There’s a particular kind of guest The Leela Palace Chennai has been thinking about, the weekday traveller living out of a suitcase, trying (and often failing) to stick to a diet. The Aujasya by The Leela Sampoorna, is built just for that guest.
We sat down with executive chef Ravish Mishra to understand what it’s actually about before we ate it. “Aujasya talks about the vigour and vitality of the body. It’s not about healthy eating, it’s about healthy living.” Right. So not a salad menu with a wellness sticker on it. Something more considered than that.
The programme offers four meal pathways. Detox, anti-inflammatory, high protein & low carb, and a Ghar ka khana option served in a tiffin box for when all you want is a simple dal and roti after a long week. “The idea is to contain the calories,” says chef Ravish. “Detox is around 1,000 to 1,200 calories for the full day. Anti-inflammatory also around 1,200. High protein goes up to 1,500 because you need that protein.”
Each plan runs from morning to night, beginning with herb-infused detox water, followed by curated meals, and ending with a herbal tea from a six-blend Augusta box, which covers sleep, digestion, balance, relaxation, vitality, and alkalising.
We began with two soups, and both made the point cleanly. The spiced lentil and edamame one was warming, grounding, and layered. Then came the Miso soup, and this was simply the best version of it we’ve had in Chennai. The seaweed doesn’t overpower and the tofu is clearly high quality, adding a subtle, almost imperceptible oomph. If the soups were brilliant, the small plates that followed were something else.
The Wild mushroom and tofu hummus was the most surprising thing on the table. A myriad of mushrooms,sautéed and perched on a tofu hummus so impossibly smooth. The Grilled prawns and watermelon steak was an interesting pairing, and the watermelon stole the show despite being the supporting act. Grilled watermelon develops a distinct sweetness that mirrors what you look for in good prawns, and here it steps in to fill that gap.
The mains were where the experience found its limits, and we’ll be honest about it. The Quinoa biriyani is healthy, comes loaded with vegetables, and is genuinely good for you. But calling it a biriyani is a stretch. If they’d called it a spiced quinoa upma, we’d have nodded along. As a biriyani, it sits somewhere in what you might call the fourth stage of Jean Baudrillard’s simulacrum — a copy of a copy of a reference that no longer exists. The flavour profile wanders. The intention is sound but the naming doesn’t land. The Thai chicken curry with basmati was good but it had its edges softened in the service of calorie control. That’s a trade-off, and a deliberate one. The generous heap of vegetables alongside it is genuinely great. But if you’re eating this after a proper Thai curry, you’ll notice the gap.
Redemption came, as it often does, from dessert, which is optional in this meal programme. The Berry popsicle was very berry, very tart, very good. One that you would eat and immediately think about who else you’d want to have it with.
Meal for one: Rs 2,400++. Available across all The Leela Palace properties.
Email: shivani@newindianexpress.com
X: @ShivaniIllakiya
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