A globally recognised repertoire of Indian and international culinary brands like Bukhara, Dum Pukht, Avartana is ITC Hotels’ fifth and new dining establishment.
Located at ITC Maurya, Delhi, it serves a reinvention of southern Indian cuisine. The menu showcases lost recipes and resurrects them from traditional kitchens for today’s connoisseurs to relish.
Rustic earthenware, ornate steel cutlery and contemporary glassware complements immersive indulgence in magical flavours. TMS does a sampling of its degustation menu and decodes it with chef Manish Kakkar, Avartana.
The base of Avartana is South Indian progressive cuisine. Why?
The menus are inspired by ingredients from the southern Indian peninsula as it is a confluence of familiar flavours that appeal to many palettes. The deployment of modern techniques in the kitchen helps chefs elevate their creations. Eventually it is an interplay that draws in all senses to interpret familiar/known flavours in unique formats on the plate.
What was the inspiration for the pairing of a pork belly with a vegetable like tapioca and the raw mango pudding served with a ghee candle?
Fresh tapioca is one of the staples in south Indian cuisine and it adds a slightly gelatinous and chewy texture to the dish. Overall elevates the dish with contrast of textures. Using a ghee candle on a plate adds a touch of sophistication to the overall dining experience along with warm ghee on top of a raw mango pudding.
Which dishes have the most surprising tastes?
The Crispy Potato 2.0 is a highlight of Taara [a 13-course seafood-exclusive menu]. A multi-sensory experience in a singular course, it represents a nest of crunchy potatoes, hand-sliced into shoe strings paired with a pineapple rasam sphere curated with frozen rasam encased in cocoa butter. This reinvention of the classic Potato Vepudu and Rasam is best popped in one go, for a burst of flavours in your mouth. One of the highlights from Jiaa [an 11-course menu] and personally my preference is Bottle Gourd & Raisin, brimming with banana chili and raisins.
What are the guests’ favourites so far?
The distilled tomato rasam served as an aperitif to all guests before the start of the menu is one of the most loved beverages. Each menu is distinct and has its own signature flavours and dishes, be it the Uthukuli morel in Anika, crab claw fritter in Tara, fennel panna cotta in Bela, crispy chili potato 2.0 in Jiaa or the tempered bottle gourd in Maya.
The citrus coconut coffee ice cream is excellent – how did you arrive at this combination?
The coconut shell is made up of desiccated coconut and dark chocolate. It is filled with citrus coconut mousse, and served along with filter coffee ice cream and coffee cream anglaise. Filter coffee is one of the most loved hot beverages from the southern peninsula and we have been able to churn out that same flavour in our ice-cream. Citrus Coconut Mousse and Coffee Ice-cream complements each other where citrus notes cut through the richness of coconut well and Filter Coffee Ice-cream provides that sharpness.