Dining with a Conscience!

From restaurants staffed by members of the transgender and hearing-impaired communities to disabilities-friendly cafés offering braille menus and more, inclusivity is very much on the menu at a few such path-breaking eateries across India.

By Raul Dias

Third Eye Café, Navi Mumbai
This recently-opened café was launched with the intention of providing not just employment to the third gender, but also giving them a sense of identity and inclusiveness. With a staff of six transgender employees, including the manager and servers, this café dishing out everything from fluffy falafel with tahini yoghurt to a flavoursome butter chicken, truly walks the talk of its motto that’s emblazoned on its walls. It reads, ‘Be The Change You Want To See’.
Palm Beach Galleria Mall, Sector 19D, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400703. Call: +91-9619204894

Kalakkal Café, Chennai  
As India’s first ever ‘inclusive’ cafe, this ramp-equipped café in Chennai’s Kotturpuram neighbourhood is an initiative by Vidya Sagar, an NGO working for children and adults with special needs. Offerings like their scrumptious burgers and the retro-cool ‘goti’ sodas can not only be ordered off a Braille menu, but also with the aid of their very artistic pictorial menus. But that’s not all. The café has tactile walls and even some eating aids via a few nifty apps like All Access where users can scan logos and QR codes to access audio menus.
No 1, Ranjith Road, Kotturpuram, Chennai 600085. Call: 044-22364712

Om, Bengaluru
A few years ago, Bhavna Jain was looking forward to doing something different at her vegetarian restaurant Om in Bengaluru’s tony neighbourhood of Koramangala. A chance encounter with a visually impaired Bharatanatyam dancer, led Jain to seek the help of EnAble India, an NGO that works with the differently-abled to come up with a Braille menu that she followed up with an audio menu shortly. Today, this modest eatery serving tasty thalis meals sees a steady stream of visually impaired and other differently-abled people making it their de facto hang out spot every day.
18, 36, Ground Floor, Raheja Arcade, Near-Heart Beats, Koramangala 7th Block, Bengaluru 560095. Call: 080-40989595

Sheroes' Hangout, Agra
Run by a group of enterprising acid attack survivors, this bright and cheery café has amassed serious street cred every since it opened its doors a few years ago. And that’s not just because of all that inspiring girl power, but also because of its reasonably priced food. Here, take your pick from a selection of all-veggie delights like the home-style bhindi masala and the Indian street food mainstay, the gobhi Manchurian! The café also serves as a venue for organised events for social interaction such as debates, book launches, social awareness conferences and music session among other socially relevant initiatives.
Fatehabad Road, Opposite The Gateway Hotel, Taj View Chowraha, Tajganj, Agra 282001. Call: 0562-4000401

Mirchi & Mime, Mumbai
Two of this fine dining Indian cuisine restaurant’s greatest calling cards are a well-curated menu—with delights such as a melt-in-the mouth mushroom galouti kebab and a guinea fowl done Lahori style—and its wait staff. The latter is made up entirely of well-trained hearing and speech-impaired individuals. All the diner needs to do is simply point at the illustrated menu card and indicate the number of portions. An easy-to-follow gesture glossary is also appended to the menu to facilitate other dining accoutrements like cutlery, crockery, salt, pepper and spices.  
Trans Ocean House, Lake Boulevard, Hiranandani Business Park, Powai, Mumbai 400076. Call: 022-41415151


(An edited version of this piece was first published in the 9th April, 2018 issue of India Today magazine)

Waiter, There’s a Dessert in my Drink!

Is it a dessert or is it a cocktail? Precariously balancing that fine line are a host of dessert-inspired cocktails. We sweeten you up with a few such post dinner drinks.

By Raul Dias

Crème Brûlée Martini
This drinkable, ‘martinified’ version of a traditional crème brûlée is a custard and vanilla flavoured cocktail infused with vanilla vodka, replete with a hard-caramel shard to replicate the glassy top of the French dessert.
Available at Scribble Stories, 21B, Santhal ONGC Complex, Opposite Lilavati Hospital, Reclamation, Bandra (w), Mumbai
Call 022-26400754
Cost Rs 475

The Peche Melba
​While the classic dessert, the Peach Melba, was itself invented—again by Auguste Escoffier—in honour of famed Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, this homage to a homage is a cocktail made from strawberry coulis, peach extract and some vanilla ice cream, all shaken with vodka. 
Available at Pandora Gastronomy and Bar, Ground Floor, Nyati Unitree, Nagar Road, Yerwada, Pune
Call 020-30189820
Cost Rs 375

Saucier
​Inspired by a classic dessert cocktail created by French pâtissier Auguste Escoffier, this version sees the pairing of sparkling wine, angostura bitters and maraschino cherry liqueur with bourbon and vanilla ice cream. And to make it still more dessert-esque, it is garnished with an edible nasturtium flower and silver dragées.
Available at The Runway Project, 2nd Floor, North Sky Zone, High Street Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai
Call 022-49151000
Cost Rs 825

Gingerbread Prohibition Pop-up
​This prohibition era-meets-dessert cocktail is a rather unusual melange of bourbon infused with caramel popcorn, espresso, gingerbread and popcorn syrups and a dash of all spice bitter, that’s all topped up with a splash of stout. And in keeping with the speakeasy theme of the drink, the cocktail glass comes wrapped in a sheet of newspaper!
Available at Prankster, Shop No. 8-9-10, First Floor, Sector 29, Gurugram
Call 0124-4266653/54
Cost Rs 425

Toblerone
This after-dinner cocktail that is the deceptively potent sum of its honey, cream, Baileys Irish Cream and dark rum parts, is a drinkable paean to the nougat and honey-redolent, undulating mountain peak-shaped Swiss chocolate bar—the Toblerone.
Available at Izaya, NCPA, Gate No. 2, Nariman Point, Mumbai
Call 022-22821212
Cost Rs 490

Willy Wonka
​No list of dessert cocktails can be complete without a nod to Willy Wonka. Named after him, this post-dinner martini cocktail sees whiskey, creme de cacao and dark chocolate shaken together and poured into a chocolate sauce lined martini glass that’s garnished with a chocolate shard.
Available at The Sassy Spoon, Express Towers, Ramnath Goenka Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai
Call +91-9920003500
Cost Rs 420

(An edited version of this piece was first published in the 29th January, 2018 issue of India Today magazine https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20180129-dessert-cocktails-creme-brulee-martini-gingerbread-prohibition-pop-up-1149657-2018-01-19)

Latino Flavours

Right from the wonders of Mexican moles to Peruvian ceviches and the Brazilian churrascaria, a whole smorgasbord of new restaurants around India are referencing Latin American cuisine like never before, making ‘tis the season for a bit of Latino exotica on our plates! 

By Raul Dias

BOTECO
Introducing tongue twisters of dishes like pão de queijo (cheese fritters), escondidinho (steak topped with mascarpone cheese) and rocambole de espinafare (veggie-filled spinach rolls) to the Indian diner’s culinary lexicon is this restaurant—with two branches in Pune and a brand new three-weeks-old one in Mumbai—that claims to be the country’s first all-Brazilian eatery. And yes, they do a mean version of Brazil’s national drink, the caipirinha which is the refreshing sum of its cachaça, sugar and lime parts.
Exotic appeal: With its selection of charcoal grilled pork, lamb, steak, chicken and chouriço sausage, the churrascaria (Rs 690) is an ode to the meaty excesses Brazil is notorious for!

LUCA
Bringing to Mumbai a range of exotic Pan-Hispanic flavours, Luca charts its food expedition from the mercados of Mexico with a chocolate-laden chicken mole to the balmy islands of the Caribbean (callaloo with okra) to finally, the sunny beaches of Coastal South America with their riff on the Puerto Rican plantain classic tostones. Hints of colonial influences show up in dishes like a ‘Latinised’ Spanish paella and a Portuguese feijoada.
Exotic appeal: Grilled octopus pulpazo (Rs 650) served with chouriço and butter beans, all anointed with an Argentinian coriander chimichurri.

CHURRASCARIA BRAZIL
It may have opened a mere 10 months ago, but this Bengaluru churrascaria-style Brazilian restaurant is garnering serious street cred. And this is mainly due to the fact that Brazilian expat couple Bruno and Cherlene Camera, and the brains behind this buffet-style eatery, prefer a hands-on approach. Their eat-till-you-burst procession of grilled meats is highlighted by juicy steaks, pork chops and unlimited links of sausage served with sides like fried plantains and rice with beans. 
Exotic appeal: The barbecued pineapple that’s a part of the mains section is a charred to perfection, caramalised treat.

WILDFIRE
Nestled in the heart of Gurugram’s Crowne Plaza hotel, is this Brazilian all-grills restaurant that takes a pescatarian detour from the usually meat-saturated churrascaria theme with its seafood dishes like the pan fried red snapper pan fritto dentice and brodo di pesce zuppa di saffron-redolent fish soup. But that’s not to say that the meat lovers are ignored. Take your pick from the linguisa pork sausage, the tenderloin fraldinha or perhaps, the minty lamb paleta de cordeiro.
Exotic appeal: The game-y peito de pato (Rs 1,800) which is a whole roast duck sprinkled with oregano and rock salt.

LIMA
Helping India discover that there is a whole other raw fish world out there as opposed to just sushi, Lima in Mumbai proudly shows off its Peruvian underpinnings. Offering a range of ceviche—from a traditional yellowfin tuna tiradito one to a veggie-friendly enoki mushroom iteration. All this, as you nurse a few of Lima’s signature cocktails like the pisco-saturated Lima sour, served with a frothy cloud of meringue.
Exotic appeal: Smoked grilled yucca or cassava (Rs 350) paired with a salsa criola and milk-infused corn-on-the-cob.

A shorter, differently edited version of this piece was first published in the 17th July, 2017 issue of India Today magazine)

Food Diva Face/Off

With a cook book out for one and a web-based food show for the other—and with their lives almost mirroring each other over the years—we decided to put BFFs and newly minted foodies, Maria Goretti and Mini Mathur in the ring for a friendly bout where they match each other punch for punch! 

By Raul Dias

MARIA GORETTI, 45 ·         Model and dancer turned MTV VJ with shows like Hip Shakers and Chillout in the ‘90s ·         BFF Mini Mathur ·         Married to actor Arshad Warsi of the Munnabhai movie franchise fame ·         Has an older son named Zeke and a younger daughter named Zene Zoe ·         Started her innings in the world of food with food shows like Do It Sweet on NDTV Good Times and I Love Cooking on Living Foodz. Her most recent oeuvre being as cookery book author with her book From My Kitchen To Yours: Food, Love And Other Ingredients which has recently won the National Award by Gourmand Awards Jury and which has also been nominated for the Gourmand International Awards 2017

MINI MATHUR, 41 ·         Model and actress turned MTV VJ with shows like Big Picture and MTV 123 in the ‘90s ·         BFF Maria Goretti ·         Married to director Kabir Khan of Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame ·         Has an older son named Vivaan and a younger daughter named Sanya ·         Started her innings in the world of food with her new web show on India Food Network where she cooks with celebrities in a colourful, pimped-out food truck, hence the show’s rather punny name—The Mini Truck. Her show’s line up of guests already features a roster of A-listers like Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif!

Other former models recently turned food world personalities

·         Once the reigning queen of the catwalk, today former supermodel Joey Matthew scorches the small screen with her rather ‘saucy’ food show Love Bites With Joey on NDTV Good Times.

·         From the domestic goddess in the series of Whirlpool appliances’ TV commercials and print campaigns over a decade ago, to the host the popular Mummy Ka Magic food show on the Food Food Channel, the cherubic Amrita Raichand today dons the chef’s toque with élan.  

·         Former Miss India, model and tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi’s ex-wife, Shvetha Jaishankar has now added author to her CV with her food book Gorgeous: Eat Well, Look Great which is a compilation of recipes, fitness mantras and anecdotes from the world of fashion and Bollywood.

(A shorter, differently edited version of this piece was first published in the 15th May, 2017 issue of India Today magazine)

Out of Africa!

The Mesob Platter at Abyssinian, Chennai

By Raul Dias

There’s no doubting the fact that India has, for the last couple of years, been ensnared in the vice-like grip of a raging culinary vortex that’s spewing out every conceivable cuisine trend that, we the diner, are only too happy to lap up (pun intended!). Never mind how outré or over the top they may be. Today, we may know our Peruvian ceviches from our Hawaiian pokés and our Korean gimbaps from the now de rigueur Japanese gunkan makis.
But recently, there has been a whole new breed of restaurants cropping up around the country. Each representing a few hitherto unknown cuisines of Africa. Each hoping to break the Italian-Chinese-Japanese cuisine ‘hegemony’. And each making it their mission to make sure we acquaint ourselves with exotic eats like fluffy injeras from Ethiopia, jellofs from Nigeria and boerewors from South Africa, among others. 
And while there have been (failed) introductory attempts made in the past with places like Ubuntu in Mumbai serving South African food, the recently shuttered Manny’s Square in Delhi doing its bit for Nigerian cuisine and even a short-lived Afro-Caribbean restaurant called Sue’s Kitchen in Bengaluru, the following are bold new places that are making valiant inroads onto the experimental Indian diner’s tabletop, straight out of Africa…

Abyssinian

ABYSSINIAN
Offering up a mindbogglingly large menu of Ethiopian delicacies from the teff-flour made bread called injera to the national dish of chicken doro wat spiced with the traditional berbere spice mix and a carom seed and olive oil cake called nech azmud, this six-month old Chennai restaurant in Alwarpet, has almost everything—including the low-slung furniture and ingredients—brought in from Ethiopia.

Exotic appeal: The steak tartare-like raw tenderloin kitfo seasoned with the Ethiopian version of ghee called niter, the feta-like crumbly mitmita cheese and cardamom.

GREEN ONION
While prima facie there may nothing remotely Nigerian to the look and feel of this Marine Lines, Mumbai restaurant, a glance at the menu will throw up myriad surprises in the form of the tomato-y jellof rice with a huge hunk of deep-fried chicken, served with fried plantain slices as accompaniments and the funky smelling, dried fish redolent goat onugbo curry, best mopped up with balls fashioned out of the log-shaped semovita fufu that’s flecked with pieces of okra.
Exotic appeal: Chicken egusi soup with bitter leaf, that’s thickened using melon seeds.

FEZ
Straight out of a 1001 Arabian Nights in its décor and like its name alludes, this Moroccan and North African restaurant in New Delhi’s Chanaykapuri area is a repository for all things North African from its lamb tajine jazzed up with preserved lemons to its Tunisian stew served with cous cous.
Exotic appeal: The tajeh al-kamroon harissa-marinated prawns that are charcoal grilled and served with a walnut sauce.

GALITO’S
For the last few years this QSR in Bengaluru’s Whitefield has been giving patrons a taste of South Africa and its neighbour Mozambique with is very popular peri-peri chicken, the kebab-like Afrikaner sosaties and the heart-y mealie pap soup that’s made with corn meal and flavoured with tomato and basil.
Exotic appeal: Chicken boerewors sausages served with the tangy bean-rich chakalaka sauce. 

BLUE NILE
Run by the cultural wing of the Ethiopian Embassy in Chanaykapuri, New Delhi, eating out at this über-authentic Ethiopian restaurant cum café is both educational and palate-pleasing. The staff are on hand to guide you through the nuances of this North-East African cuisine that has its flagbearers the fluffy injera bread made from rice, teff or corn, the black lentil rich defen mesir and the begg tibs which is sliced lamb fried with onion garlic and fresh chilli.   
Exotic appeal: A potent shot of salty, muddy Ethiopian coffee into which a few drops of niter (Ethiopian clarified butter) are added and served alongside popcorn.

(A shorter, differently edited version of this piece was first published in the 17th April, 2017 issue of India Today magazine)

Eat Street!

By Raul Dias

A spinoff of the pop-up restaurant concept—the food truck is fast gaining momentum and is well and truly ploughing its way through India, offering up a smorgasbord of cuisines…all on the go! In fact, lending a certain gravitas to the whole ‘meals-on-wheels’ movement (pardon the pun), the recently held Horn OK Please—Delhi’s first food truck festival organised by SoDelhi—saw 20 food trucks from around the NCR converge at Ansal Plaza on South Delhi’s Khel Gaon Marg, dishing out everything from the ubiquitous waffles (at Wafflesome) and hot dogs (at Doggy Style) to beer (at Bira) and even sheesha (at Hookah Craft).
And while there have been food trucks in India in the past. The most iconic being the India Coffee Board ex-employees’ union food truck that used to hover around Central Delhi. The new breed of food trucks, food cars and even a food rickshaw seems to revel in its diversity—both in terms of what they offer and how and where they ply, lending a whole other meaning to the term ‘street food’.

Street Foods by Punjab Grill
Cruising the streets of Gurugram, this food truck bedecked in psychedelic-hued pop art and truck art graffiti, has, for the past one year, been dishing out everything from pan-Indian street food classics like dahi bhalla, aloo tikki and pav bhaji to Punjabi cuisine flag bearers like rajmah chawal, Amritsari choley and butter chicken.

The Goan Fidalgos
More ‘food car’ than food truck, this tiny Goan food serving outfit operates out of a dinky hatchback, that can be seen parked in Mumbai’s Mahim neighbourhood in the evenings. With queues of prospective patrons hungry for a bite of dishes like the more de rigueur Goan prawn curry-rice to the more outré buff tongue roast. 

S.W.A.T
‘Serving With A Twist’ is not just the acronym for this Bengaluru food truck that’s been dishing out yummies at Indira Nagar. But also, its success mantra. Here, American comfort food like mac n’ cheese and sloppy joes and other carnival classics like corndogs, nachos and deep fried Oreos are given a decidedly wicked desi twist with the spice levels amped up a notch or two.

Hungry Parrots
Serving up late night, post-binge drinking Middle Eastern fare like shawarmas and falafel, this orange and green painted food van is stationed at Hyderabad’s Hi-tech city road. And here’s a tip: don’t forget to order the whopping roasted chicken wrapped in a large Samoli bun with an overdose of garlic mayo and thank us later!

South 2 Mouth
This rather gaudily kitted out auto rickshaw with a ‘Foods Carrier’ banner painted on its hood is the newest all-veg, fast food outlet-on-(three)wheels in Ahmedabad. With an equally wacky menu serving up South Indian-inspired fusion dishes like cup idlis, dabeli tacos and the bizarrely tasty nacho dosas, South 2 Mouth can be found parked opposite the IIM Residence Gate in Vastrapur.

The Cheese Truck
This lactose-intolerant’s nightmare of a food truck in Pune’s Viman Nagar area serves up several scrumptious iterations of the school lunch box classic—the grilled cheese sandwich. This, along with thin crust pizzas, Nutella on toast and the aptly named stoner triple decker sandwiches. The most in-demand being the butter-strawberry-cheese one, we’re told. Go, figure!

Agdum Bagdum

Billing itself as ‘Kolkata’s 1^st Gourmet Food Truck’ a claim that’s proudly emblazoned on its blue and yellow exterior, this food truck—that stops for the evening at the Ekdalia Evergreen Club in Gariahat—is famous for its mutton kabiraji burgers and fried momos along with its burrito wraps and Hyderabadi biryani.

The Others…

Delhi NCR

·         The Lalit Food Truck Company—Latin American and Lebanese

·         EGGJactly—Egg preparations of all kinds

·         Kobri—South Indian snacks

Mumbai

·         Eat n’ Run—Burgers, rolls, kebabs and house-made beverages

·         Frugurpop—Ice-creams and popsicles

·         FoGo--Indian and Continental fusion street food

Bengaluru

·         Fuel Up—Comfort food from around the world

·         Meals-On-Wheels—Chinese, Western and Indian fusion

·         The Spitfire BBQ Truck—American BBQ

Hyderabad

·         Chettinadu Vilas—Chettinad specials

Ahmedabad

·         M-Theories—Nepalese, Indian and Middle Eastern

Pune

·         Henny’s Gourmet Food Truck—Belgian-style waffles

·         Boston Food Truck—Thin-crust pizzas

(A shorter, edited version of this piece was first published in the 3rd April, 2017 issue of India Today magazine)

Hail the ‘Salad Cocktail’!

By Raul Dias

While ‘Farm to Fork’, that oft-(ab)used catchphrase was shamelessly bandied all through 2016—with almost every new restaurant’s food menu going ‘local’ with a quasi-militant determination—this year it’s the turn of the bar menu with ‘Farm to Flute’. Eschewing the de rigueur synthetic flavoured syrups and sugar-laden cocktail pre-mixes, mixologists at bars and restaurants across the country can be seen rummaging through their chef colleagues’ greengrocer supplies with a vengeance.
All this, to come up with alcohol-laced libations that defy convention with a deliciously vegetal twist. A whole posse of cocktails that each hold great promise of good health with every sip. Well, if only…
Nevertheless, welcome to the era of the ‘salad cocktail’ with everything from broccoli and karela (bitter gourd) to capsicum and the very au courant kale finding themselves consciously coupled with generous pours of your favourite tipple.

Made with gin, kale juice, elderflower cordial, fresh lime juice, and sparkling wine, the very refreshing Kale and Gin Coupe at Woodside Inn Colaba, Mumbai is sent off with a jauntily balanced kale chip as its garnish.

Cabbage-Parsley Cocktail at Rubicon Bar, The Leela Ambience, Gurugram is the rather unlikely sum of its raw cabbage, parsley, raspberry and vodka parts, making it the quintessential drinkable tipsy summer salad in a Champagne coupe.

Capsico Brezza at Asilo, St. Regis, Mumbai is a lightly spiced mélange of pureed capsicum, orange juice and chilli. Into which, a splash of Ciroc vodka is added, and all this strained over crushed ice.

Redolent with yellow capsicum, fresh mint, vodka, lemon juice, grape fruit and Chartreuse, Summer Sunshine at Annam Café, Justa Design Hotel, Chennai is a sweet-savoury cocktail which leaves a certain je ne sais quois on the palate.

Don’t be put off by the broccoli in the Green Maozi at Koko, Mumbai, for it lends a clean, vegetal taste note when paired with citrus-flavoured vodka, orange and lime juice and the rather outré—white chocolate shavings! 

The intensely savoury Golden Beetroot Cocktail at Bodega Cantina-Y-Bar, Kolkata is made with cold-pressed beetroot juice which is infused with vanilla and combined with carrot, lemon juice and vodka.

As interesting as its ‘punny’ name is, the Kale and Hearty at Swey, Mumbai is a combination of muddled kale, spinach, cucumber, vodka and homemade ginger syrup, with a hit of lime-n-lemon sours and served up in a martini glass with a deep-fried kale chip to munch on as you sip.

Melding together the flavours of Mexico and India, the Bitter Sour at Le Meridien Gurgaon, Gurugram is a unique blend of a health-boosting karela (bitter gourd) juice shot, agave nectar, tequila, egg white and lime juice for that perfectly tart finish.

Smoked Aspacado at Estella, Mumbai sees smoked avocado cubes and asparagus muddled together with simple syrup, lime juice and gin and garnished with a blanched asparagus spear.

(A shorter, edited version of this piece was first published in the 27th March, 2017 issue of India Today magazine http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/cocktails-vegetables-alcohol-laced-libations/1/905617.html)