Connoisseurs relish delicacies at the sizzler food fest at Hotel Maurya. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Jan. 30: The chill is on its way out but not the sizzle.

Hotel Maurya has put up a platter of smoking hot sizzlers in front of the residents of Patna. A 10-day sizzler festival has started at the hotel from Friday and food lovers are being offered delicacies of at least 13 varieties at reasonable prices.

B.K. Singh, executive chef of Maurya, said the hotel has a sumptuous platter that would please even the most discerning foodie in the city.

The non-vegetarian delicacies do not only include chicken and meat but also an array of seafood. The section ranges from chicken steak sizzler, chicken fajitas on sizzlers, spicy smoked chicken with mint sizzler to mutton minced steak sizzler, mixed seafood steak sizzler, fish steak sizzler, spicy mix grilled sizzler and Euro mix grilled fish sizzler.

If the non-vegetarian section makes you feel there is nothing for the staunch vegetarians, you are wrong! The vegetarian platter, too, has many things to offer. “For the vegetarians, we have nutty beans sizzler with hunter sauce, English affair with salsa de malli, spicy cheese and pepper sizzler with tomato coulis, spicy vegetarian sizzler with French fries and potato leek steak sizzler,” added Singh. The most delicious part of the festival is that the lip-smacking dishes would not burn a hole in your pocket. The dishes range between Rs 250 and Rs 625 per dish.

Vishakha Dang, a guest at the hotel, said she was pleasantly surprised when she heard of the sizzler festival. “I am a big sizzler fan. I never seem to have enough of it. In Patna there are limited options as far as sizzlers are concerned. It is nice that the Maurya is offering a wide variety to choose from,” she said.

Anukul Verma, a resident of Patliputra Colony, had similar views. “I usually eat out in the weekends. This time I brought my family here. The kids are happy to see the choice of sizzlers here,” said Verma. Singh said the festival was aimed at popularising Mexican and American dishes among the residents of Patna.

R.R. Rana, the marketing manager of the hotel, said: “We have three kinds of sizzlers on our menu. Though the demand for sizzlers is comparatively good, it is not as high as we would like it to be. So we came up with this idea to promote sizzlers. Gauging the response of our guests at the festival, we will include the dishes, which are most in demand in our menu.” The hotel management, meanwhile, is trying to ensure the festival proves to be a feast for not only the taste buds but also for the eyes.

Chefs at the hotel said sizzlers are a unique culinary experience, which can be moulded into various forms with different ingredients and presentation. One of the chefs at the hotel said presentation is a major factor in putting up an appealing sizzler to the customer.

Singh said: “Arranging the different components of the pre-plated meal — vegetarian, meat, rice or salad — is very crucial. Before plating up, we have to look at the colour combination of each dish, the main course, side dish and the garnish. If the meat is red, the garnish and the side dish have to be of a different colour.”