On a weekend afternoon, as pre-monsoon showers bless Delhi with a much-awaited downpour, we enjoy the rains indulging in a typical city-favourite pastime — gorging on various street foods. Our table at the newly opened Indian Republic Canteen by Veda in Connaught Place (CP), the heart of the city, is decorated with unique global Indian fusions — Pesto Dosa served with coconut chutney and sambhar, Samosa Cannelloni, Waffle Bread Pakora, Matki Pizza, Dal Pakwan Tacos, while the menu has many other surprising cross-over delicacies such as Mac and Cheese Pakora, Dosa Onion Rings, Makhni Pizza, Haldi Latte and so on. Chef and culinary director Atul Sharma likes to call these fusion flavours ‘futuristic’ Indian cuisine.
Sharma sits with us against a wall adorned with vibrant retro posters and wall art displaying scenes from old Hindi cinema. A poster particularly catches our attention for its collage of vintage Indian stamps, train tickets, faded bills from canteens of yore and a cinema ticket of Regal cinema that stands as a landmark in CP even after aeons. “We wanted to take Indian food to a futuristic level whwile reviving the good old days of public canteens,” says Sharma about the concept ideated by owner Alok Aggarwal.
“Most of the dishes here have quintessentially Indian flavours from Sindh, Punjab, Agra, Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Jodhpur, Mysore and other places blended with global cuisines such as Italian, American, Chinese and Mexican because Indian consumers these days want even the traditional food with a twist,” he adds, as we head over to our meal.
Desi at heart, global serve
We start off with a bite of Waffle Bread Pakora (`129), a perfect companion on a rainy day. The pakora with the honey-comb pattern of waffles has a filling of tamarind and mint chutney in its design, making it a treat for the eyes too besides taste! Next, the humble tea-time snack samosa, sold at every nook and cranny in north India, gets a sophisticated makeover as Samosa Cannelloni (`149). It transforms from a deep-fried conical snack to a cylindrical cannelloni, a stuffed and baked shell pasta from Italy that is usually served with spinach, béchamel sauce, whey cheese and meat. However, our version has the familiar flavour of spicy cooked potato and green peas tempered in cumin seeds, quelling our curiosity for a big surprise inside.
The delicious Dal Pakwan Tacos (`179) excites us with its global take. Instead of the Sindhi Dal (lentil curry) served with traditional Pakwan (fried flatbread), the lentils snuggle in the crowd-favourite Mexican shells. The filling is topped with chopped tomato, onions and a garnish of sev made of chickpea flour that makes it a truly Indian dish at heart, its North American makeover notwithstanding.
The Pesto Dosa (Rs 249) that follows is smeared with Italy’s Pesto sauce inside its crepe, while the US’ famous onion rings are served south Indian style as Dosa Onion Rings (Rs 169), coated in fermented dosa batter before being deep-fried. The varieties of pizzas are another revelation — from the Makhni Pizza (Rs 269), which has a layering of Makhni (lentil gravy), not marinara sauce, and paneer (cottage cheese) instead of pepperoni to the Korma Pizza (Rs 289) serving
Lucknow’s famous royal dish in Italian style and Matki Pizza (Rs 289) served in an earthen pot, each item is presented in a never-before-seen combinations.
Novel concepts
The restaurant will soon bring new concepts such as Chai-Thali for the rainy season and Indian Breakfast starting at Rs 99 to keep up with the canteen-style rates. “We have kept the taste very simple and sober in terms of presentation and taste. Visitors can expect canteen snacks such as Onion Bhajia, Palak (Spinach) Bhajia, Vada Pav and Sweet Bun with cutting chai in our Monsoon concept Chai-Thali. Besides, we’re going to bring typical breakfast from Indian cities, including crowd-favourites such as Poha, Bedmi Poori-Seethaphal Ki Kkhati-Mithi Sabzi, and Kachori with Aloo Gravy, Chole-Bhature, Lassi and more,” says Sharma.