Goa is where investion and innovation thrives. It is a tiny enclave of myriad habits and tastes, with food taking the prize. Like in Taupe, the latest addition to Assagao’s bustling neighbourhood. Conceived by the team behind the popular Titlie, it marries regional cuisine with Goa’s susegad vibe.
Food: Chef Tarun Sibal ensures that while he experiments with the flavour combinations, the dishes are familiar. The food honours India’s rich cultural diversity through salads, chaats, kebabs, curries and desserts. The Mutton Seekh is rather predictable, though its spicy succulence and tenderness scores a definite A. Cheemmen Masala with set dosa is a Malayali thing; the prawns cooked to the right softness in coconut-flavoured curry. A crowd-favourite is the Creamed Burrata Papdi Chaat. But the Moong Dal Ladoo, inspired from the popular street-style Ram laddoo has room for improvement. In the Onion Sumac Kulcha served with kali dal, the sumac adds a tangy and smoky flavour. The Veg Rendang Korma with sticky rice is comfort food. The Coconut Milk Panna Cotta made with chunky pieces of mango jaggery, is light-on-the-gastric juices; a perfect just dessert.
Service: The servers are well-versed with the menu. They are quick to catch your eye and attend to your queries.
Décor: Housed inside a 115-year-old Portuguese villa, the many shades of taupe are soothing in a Goan afternoon. The al fresco area gives a tropical getaway vibe.
Price: The cost of the dishes ranges from Rs 475-675. Speaking for the quality, the fare is reasonable without burning a hole in your pocket.
The story goes that when Chef Sanjay Thumma’s mother was pregnant with him, she opened the lid of the biriyani pot and felt her water break. “She was rushed to the hospital and 15 minutes after that, I was born. I was called the Biriyani Kid all through my childhood,” Thumma chuckles. Nobody knew at the time that his destiny would be linked with food. Today, the 54-year-old, also known as VahChef, is a renowned chef with 2.5 million subscribers on his YouTube channel Vahrehvah where he teaches his audience to create a variety of Indian dishes. His mammoth fan following extends to millions of Indian expatriate communities in mainland Europe, the US and other parts of the world.
A familiar face on television, having appeared on MasterChef India Hindi as a guest judge and now as a judge on MasterChef India Telugu on SonyLIV, Thumma emerged as the most-searched Indian chef, the third-most Googled chef in Asia and 15th worldwide in a survey by a US-based global adventure company, Explore Worldwide. They analysed 12 months of Google data and Thumma’s name appeared in 7,26,000 searches. Other chefs of Indian origin on the list include Kunal Kapur, Maneet Chauhan, Gaggan Anand and Madhur Jaffrey.
There are many celebrity chefs and Michelin-star chefs across the world, but Thumma’s popularity shows that one does not need those labels or awards to have a connection with the audience. Go through any of the videos the Hyderabad-based chef posts on his YouTube channel and you will get an idea of why they receive millions of views within a few hours of being posted. The smile on his face as he talks about food and the dish he is going to prepare, punctuated with one-liners and jokes, is something that endears him to his fans across the world.
“I get my humour from my father who is 84 years old. Even today when I visit him, there is constant laughter and fun,” he shares. For Thumma, it is important that he comes across as a friend to his viewers. At the end of each video, when he scoops up a morsel of the dish he has prepared and relishes it, it is his expression ‘boomba boomba’ that his followers wait for. “Earlier it was ‘dhinchik dhinchik’,” he laughs, adding, ‘boomba boomba’ is the ultimate happiness when you feel fully satisfied with the meal. “It was an instinctive expression I had when I went to MasterChef India Hindi as a guest judge,” he laughs.
Thumma was hardly eight years old when his mother was bedridden for a few weeks because of a medical issue. The young boy was entrusted with the responsibility of the kitchen. “I was a naughty kid. To keep me away from mischief, my mom would give me chores in the kitchen.
I would observe her cooking and when she fell sick, that observation was put to test,” he recalls. From learning to make rice to making dal, scrambled eggs, dosa and upma, Thumma did it all. Little wonder that later he chose to study Hotel Management and even opened his own restaurant in Chicago, before moving back to Hyderabad in 2008.
Chef Thumma’s future plans include inspiring his followers to grow their own food. He also wants to take his viewers back 5,000 years ago and share his research on how people back then would cook and eat.
“I want to do something I can continue for the next decade,” he says.
It was once a bomb shelter. But on early winter mornings, 10-Z Bunker is where you go to find refuge from the cold, and a room for the night. 10-Z, after all, may have once been a refuge from the threat of nuclear war, but today, it serves as a bed and breakfast. Albeit a very cold one.
It is just one of the many subterranean delights found in Brno, a city in Czech Republic. It’s a fascinating city above the ground, replete with dark bars, good beer, modernist buildings and much history. Dig deeper, or just go underground, to find more treasure and history. There’s the Capuchin Crypt with skeletons of the monks of the order, some still clutching their rosaries and crucifixes; their bodies preserved by the dry air.
The 10-Z Bunker gives a glimpse of what life could’ve been, while over in the main square, the Labyrinth underneath Zelný trh (Vegetable Market) showcases what life was like.
In the early 13th century, the cellars under the Horní trh (Upper Market) were used for storage of food, wine, and beer—think of them as old-school refrigerators. They were built under people’s homes at the time, and functioned as shelters during wartime. A guided tour here shows an alchemist’s lab where doctors and physicians once practised, and a wine cellar and tavern harking back to the local tradition of winemaking. Perhaps the most chilling is the section showing the punishments for dishonest people —there are replicas of torture devices and a cage of fools (a small iron cage where people couldn’t sit or stand).
Špilberk Castle is the city’s biggest landmark, and has much to see above and below the ground. It is under the hill on which the castle stands that Germans built 10-Z Bunker during WWII, as a civil defence shelter from American and Soviet bombardment of Brno. It served as a wine store after the war before being confiscated by the Communists, and ultimately opening to public in 2016 as a retro hotel. Under the castle, you can find the casemates, which resound with the untold stories of political prisoners. Back in the 1700s, these prisons were once considered one of the harshest in Europe, and were in use during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Today, there are dummies showcasing living conditions.
At the entrance of 10-Z, visitors are greeted by a row of thick Army field jackets, which help deal with the temperature in this bunker (a few degrees colder than outside). A labyrinth of dark tunnels, decorated with rows of Army hats, medicine boxes, gas masks, an old Army motorbike, telephones, typewriters, and old sinks, lead to different rooms. There is a diesel generator engine room, air filtration room, battery room, an emergency telephone exchange and a decontamination room that form the technical part of the shelter. Tiny televisions screen short videos and documentaries of the people who built and took shelter in the bunker during WWII. There’s even a ‘cell of death’ door, taken from a Brno prison, which has carvings of prisoners who were sentenced to death during WWII.
A solo iceball clinks against the delicate glass as the bartender serves up the Japanese highball with frozen whiskey. Sake bombs and shochu sours have competition. Shiso leaves, pickled yuzu, and koji-cultured rice and more are making it to edgy oriental cocktails on the go. It’s a state of umami in motion with Japanese restobars sprouting up in cities across the country. The growing popularity of Japanese cuisine over the past few years has thickened interest in experiencing the neatness of Japanese cocktails.
Says Avantika Malik, Head Mixologist, Mizu Izakaya, in Mumbai, “It is the umami kick in the unique play of savoury flavours, coming up in a perfect balance of precision and elegance that works in Japanese cocktails. These drinks bring in an immersive adventure.” Fruit-forward cocktails, spicy runs and dramatic accents in the tall, cool elixirs are racing across the menus. Ketan Satpute, Assistant F&B Manager, Hyatt Centric Juhu Mumbai, lists the Umeshu Aperol Spritz as a popular pick, with the plum liquor bringing in a decided piquant taste pandering to the millennial palate.
Malik believes ingredients in a drink need to be viable. “I love playing around with fruits, including pickled plum, passionfruit; yuzu for a citrusy spin. Arima sansho is the perfect pepper that brings in a spicy edge, with its mix of slightly sweet, salty, sharp flavours. Sometimes the availability is challenging,” she confesses, having had to remove concoctions from the menu for months for this reason. “I make generous use of the red pickled ginger beni shoga, and the fresh shiso leaves in my preparations. There is no locally available substitute for these,” she rues.
She has also been experimenting with Japanese tea finished over pinewood, pear cider accents, a touch of bamboo to rev up the edgy spin. While pinprick bubbles race to the surface at gleeful tables, super expensive ingredients make their way into the melee of essentials.
Chef Dilip Bavkar expertly stirs and mixes the cashew apple curry with an overpowering aroma. It’s the ethereal setting that provides the extra magic. A Malvani cooking class on an airy gazebo overlooking the Arabian Sea at Coco Shambala in Sindhudurg, near the pristine Bhogwe beach, is an experience not to be missed. Bavkar shows how to make the brilliant orange Malvani masala, ground with as many as 14 spices from poppy seeds to mace and cloves, simmering the cashew fruit in it, till it turns soft. Next is a tangy prawn curry, with coriander seeds, dried red chillies, raw mango, coconut, ginger, garlic and onions, ground into a paste. Last on the list is a delicious dessert made of cooked sago pearls and sweet Alphonso mango puree mixed with coconut milk.
Malvan, a scenic fishing town in the Sindhudurg district on the south Konkan coast, the land of the mercurial Marathas, is a mix of two words—‘Maha’, meaning a large piece of land and ‘Lavan’ meaning salt, which was once produced here. The picturesque land is hemmed in by the Arabian sea on one side, and the Sahyadri mountains on the other. The cuisine is an amalgamation of culinary influences from Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The region is dotted with mango orchards laden with succulent Alphonso mangoes, cashew and kokum trees and of course coconut palms, and this reflects in what’s found on the plates.
Suhas Malewadkar, the F&B Manager at Coco Shambhala, explains, “We use a lot of red chillies and spices, as well as a generous dose of coconut in various forms. Being on the coast, seafood is an integral part. But the cornerstone of this cuisine is the aromatic Malvani masala, which is a mix of different spices like coriander and poppy seeds, fennel, mustard, cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg etc. Vatan, an onion, ginger, garlic and coconut paste, forms the base. In most dishes a souring agent is added, according to what is available in the season, from tamarind or raw mango to kokum.”
Chef Sarah Todd deftly splashes a generous spoonful of the intensely aromatic, caramel-hued fat every now and then over the slowly basting filet of pomfret. As the culinary executive and brand ambassador of The Sanctuary Bar & Kitchen in Anjuna, Goa, she cooks her favourite fish dish with her newest fat of choice—ghee. It blends seamlessly with the zing from her caper salsa and the freshness of the citrus and parsley sauce.
Ditching good old butter for ghee seems to be the most prudent move by chefs across the country. No wonder that the recent edition of the well-respected Godrej Food Trends Report 2024 has predicted that ghee’s natural goodness and its traditional link to Ayurveda will contribute to its renewed appeal as a healthy kitchen staple this year. And we see umpteen instances of the revival in preparations as diverse as Western-style desserts and even cocktails.
The Good Fat
“Unlike butter, ghee can withstand higher cooking temperatures without burning, making it perfect for achieving that delicate balance of searing and simmering,” believes Todd, adding, “Moreover, its nutty, caramel-like flavour profile adds an extra layer of complexity.”
But then ghee, or as the French call it, clarified butter, has always been a bit of a culinary chameleon. The journey of ghee from being a staple in Indian households to becoming a beloved ingredient in high-end restaurants is a testament to its versatility and the global culinary community’s appreciation for its rich flavour and high smoke point.
However, it may not be a one-stop fat solution to all Western-style dishes. Chef Matteo Fracalossi, the executive chef at the Andaz Delhi, uses ghee in his fresh herb risotto that has ghee-poached Japanese scallop, prosecco foam, lemon zest sitting atop it. “Not all preparations can use ghee as a replacement for butter, but if you find the right combination, it will certainly result in a surprisingly different taste,” says Fracalossi.
Indigenous Interpretations
Giving us a fine dining desi perspective on ghee is a truly unique concept restaurant called VARR Temple Food of India by Hotel Ganga Kinare in the holy city of Rishikesh. Here the entire menu is made only with pure ghee. “Ghee serves as a premium ingredient in both traditional and fusion cuisines, adding richness and depth to a wide array of dishes, from savoury to sweet,” opines corporate chef Deepak Bhatt, adding, “We even use it in our drinks such as panchamrit (cow milk, ghee, honey, Ganga jal and tulsi) and dhuaan chaas—a buttermilk drink smoked with ghee and sizzling coal.”
Nut chocolate butter; Paneer chilgoza kofta
Unusual Suspects
Speaking of drinks, riding the whole ‘fat-washed’ cocktail wave is an interesting ghee-washed cocktail called Cha available at House of Nomad at the Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa in Sinquerim, North Goa. “It pays homage to India’s rich flavours with a blend of ghee-washed dark rum infused with cinnamon, a Darjeeling tea concoction, palm jaggery and homemade Nagpur orange bitters. This exquisite cocktail captures the essence of India’s diverse culinary heritage,” says Archita Gupta, the former assistant director of food and beverage of the resort.
Ending the ‘ghee renaissance 2.0’ on a sweet note are not one, but two desserts that reflect the desi fat’s prowess. On one hand we have Chef Tushar Malkani of The Yellow House, Anjuna IHCL SeleQtions, Goa, who talks about his ghee chocolate truffles that he gives a twist to along with grated coconut added to it to enhance the strength and character of ghee. While on the other, Chef Niriksha Reddy, sous chef at the ITC Grand Central, Mumbai makes a nut chocolate butter using ghee. “By incorporating ghee into drinks and desserts, chefs can blend traditional Indian flavours with Western influences.” May the steady stream of ghee continue to drench us all in its goodness.
Restaurants don’t always use traditional family recipes. But when the Devarsetty family opened Devaras in Dubai in July last year, humble Andhra home fare was their calling card. They have now opened their first outpost in India.
Food: While the food has staple South Indian specialities like idli and vada, opt for the neer dosa served with a mix of grated coconut and jaggery. The soft texture of the dosa is bound to melt in your mouth. You could also try the Ghee red miripudi dosa, that is crisp on the outside and has miripudi and onions on the inside. The Gangala dosa, served with a brinjal curry, is steamed before it is tossed on the tava. The taste, however, is an acquired one and may not appeal to all. Don’t miss the Avakai rice—rice mixed with the famed mango pickle of Andhra Pradesh. It is bound to strike the right note. Don’t leave before trying the Palkova bun, a regular bun stuffed with a khova and jaggery mix that is the perfect sweet ending.
Service: The service is quick and efficient. You can see how your food is being prepared in the large open kitchen.
Décor: Done up in pastel hues with large custom-made wallpaper, the design is all about minimalistic elegance. The wall design uses motifs like temples, peacocks, elephants and nature.
Price: The food is reasonably priced with a meal for two costing about Rs 250. The set thali costs Rs 120 and is wholesome.
Address: Ground Floor, Police Station, 25, Dr Rajkumar Road, Beside Subramanya Nagar, E block, 2nd Stage, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru: 560010
A mother and son walk into Erth Restaurant in Al Hosn in Abu Dhabi for lunch. They are just in time to occupy the last available table. While the boy enthusiastically narrates the happenings of school, his mother picks up the ceramic vase placed on the table and scans it for the menu. Emirati spiced hasselback potatoes, Local organic zucchini gratin and a Cauliflower tabbouleh are ordered.
The ethos of Erth is Emirati, not just in terms of the menu but also where the design and vibe are concerned. There is a predominantly earthy theme. The ceramic artisanal plates and vases have been curated from a studio on Saadiyat Island of Abu Dhabi. The stone for the live cooking stations was hewn and shaped from the mountain of Jebel Hafeet. The low lying seating is reminiscent of a majlis with the convenience of not actually sitting on the floor.
Erth Restaurant
By this time, the Hasselback potatoes served with sumac, chives and parsley have been polished off. The Zucchini gratin with butternut is wholesome but not heavy on the stomach. The Tabbouleh with a green loumi dressing, parsley, hazelnut and lime satiates the senses. A couple sitting at the corner table are celebrating their anniversary with the signature dish of Thareed ravioli. This traditional Emirati dish consists of a stew made with lamb or chicken, vegetables and spices. It is layered with pieces of thin bread called Regag. They order a side of Torched locally farmed salmon crudo and Margooga—a flavourful stew made from vegetables and meat.
On another table, there is only dessert, each more tantalising than the other. A plate of Luqaimat is placed centre stage. Crispy-fried dough balls are drizzled with date syrup or honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The Emirati cheese cake is served on a bed of berries jam with honey gel. Fresh raspberries, blueberries and blackberries sit alongside the cheese cake. Erth recently became the first Emirati restaurant in the world to win a Michelin star. It boasts the unique Pistachio rahash, a drink made with camel milk, pistachios, vanilla and rahash—a halwa made from tahini.
An array of beverages
The head chef—Chef Debi Prasad—is an Odisha native. His passion for cooking was simmered while observing his mother prepare traditional dishes in their family kitchen. The chef’s culinary ethos revolves around selecting locally sourced ingredients to create dishes that honour traditional influences.
Little wonder that he found his way to Erth, which means legacy in Arabic.
Call it the American cilantro, the desi dhaniya or the Bambaiyya kothmir, coriander is one herb that we can’t seem to get enough of. Displaying its versatility in a tangy chutney, as a zesty garnish sprinkled atop a myriad of dishes or its powdered seeds in a masala, the herb has always ruled our kitchens.
Now it is making for the bar. Bartenders use coriander in a range of drinks; alcoholic, mocktails and fruit punches. Partaking in several libations across the country the fresh, almost citrus-y taste, gives the drink a je ne sais quoi that’s hard to pinpoint. From its leaves and flavour-packed stalks to its seeds—that seem to take on a whole new form when roasted—coriander is as versatile as Steve Martin and Ayan Ali Bangash put together.
Tequila Tastes
Let’s start with a cliché: A pretty obvious coupling of coriander with a Mexican-inspired tequila margarita. The Centro Paradiso at Mehico, a Mexican restobar in Kolkata, is a spicy, citrus-infused tequila cocktail complemented by herbaceous notes from zesty coriander leaves and a touch of even more freshness from cucumber and yuzu, with the heat coming from jalapeno pepper. “Coriander adds depth and complexity to the cocktail, balancing the heat of the jalapeno and the crispness of the cucumber,” says Manoj Singh Rawat, head mixologist at Mehico.
Veering down a similar path is Vishan Kashyap, mixologist at the SFX bar, Taj Fort Aguada Resort and Spa, Goa. The twist he brings to the drink, however, is a spicy roasted coriander and chilli salt that he uses to rim the glass, which holds forth a spicy cocktail which is also garnished with a coriander frond. “I needed the roasted coriander to bring in an Indian element. The two food and drink cultures of Mexico and India—especially Goa where we are located—are so similar with plenty of coriander used, that I had to put in my own spin,” says Kashyap.
A bunch of coriander
Leave it be!
But it’s not just the obvious tequila that fronts coriander-based cocktails. Coriander is spicing up vodka and greening the gin craze in India too.
Calling it a great “entry level cocktail” Vaibhav Billava, bar manager at Mumbai’s revamped iconic Italian restaurant, Napoli by Shatranj, created the Giulio Cocchi cocktail as an homage to Giulio Cocchi, an Italian distiller and herbalist who founded the Cocchi company in the late 19th century. “Inspired by his legacy, we created a refreshing cocktail using gin, watermelon, coriander, and garnish it with watermelon rind pickle,” says Billava. “Coriander gives a refreshing flavour, which is perfect for those new to cocktails.”
At The Blue Bar, Taj Palace in New Delhi, the Shang-Hai Gimlet offers a twist on the classic. One that is made from Grey Goose vodka, La Grande Passion liqueur, ginger, coriander, lime, cumin, garlic, chilli and orange shrub. “Our reimagining of a classic gimlet embraces the essence of coriander. The herb’s freshness adds a unique dimension, elevating the overall experience,” believes Joel Scholtens Lindsay, liquid chef and head mixologist.
Tripling with two other popular herbs, basil and fennel, coriander is found in all its punchy glory in the aptly named cocktail Feelin’ Good. Available at Cobbler & Crew in Pune, this gin cocktail sees coriander in its seed form along with the aforementioned fennel and basil. “Feelin’ Good gives a new twist to a traditional summer favourite. It’s made with refreshing basil, cucumber, and a hint of coriander seeds and fennel. This combination brings out herbaceous and aromatic notes, making every sip a ‘feeling good’ experience,” says Mayur Marne, partner at Cobbler & Crew.
Centro Paradiso
Zero-proof Wonders
Interestingly, it’s not just cocktails that are going down the fragrant coriander-lined path. There are a few non-alcoholic libations that seek to give you all the requisite coriander freshness, sans the buzz.
Pandan Club, Chennai’s hippest restobar, has on its menu the Tebu Tebu which they say reflects its commitment to using locally sourced ingredients like homemade sugarcane juice, which provides the base, infused with the citric flavours of yuzu, the aromatic essence of galangal, and the subtle earthiness of coriander seeds. “The coriander seeds add a spicy kick. It is the stealth ingredient of mixology: cutting through sweetness like a seasoned pro, yet often overshadowed by its leafy counterpart,” believes co-founder at Pandan Club, Manoj Padmanaban.
As one of Ahmedabad’s newest fine dining restaurants, Pepito sends out a host of non-alcoholic drinks. One such is the coriander-fronted Guava Picante. “This one is a zesty mocktail where the sweetness of guava is blended with the refreshing kick of coriander,” says mixologist Arjun Aasava.
Zesty, refreshing, flavour-packed—all adjectives that perfectly describe the familiarity and comfort of coriander. A herb that we’re only too happy to see, not just atop our plates, but now in our glasses as well.
In a startling turn of events, the humble vegetarian thali, a staple for millions across India, has emerged as a villain in the life of the financially stressed, with its price going up by 7% in March. The culprits behind this gastronomic inflation? None other than the trio of onion, tomato, and potato, whose prices have soared to new heights, leaving consumers teary-eyed and their wallets lighter.
According to the “Roti Rice Rate” report released by Crisil Market Intelligence and Analysis, an arm of the domestic rating agency Crisil, the cost of a vegetable thali – a delightful ensemble of roti, vegetables (onions, tomatoes, and potatoes), rice, dal, curd, and salad – has risen to Rs 27.3 per plate in March from Rs 25.5 in the year-ago period. However, there’s a silver lining: it’s still cheaper than the Rs 27.4 charged in February 2024.
The report reveals that the vegetable thali’s price hike is attributed to a staggering surge in onion (40 per cent), tomato (36 per cent), and potato (22 per cent) prices compared to the previous year. The culprit behind this? Lower arrivals of onion and potato, coupled with a low base for tomatoes from the last fiscal year.
But the story doesn’t end there. The report also highlights that rice prices have increased by 14 per cent, while pulses have jumped by 22 per cent, thanks to lower arrivals in the market.
In a surprising twist, the non-vegetarian thali, where dal is replaced by chicken, has seen a 7 per cent decline in price, settling at Rs 54.9 compared to Rs 59.2 in the year-ago period. However, it’s still higher than the Rs 54 charged in February. The primary reason for this decline is a 16 per cent drop in broiler prices, which account for 50 per cent of the overall cost of the non-vegetarian thali.
But before you get too excited about the prospect of cheaper chicken, the report warns that broiler prices have increased by 5 per cent compared to February due to the start of the holy month of Ramadan and higher demand.
As the cost of living continues to rise, the humble thali has become a symbol of the everyday struggles faced by millions of Indians.
