Bombay Brasserie is known for pushing the limits of Indian food by taking inspiration from spices and dishes from small towns and regions of the country. They want diners to rediscover the country’s cuisine and their new menu does exactly that. With ingredients such as kudampuli black tamarind from Kottayam, Goan ambotik masala and Awadhi shikaar masala, it truly is a culinary journey through India.
We started our dinner with their small plates. The first dish on the table was the Indian Chilli Fries — French fries topped with Amritsari chaat masala, a tangy twist to the classic. The Boti Double Roti is spicy mutton cubes tossed in Sindhi garam masala from the city of Ulhasnagar in Maha-rashtra and served with roti. The mutton was succulent and the spices gave it the right punch. But our favourite was the Crispy Suji Bites. Topped with peanuts from the city of Bharuch in Gujarat, the bite-sized nibbles dissapeared from the table very quickly.
Another recommendation of ours is the 1960 Atho Salad. A Chennai street-style noodle dish made by Burmese immigrants that has the flavour of the local red tamarind. We also tried the Tilkut Masala Flat Roti. Eggplant slices flavoured with tilkut masala sourced from the spice capital of Maharashtra, Sangli, it is served with coin-sized rotis.
Some other small plates they offer are Gunpowder Potatoes with molaga podi from Tamil Nadu, Himalayan Spiced Mushroom with lakhori yellow chilli, Naga Ghost Pepper Wings with bhoot jolokia chilli and Calcutta Club Fry with kasundi from Bengal.
The main course had no less to offer in terms of innovation with comfort. We started with the Kumaon-Style Greens with Mandua Roti. A delicacy from Kumaon in Uttarakhand, the spinach and corn gravy is served with a millet roti. The next dish was a winner for us with its play on textures — the Ismaili Kofta Biryani, which was fragrant sour cherry rice enveloping an Indian style Scotch egg. Another main we sampled was the Jaipuri Gatta Kadi. The creamy gravy, with dumplings, is tempered with boriya chilli found in West India. Paired with their ghee rice, it’s pure comfort. For dessert, we were served the Bitter Chocolate and Jaggery Skillet — a warm skillet-sized cookie made with coconut jaggery sauce sourced from Tamil Nadu.
Paired with their warm hospitality, and heady cocktails, the new menu certainly won us over.
Rs. 1,500 for two. At Indira Nagar and Bellandur
anagha@newindianexpress.com @anaghzzz