Vrat ka khana gets a healthy makeover

Navratra food is moving out of dullsville, thanks to a select group of adventurous chefs across the capital, who are curating special menus that add spunk to the conventionally repetitive thalis of aloo tikki, sabudana kheer, kuttu roti, etc. Fancy ingredients like quinoa, avocado are transforming the quintessential Indian fasting food scene. From avocado, quinoa chaat to buckwheat nachos, those observing the fast (and  the ones who aren’t!), have a variety to choose from this year.

Indulge in a 13-course meal

Indian Accent restaurant, which is often credited with introducing fusion food to the country, offers a delicious potpourri that doesn’t compromise on religious sentiments or novelty in its vrat ka khana. The pop-up by the talented chef Manish Mehrotra is a 13-course meal where the kitchen has experimented with traditional satvik ingredients with an inventive approach. The menu has Chaat made with Avocado, Pomelo, Radish, Nut and Kuttu Papdi, Sweet and Sour Pumpkin, Quinoa, Tulsi Almond Crumble, Gobhi Musallum, Saffron, Baked Beetroot, Candy Walnut, Yogurt, Shrikhand, Amaranth Toffee, amongst other dishes. Mehtrotra shares that the trial and research for the specialised pop-up went for around two months. “I took it as a challenge to work with so many restrictions regarding usage of ingredients, etc. Goes without saying that it required a lot of research, trial and error. People have been eating the same things in the name of navratra khana. We wanted to serve them something different,” he shares.

Not your regular vrat ka khana

It is the same zeal to go beyond staid that has prompted an array of new dishes for the navratras. At its two restaurants, Kiyan and Del, Roseate Hotels and Resorts has meticulously crafted unique items like Sabudana Croquettes with chilly jam, Kuttu paneer potli and arbi shami. Meanwhile, chefs at Gastronomica in Greater Kailash-I are gaining accolades for their exclusive menu for the divine nine days that has innovation written all over it. The outlet has Sumac Rice Risotto, Spinach and Buckwheat Nachos, Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Honey Roasted Pumpkin Water Chestnuts Tortellini, Sabudana and Peanut Medallions and Raw Banana Kebabs. For the sweet tooth, the kheer has been replaced with Beet Root Halwa. According to executive sous chef, Roseate Anuj Wadhawan, “Navratra food is considered sacred yet dull and boring by observers since it doesn’t have onions and garlic. However at DEL and Kheer we have created a thali that has handpicked dishes that would not only be attractive to the diner but also palatable. Our team of chefs keep reinventing themselves throughout the year to offer something new to suit the fast changing taste and preferences of diners today.”

‘Break away from the trio of potato, sabudana and kuttu’

Chefs maintain that the main reason is to remove the banality associated with Navratra food. “With Market scenario changing and new experiments being widely accepted by people, we have consciously decided to do things differently. Instead of adding more global ingredients we are playing with few old traditional ingredients this Navratra, element such as Ramdana, chironji (widely used as a dry fruit, in our menu it is used as pulse) and others which are not very widely used anymore are part of our menu,” says chef Rajiv Malhotra, corporate chef, Chor Bizarre. For instance, the restaurant is offering chirongi and sanghare ki dal, ramdana vada with dahi chutney, lauki badam ki kheer, phaldari kofta as part of its navratra menu.

It has, however, not been easy to induce people to break away from the trinity of potato, sabudana and i. “We have started receiving a good response but we had to convince them to try new things. I told them to eat it as an experience instead of looking at it as simply vrat ka khana,” states Mehrotra.