Recently, I went back to Daniell?s Tavern, one of the most underrated pan-Indian restaurants in Delhi, after a long gap. Located at Hotel Imperial, Daniell?s shares the same outside courtyard as the legendary Spice Route, and though it is popular with in-house, mostly expat, guests, the restaurant has always been peculiarly low-key. Part of the problem, of course, in the earlier days, was that no one took Indian food at the Imperial seriously enough?it was not regarded as authentic enough, as say an experience at Dumpukht and certainly lacked the X-factor of a Bukhara, whose limited repertoire continues to attract enough foreigners and aspirational Indians too.
So it was with some curiosity that I went back to Daniell?s, having been told that a fresh breath has been infused lately, largely through the efforts of Vijay Wanchoo, one of the few Indian general managers that the Imperial has had and one who is certainly keen on promoting authenticity and regional Indian cuisines. The restaurant is at the site of the same spot from where Thomas and William Daniell (an uncle-and-nephew team, medieval travellers in India) observed the Jantar Mantar in 1786 and painted it. The Daniells left behind records of an older Delhi, painting its scenery and architecture, and these include some original lithographs of the Jantar Mantar, built as a planetary observatory, which form part of the d?cor at the restaurant.
Sensibly, the plan at the restaurant now is to recreate and showcase some recipes the two travellers left behind in their diary. But for now, while regional flavours (from those regions to where the duo travelled) have been incorporated in the menu, the highlight is a ?royal? thali.
That?s surprising. Drop the word ?thali? and most hoteliers are likely to wrinkle up their noses. In the world of elite dining, no one wants to serve the good old Indian thali, which is to be consigned to cheap places with no-fuss d?cor, no frills and dour staff. Places where you can have a quick, sometimes unlimited, meal for as little as Rs 100 (in the metros; lower elsewhere), but hardly the stuff of fine dining. Or, is it? If the elegant Imperial can serve it with aplomb, surely the humble thali is getting reinvented?
The thali, literally meaning just plate or tray, of course, connotes the traditional way of eating our meals in India. Almost all regions in the country have a thali tradition, where, instead of being served in the European course-by-course style, everything, including sweets, is served together in a single platter. But while modern-day diners may reduce everything to a single mish mash, there were traditionally strict rituals to be observed during the thali service. In Maharashtra, for instance, lemon and salt would be placed first and everything from the chutneys to vegetables and dal had fixed places where they would be placed on the thali and whether items were to be placed anti-clockwise or clockwise was also fixed. In south India, where meals are traditionally served on banana leaves, similar rituals of service govern the experience, including how you fold the banana leaf back after the meal; the Brahmins folding it back (except during mourning) while the non-Brahmins would fold it the opposite way.
In the past, royalty and commoners may alike have dined off the thali?emperors and kings, of course, having been served on large gold plates, nobles and upper classes on silver ones and so on. But today, in the restaurants of modern India, the thali has invariably been reduced to a mass product. In a way, it is the same problem of image it suffers from as that of regional Indian food?that is somehow seen as cheap (meaning inexpensive) and not exotic or wow enough to be able to command the high prices of a fine dine experience. But if buffets, which typically in the West are value-for-money experiences as opposed to a la carte dining, can gain in snob appeal in India?the costlier Sunday brunches in Delhi or Mumbai will set you back by almost Rs 3,000-4,000 per person, why can?t thali meals be similarly poshed up?
Here, places like Daniell?s Tavern and, indeed, Marut Sikka?s interesting restaurant Kainoosh seem to have taken a lead. At Kainoosh, bespoke thalis (the design is very contemporary), costing about Rs 900-950 depending on whether it is a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian meal you are looking for, offer you a fine selection.
In Mumbai, too, there are a couple of smart places (as opposed to the ?rice plate? Gujarati or Maharashtrian restaurants) that offer thalis. Soul Fry Casa, for instance, has a seafood thali with Goan crispy calamari, prawn balchao, nachni rotis and so on. At the undeniably hip Indian Accent, chef Manish Mehrotra did a superb job recently of what can be an otherwise boring Navratra thali. His presentation was in the form of such a beautiful-looking platter (sushi made from vrat rice et al) that diners on neighbouring tables started inquiring about it.
While restaurateurs like the energetic Bina Modi of the Ego chain had talked about Thai thalis and Italian thalis?meaning set meals?years ago, it is regional Indian cuisines that may really benefit from a poshed up thali. For a consumer, the best way to try an unfamiliar (Indian) cuisine is often through a thali, which incorporates various flavours at one go and offers people a chance to sample these without having to debate on which a la carte selection they should make. A stylish looking plate?many home store brands now retail these as you may have noted during Diwali shopping expeditions?inside a trendy restaurant serving these authentic meals could rate as a gourmet experience that can be charged as such. All we need are restaurateurs ready to push the envelope.
The writer is a food critic.
Anoothi Vishal recently received the PHDCCI food critic award for the year for her column in FE