HYDERABAD: After successful pop-ups in Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Bangkok, and Perth, Indian Accent New Delhi, which is celebrating 15 glorious years of culinary excellence, recently showcased its signature offerings at Kangan, The Westin Mindspace, Madhapur.
Indian Accent renowned for its innovative approach on Indian food, blends traditional flavours with modern cooking techniques. The path-breaking contemporary Indian menu combined fresh seasonal produce and unusual ingredients from across the world to excite the adventurous yet satisfy traditional tastes and evoke nostalgia. Indian Accent has won innumerable awards. It has had the privilege of being on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for over 12 years and is also on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Elaborating about the specially curated menu, Executive Chef Shantanu Mehrotra says, “We are doing a 15-year celebration internationally and pan-India. So, we have kept certain classics of Indian Accent like miniature chaats. The crab goes well with mustard and we’re doing it with Bengali mustard. At times to curate such dishes may take an hour or a few days or weeks for experimenting with it.” Further adding what’s his favourite dish from the menu, the chef shares, “There are quite a few dishes like the chaat and pork rib among others.”
Our experience of the special tasting menu started with Blue Cheese Naan and Indian Accent Shorba. The bite-sized naans with gooey blue cheese filling went perfectly with the warmth of shorba served inside a mini jug. Next it was the chef’s favourite dish — Chaats from Streets of Delhi — the plate looked so delicate — mini kachori, mini samosa — ragda topped with dahi. From the streets of Delhi, we went straight to Kolkata with Kanyakumari Crab with Telicherry Pepper.
Crab in Bengali mustard sauce tasted heavenly. It was time for some Lucknowi flavours but with a twist as usual. Duck Shaami in Barberry Chutney had that melt in the mouth texture like a typical galouti kebab. The star of the menu was Meetha Achar Pork Ribs with Sun Dried mango and Sour Apple. The sweet and tangy pork ribs fell right off the bones and coated with the achaari sauce. It was clearly the highlight of the menu.
Not only the dishes were expertly done, even the palate cleanser — Indian Accent Kulfi Sorbet was served in a mini pressure cooker, elevating the entire experience. “Pressure cooker is quintessential in an Indian kitchen. We cook so many things in it.
So we thought of giving it a twist and serving the cool sorbet in the hot cooking utensil,” explains Chef Shantanu with a smile. It was time for us to taste the main course — Murgh Malai with Saag and Pickled Onion, Black Dairy Dal, Wasabi and Cucumber Raita served with Indian Accent Kulcha. The dishes were simply delicious and as we waited for the desserts to come, we were served samplers of Royal Brackla Scotch whiskey —12 yo, 18 yo and 21 yo.
In dessert there were three dishes — Pistachio Gujiya with White Chocolate, Daulat ki chaat with rose petal chikki and roasted almonds and Doda Burfi Treacle Tart with vanilla bean ice cream. Daulat ki chaat screamed opulence as they served Rs 500 notes with it (even though fake). The entire dining experience was full of not only tasty food but with inventive presentation.