Corporate chef at Delhi’s Indian Accent restaurant, Manish Mehrotra, known for his path-breaking food, has come up with a different kind of feast for the senses. This time it’s on paper, Indian Accent Restaurant Cookbook, and guarantees hours of visual pleasure.
The book is a compilation of several Indian Accent signature recipes, with photography by Rohit Chawla. However, just in case you are elated at the prospect of soon cooking like Mehrotra, he cautions against copying from the book blindly, even if most recipes seem pretty simple and straight for a restaurant that is one of the most sought after in the country.
“The idea is not to follow it like a Bible, but take inspirations and ideas from the book. If anyone can’t find an ingredient, they can replace it with something else based on the flavours required. I suggest they follow my ‘circle of tastes’, which combines flavours (sweet, spicy, salty, which complement each other), texture (crisp, crunchy), colours and richness to complete the gastronomic experience,” he says.
Despite being hailed as India’s best chef, he has no qualms in letting out his secrets, saying he always wanted to document the work he was doing. “We have lost out on a lot of old recipes because chefs of the past did not share their special recipes. So for the inventive Indian cuisine we do at the Indian Accent, we wanted to document them for our readers, guests and, of course, the future generations,” he says.
Enthusiastic about the cookbook, he’s not averse to the idea of a part two, but right now a branch of Indian Accent in New York is keeping him on his toes. This is Indian Accent’s first step outside Friends Colony in Delhi, where the restaurant has been nestled since it opened in 2009, defying demand to either move to a more prominent location in the city or open in other metros.
For the New York restaurant, Mehrotra wants to keep it as close to the Delhi one, but is also creating new recipes for New Yorkers. “The menu will have several new dishes, while also retaining the Indian Accent classics from back home,” he says.
So is this sudden flurry of activity a result of trying to be more visible, or a nod to increasing competition from standalone restaurants that are gaining on popularity charts, both in the capital and other cities of the country?
Mehrotra chooses to term it ‘pure coincidence’. “Both these are my dream projects and all I can say is I am currently living my dream.”
RECIPE
Meetha Aachar Spare Ribs, Sun Dried Mango, Toasted Onion Seeds
I’VE ALWAYS pictured pork spare ribs as a sticky, sweet and juicy dish. This dish raises a toast to my first job as a chef in a south-east Asian restaurant. I have added an Indian twist with a sweet mango pickle sauce, and this dish has become a best-seller at Indian Accent since we started the restaurant. I chose the sweet mango pickle as it is available in almost every Indian housewife’s kitchen all through the year. For this dish, use meaty pork ribs without too much fat.
Ingredients
For spare ribs
Pork spare ribs 200 gms
Cornflour 3 tbsp
Coconut milk 500 ml
For mango pickle sauce
Ginger, chopped 2 tsp
Garlic, chopped 2 tsp
Toasted Onion seeds 1 tsp
Fennel seeds ½ tsp
Crushed black pepper ½ tsp
Sweet mango pickle, chopped 1½ tbsp
Red chilli flakes ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil 1 tbsp
To serve
Lime juice 1 tsp
Coriander, chopped 1 tbsp
Aam papad, chopped
(as garnish) 1 tbsp
Method
Prepare spare ribs:
Boil the whole rack of ribs in very thin coconut milk. This not only adds a rich, sweet taste to the meat, it also helps reduce the fatty smell, which the Indian palate is not very comfortable with. If you prefer, you can boil the rack in water. I prefer not to cut the rack into individual ribs before boiling, as then the meat has a tendency to disintegrate off the bone.
When boiled, remove and place the rack in a refrigerator to chill. This will make it easier to cut the ribs, which otherwise may have a tendency to break if cut when hot. When cooled, carve out individual rib pieces. Dust with cornflour and fry till golden brown.
Prepare mango pickle sauce:
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Sauté chopped ginger and garlic, onion seeds, fennel seeds, crushed black pepper and the mango pickle. Add a spoon of water to make it a syrupy, textured thick sauce. Add red chilli flakes and
adjust seasoning.
Serve:
Toss the fried ribs in the sauce till all the pieces are well coated. Take off the flame. Add chopped coriander leaves, and a dash of lime juice. Arrange on a platter. Serve garnished with chopped sweet or sour aam papad.
I’VE ALWAYS pictured pork spare ribs as a sticky, sweet and juicy dish. This dish raises a toast to my first job as a chef in a south-east Asian restaurant. I have added an Indian twist with a sweet mango pickle sauce, and this dish has become a best-seller at Indian Accent since we started the restaurant. I chose the sweet mango pickle as it is available in almost every Indian housewife’s kitchen all through the year. For this dish, use meaty pork ribs without too much fat.
