One of the hottest ingredients on menus in Europe these days is, well, chicory. Diners in India may not be as aware of the bitter greens as salad-crunchers in other dining capitals are, but it is hardly an alien plant: The root, ground and roasted, is widely used as a coffee adulterant and, to Indians used to drinking less caffeine, chicory brings in much of the ?aroma? that we associate with indigenous coffee.
But this column is not about a single ingredient. Instead, chicory?s chicness illustrates how tastes and trends are changing to include fresh, vegetarian produce even in traditional meat-loving restaurantscapes. In Europe, French and Italian chefs are increasingly experimenting with vegetarian menus, confirms London-based chef Atul Kochchar of Benares. Vegetarianism, of course, has been on the rise the world over, thanks to increased awareness about health, the environment and perceptions about eating a ?dead animal?. What is refreshing, however, is that you no longer need to stick to shudder-inducing raw vegan diets or ?healthy? salads, soups, carrot sticks if you want to eat out vegetarian.
Instead, chefs and restaurateurs are creating gourmet specials, playing around with the textures, flavours and colours of fresh produce, often from their own little herb gardens. Celebrity chefs like L?Aperge?s Alain Passard, one of the most influential chefs in the world today, ?raw chef? Chad Sarno and even Charlie Trotter?s in Chicago (known to do full vegan menus) are leading the trend.
In India, where vegetarianism is so much a part of our lives, finding delicious no-meat food is never a problem. Restaurants, on the other hand, tend to focus much more on ?exotic? high-protein, high-priced ingredients: Chilean sea bas, Alaskan crabs, foie gras, New Zealand lamb, et al, and gourmet choices are dictated by these. Newly-rich diners are eager to sample these delights and we cannot fault them for the desire to experiment.
What is a problem, however, is the boring options vegetarians usually get left with in restaurants. Try eating veg as I did for a while at your regular haunts and you will appreciate the problem: Invariably, carnivores get the chef?s top recipes; vegetarians are left to feel good with five types of paneer or potato preparations. The assumption is that seasonal greens and other veggies ?don?t sell? and so should not be on commercial menus. On the other hand, a handful of creative chefs in India are beginning to push boundaries with local, seasonal veggies and fruits and more interesting veg dishes on their menus. Some recommendations:
At Shiro, the popular pan-Asian restaurant across Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, one of the most addictive dishes is the tamarind tofu in a crispy, tart-like shell. There is also the fresh corn kakiage (a hot tempura-like starter) and the Vietnamese grilled vegetable rice paper rolls that I recommend.
At Indian Accent in Delhi, try not just all-time favourites like the foie gras-stuffed galautis or the superb galangal-infused patrani machchi. Chef Manish Mehrotra even does an exotic kadhi with zucchini blossom pakora (!) and his tofu koftas in a squash curry seasoned with five-spice powder are to die for. There is also upma gnocchi and pumpkin kulcha.
At Tuscana, the popular pizzeria in Chennai, the menu has a host of interesting vegetarian options, including the ravioli di melanzane and cannelloni de zucca with aubergine and pumpkin.
At Sattvik, one of the few non-thaali, upmarket vegetarian restaurants in the capital, apart from the usual potatoes, faux kebabs and paneers, try the sundried cauliflower preparation and the beetroot seekh.
Ex-Oberoi-Oh! Calcutta chef Joy Banerjee?s new restaurant in Kolkata, Bohemian, is creating a buzz with its contemporarised European-meets-Bengali fare. Despite all the meats and fish (naturally), recommended is an interesting mushrooms-meets-cheese in a Bengali Radhuni sauce!
In London, where chefs have been creating haute vegetarian menus, the focus at top places is on feeding non-vegetarian diners creative vegetarian fare. Vegetarian food is not just for vegetarians?so that even if you don?t buy the live healthy-save-the-planet-by-eating-green argument, the food speaks for itself. In India, where we have so many interesting spices, herbs and veggies to experiment with and a market more accepting of veg food, this is the line restaurants and chefs need to take too.
The writer is a food critic