniel Koshy says, “Increasing requests for homestyle food from business travellers convinced us to add a dedicated section permanently to the buffet. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives work in different time zones and prefer light meals.” On realising that about 70% of their guests comprised business travellers, executive chef Anthony Huang of Sheraton Grand-Bangalore too added a ghar-ka-khaana section for the lunch and dinner buffets with emphasis on local produce. He even gets his chefs hailing from Tamil Nadu, Gharwal and Imphal to cook dishes from their mothers’ and grandmothers’ kitchens. So, veggies like snake gourd, local greens, broad beans and pointed gourd are now on their menu.
“Both business travellers and foreign tourists are tired of eating butter chicken at every hotel. People have an emotional connect with food and home-food always brings a smile,” says Huang.
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Keeping with the trend, a blackboard goes up daily at Gokulam Grand Hotel and Spa’s all-day dining restaurant. It mentions home-made special of the day like bharwaan bhindi, aubergine shallow fry to aloomatar curry. “Rising health-consciousness influences guests to pick light home-style food now,” says the hotel’s executive chef Rayomund Pardiwalla.
The Ultimate Healthy-Eating Guide: Snacks That Will Help You Stay In Shape
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Diet food contains fewer calories, and serves as a healthier alternative to conventional snacks such as potato chips, burgers and other fast food.
Experts at salebhai.com have listed some of the healthy diet snacks and food that could be consumed on different days of the week.
Diet food contains fewer calories, and serves as a healthier alternative to conventional snacks such as potato chips, burgers and other fast food.
Experts at salebhai.com have listed some of the hea..
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Diet beaten rice (chivda) is a mixed snack popular across India and often served with hot beverages. It is made of ingredients such as flattened rice, dried peas, raisins, and so on.
Available in different combinations,it is a healthy treat as most of the ingredients are either dried or baked, and contain little to no oil or fat.
Diet beaten rice (chivda) is a mixed snack popular across India and often served with hot beverages. It is made of ingredients such as flattened rice, dried peas, raisins, and so on.
Available in di..
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While fried potato chips top the list of unhealthy foods in the world, its diet version is the opposite, without compromising on taste. Diet potato chips are mostly baked and use little to no oil, and make for a yummy snack between meals.
While fried potato chips top the list of unhealthy foods in the world, its diet version is the opposite, without compromising on taste. Diet potato chips are mostly baked and use little to no oil, an..
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Beaten rice (chivda) is the main ingredient in poha. When lightly roasted, it can be mixed with various spices and consumed as a healthy snack all through the day.
Beaten rice (chivda) is the main ingredient in poha. When lightly roasted, it can be mixed with various spices and consumed as a healthy snack all through the day.
A container of masala chickpeas packs several vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and protein, keeping one fuller for longer.
A container of masala chickpeas packs several vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and protein, keeping one fuller for longer.
Quinoa has become popular over the years both as a superfood and a versatile ingredient. Native to South America, it is prepared by being boiled in water. The nutrient-rich grain is mostly consumed as part of a salad, but there are treats such as quinoa puffs that are equally healthy and delicious.
Quinoa has become popular over the years both as a superfood and a versatile ingredient. Native to South America, it is prepared by being boiled in water. The nutrient-rich grain is mostly consumed a..
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A favourite among gym goers and fitness aficionados, muesli or granola bars are the perfect choice that also boost the metabolism. A great alternative to candy bars, they can satiate anyone's sweet tooth or sudden cravings without any adverse effects to health.
Muesli bars are made up of refined flour, hazelnut, cashew, almond, dark chocolate, honey, oats, butter, and sugar.
A favourite among gym goers and fitness aficionados, muesli or granola bars are the perfect choice that also boost the metabolism. A great alternative to candy bars, they can satiate anyone's sweet t..
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Although a new entrant in the list of healthiest foods, kale chips have quickly become one of the most tried new ingredients in the global food market.
A close cousin of the cabbage family, kale has a high fibre content and low calories, making it a great option.
Although a new entrant in the list of healthiest foods, kale chips have quickly become one of the most tried new ingredients in the global food market.
A close cousin of the cabbage family, kale has..
Both the in-room and all-day dining menus at The Oberoi-Bengaluru too feature dishes clearly marked as home-style like country chicken or Bengali fish curry and khichdi. This means that the dish is light on oil and spices.
Senior manager-communications Pinky Padmaraj says, “Food and fitness have emerged as the top two trends among business travellers, aged from 30 to 50 years, in the past two years.”
