If the history of the Silk Route has been left behind by merchants and writers like Marco Polo, the history of the lesser-known Spice Route is to be found in its cauldrons — the dominion of its chefs who took up station in the inns or courts that lined the route and the families, which thought up suitable snackibles that would stay preserved to be eaten by trader husbands and sons on the great journey.
In a corner of one of the most iconic restaurants of Delhi at The Imperial, the table begins to pile up with items hot and sour, salads and main dishes, things to bite into and eaten in a minute and things to chew on…it is as if it were the meal for a send-off before a trip and to decide what to pack if one were to travel down the ancient Spice Route.
The arts of pickling and drying were thus born in family kitchens to preserve the food for long journeys, says head chef Mustian Gadang, an Indonesian, who has recently taken over and designed a new menu for The Spice Route restaurant after 27 years, moving it away from its Thai-domination to new vegan and non-vegetarian territory, towards a diverse Asian cuisine presenting selections from the entire trail of the Route.
He starts us on a South East Asian favourite, a yellow fin tuna and avocado starter, a duck salad popular in Vietnam with a tamarind dressing and a Thai mango salad, where the umami and a nutty sweetness flood the mouth followed by the tang of the mango and its dressing. Have we mixed things up too much in our order?
Chef Philippe Agnese, executive chef, The Imperial, who also accompanies us at the table, reassures us that at Asian tables “you put everything you’ve cooked on it, people eat salads with something warm. What we do recommend is that you use the proper sauce; with each dish in the new menu there is a sauce and it’s all made in-house”.
New stars on the menu
Chef Mustian’s playfulness is evident in the new menu; for instance, the fried tempeh, a highly nutritive option to tofu known around Malaysia and Indonesia. It is not available in India so it has been created in-house. Thinly sliced, it has been pitched as a ‘Vegetarian Bacon’ and can be served grilled, shallow fried or steamed but can be a bit of an acquired taste for non-vegetarians. Vegans love it though. Like many others in the new fare, it points to Chef Mustian’s origins in Sumatra — an island at the beginning of the Spice Route to reach Java — where volcanoes steam and mangrove forests heave a denseness of trees and shrubs. This medley transformed into flavours, promises a culinary adventure for guests. Our meal, as it progresses, with very flavourful curry puffs with a duck filling (popular all over Malaysia and Singapore) and then onto a mild Indonesian Rendang, were ways of discovering what people on the Route ate while they travelled for trade—and like in all journeys, sometimes people did quick bites, and sometimes sat down for a decadent meal.
Chef Mustian’s defence for the rendang’s mildness—in Singapore where I first had it on its food-streets, the spice and heat popped—is persuasive. “The taste is not supposed to be too hot and immersed with chillies, it has to be moderate for one to enjoy the flavours,” he explains.
The Tamil MuslIm input
Like the tempeh for vegans, the Mamak Barbecued Baby Chicken from Malaysia, for non-vegetarians, is a find. The Mamak chicken is not only fabled but also has a strong connect to the ancient trade route, says Chef Mustian. “Mamak stalls originated with the Tamil Muslims, whose forefathers migrated from South India, mostly to the Malay Peninsula, and other locations in south-east Asia, centuries ago. They are regarded as part of the Malaysian Indian community. This was enough reason for me to incorporate this in the menu as our epicurean journey rests on authentic cuisine from East Asia to Java to India,” he says.
Two end-notes. The menu has not been categorised by region but according to its source of origin: land, water or the garden. And some old favourites of the earlier menu have been retained. So, you can order Comfort Thai, i.e, the red and green curries if you want, but the buzz is that guests aren’t really looking back. At the restaurant, the chefs are considering the new lineup as the beginning of a journey and they are having fun with it. Spice Route is indeed a good place to bring your hunger.
Meal for two: Rs 8000 + taxes for two people (approx) without alcohol, at The Spice Route, The Imperial, Janpath. Timings: 12.30-2.45 pm for lunch and 7pm-11.45 pm dinner.