XII Zodiac - The Fern Residency is gearing up for the upcoming season with a selection of Gujarati dishes. PanchPhoron was invited for a food tasting of the items from this new menu. This was my second visit to XII Zodiac, the last time was when they launched their poila boishakh special menu.Located near China Park, Rajarhat, The Fern is a medium size business hotel with special care toward environment. Their in house restaurant XII Zodiac is a first of its kind sun sign based multi cuisine restaurant, where food is served according to one's Zodiac sign.

To say the truth I have never had Gujarati dishes apart from some snacks like dhokla & challis. In fact Gujarati dishes to me always seemed to be something made of chickpea flour, and no trace of non vegetarian items. However I was pleasantly surprised to find chicken & fish items on the menu. Surely I was excited so as to what those would taste like.
A brief review of the items we tried is given below.

Starters/Snacks:

Dhokla:
Maybe the most popular among Gujarati dishes, these spongecakes made with fermented rice & chickpea flour are always a hit among foodies. This particular item was shaped in the shape of cylinder in place of the regular cube cuts. Garnished with a fried chili & chutney, this one was served along with a pudina & curd based dip.

Farali Pattice Vadodara:
Prepared in the same way as Aloo tikki, here the inner filling comprised of generous amount of grated coconut, coriander leaves along with peanuts, cashews & raisins. Sweet & salty this was another item I really loved.

Sev Khamani:
A popular snack originating from Surat, this is prepared by mashing dhokla & mixing it with diced boiled potato, chopped onion, tomatoes & roasted peanuts, & sprinkling generous amount of sev on top. Tasting somewhat like sev puri, this one again is a snack worth trying.

Chakri:
Another well known Gujarati snack, these spiked spiral items are made by deep frying rice/gram flour. The same item made by using Urad dal flour in Southern India is known as murukku. Two varieties were served, however apart from the colour, nothing was different, the reddish one could definitely do with a bit of more chili flakes.

Main Course:

Lauki Thepla:
A variety of thepla, Gujarati variant of parathas, this one was made using grated bottle gourd. Though looked like a yellowish version of buttered tandoori roti, this one tasted quite different .

Kadhi Bharucha:
Gujarati variety of the famous kadhi which is a thick gravy made of chickpea flour & sour yogurt, with chikpea pakoras in it. Tastewise it was great to have with the rice dish.

Dal Dhokli:
This one is supposed to be a complete meal in itself. Considered a comfort food among the Gujarati's this one was prepared by booking uncooked wheat flour noodles/ bread pieces in region pea stew. Sweet & soothing this dish can be consumed all by itself!

Lehsuni Batata:
Baby potatoes cooked with chopped garlic & grated coconut this one had an interesting twist of flavour. The garlic smell, prevalent yet not overpowering the sweetness of the coconut. Although supposed to be consumed with rice, I had it all by itself.

Trevti daal:
Chana, moong & tuvar daal cooked with ginger , onion & green chillies this one is a good dish to go with the normal dry theplas.

Gujarati masala bhaat:
Spicy fried rice with ample amount of cashews & peanuts, served with fries ladies finger by the side. Roasted papad, spicy salad & raita as accompaniments & slices of coconut used for garnishing. Although the dish as a whole tasted good, the rice itself could do with a bit more flavours.

Koru Kokru nu saak:
The only chicken item on the menu, this one was a simple Gujarati chicken curry with a rich spicy gravy. Didn't know they even eat chicken, & the curry leaves do make it feel like a south indian preparation. However it tasted quite right, however I felt they could have used boneless chicken pieces to prepare this one.

Sourashtra Fish Curry:
Another surprising entree in the menu, the thick gravy prepared with coconut milk & grated coconut was great tasting. The fish seemed fresh & juicy too. A must try item for the fish loving Kolkatan for sure!

Dessert:

Mohan Thal:
Looking like Bengali sandesh, these ones are actually prepared from gram flour, milk, almonds & pista cooked in ghee. Tastes quite like sonpapdi, though not overly sweet, smell & taste of ghee dominates.

Gujarati Karanjias:
Stuffed sweetmeat with the outer crisp coating hiding the inner stuffing of grated coconut, mewa, raisins, cashews, soaked on sugar syrup. This one was good too, may be a bit too sweet though.

Basundi:
A silky smooth blend of condensed milk cooked with kesar, & garnished with almonds & pistachio flakes, this one too tasted good. In fact the least sweet of all the desserts, this one was which I liked most.

Overall I had a great time trying out the various Gujarati dishes, most of which I didn't even know that existed. Liked the starters, or rather snacks to be specific. If you are looking for some new delicacies XII Zodiac is the place to go. Don't be put off by the 'Gujarati' tag, as my experience taught me, don't judge a cuisine by its name. The prices surely are a bit on the steep side, but then again for an authentic taste in a premium restaurant you have to pay a bit extra. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as we did.
Happy Eating,
Cheers!