Vegxotica!

From bitter melon to taro and from purple sweet potato to fox nuts, a host of exotic vegetarian ingredients hope to change the oriental restaurant menu’s lexicon across the city in 2018

By Raul Dias

Hanoi Bitter Melon Shrimp Salad
As its name suggest, this Vietnamese-style salad on the menu at Shizusan is a melange of herbs, shrimps, carrot shavings, citrus nam plah, roasted peanuts and that one ingredient—bitter melon—that has an interesting back story. In Vietnamese homes, bitter melon is usually cooked at the start of their new year as a reminder of the bitter living conditions of the past. “This salad of ours is an ode to these festivities. Bitter melon is one of those underappreciated vegetables that take some time getting used to. Although the bitterness at times can get unbearable, it’s also unique while having medicinal benefits which can’t be overlooked,” says Chef Paul Kinny, culinary director, Bellona Hospitality.
At Shizusan, North Skyzone, High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel.
Call 7045004138
Cost Rs 365

Taro Tempura and Purple Potato Maki
This all-veg ura maki (inside-out maki roll) at Yuuka has a taro stuffing and is topped with a truffle-purple sweet potato mash, fried sweet potato and Thai red chilly. “There is a saying that learning and creating something new always makes you feel good. The same hold for the key ingredient of this dish—Taro! The tuber is believed to be one of the world’s earliest cultivated plants and has a tremendous health benefits associate with it,” believes Chef Himanshu Taneja, director of culinary, The St. Regis Mumbai.
At Yuuka at The St. Regis Mumbai, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel.
Call 8291926985/61628422
Cost Rs 1,600

Asparagus and Arugula Salad with Fox Nut
Served warm, this asparagus and arugula salad at Hello Guppy sees the very exotic fox nut sprinkled over it along with grilled asparagus, all jazzed up with a wafu dressing. The addition of the fox nut is in keeping with the Japanese concept of yakuzen, or medicinal cooking. “Fox nuts are great examples of this medicinal aspect, as they act as an aphrodisiac, along with being low in cholesterol, fat and sodium. They are also gluten-free and add the perfect crunch to this salad,” says head chef, Vikram Khatri.
At Hello Guppy, Ground Floor, Godrej-BKC, G-Block, BKC.
Call 26534720/7777049773
Cost Rs 249

Chilean Sea Bass with Blue Pea Pod Rice
This sea bass dish, at the new Thai-Robata restaurant Izaya, that heroes its brilliantly blue rice component, is a hearty serving of chunks of Chilean sea bass on a bed of jasmine rice coloured blue with the blue pea pod. This pod, that’s native to Thailand, has the unique characteristic of changing colour when any form of acid is added to it. “The reasons we use the blue pea is the appeal it brings to the dish, whilst keeping the flavour neutral. It is also one of those rare natural ingredients that imparts a blue tint. The inspiration for this exotic ingredient came from our trip to Thailand where the pod is used in colouring drinks such as iced teas and sodas,” says chef and owner, Farrokh Khambata.
At Izaya, NCPA, Gate No. 2, Nariman Point.
Call 22821212
Cost Rs 2,500

Crispy Taro Veg Spring Roll
Part of a dim sum trio that includes a black truffle dumpling and a veg dumpling, this spring roll at Dashanzi is prepared with gently rolled out wheat flour wrappers that are filled in with a blend of crunchy shredded vegetables along with steamed and mashed taro root, then sautéed in soy sauce. “Taro, a tropical vegetable which is high in fibre, is known to soak up flavours. Thus, it easily marinates, absorbing the peppery-tangy flavour of the pickled filling. The root ingredient plays an important role in delicacies that are traditionally eaten during the Chinese New Year celebrations,” says Cheang Chee Leong, chef de cuisine.
At Dashanzi, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu, Juhu Tara Road, Juhu.
Call 66933344
Cost Rs 995

(An edited version of this article appeared in the 19th February 2018 issue of the Mid-Day newspaper, India on page 23 https://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-food-exotic-asian-veggies-now-making-way-to-restaurant-menus/19087160)

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)