After 24 years of defining modern Indian cuisine and catapulting the restaurant Indian Accent to the global stage, Chef Manish Mehrotra did the unthinkable. He took a genuine “fursat wali (leisurely) break”. From travelling through Japan and the US to indulging in the simple joy of having no routine, he stepped away from the relentless heat of the professional kitchen to recalibrate. But, not for long. He soon put his Chef’s hat on, and stepped back inside the kitchen. All the recalibartion resulted in his very own restaurant—Nisaba—which has, in the matter of a few days since its opening early this year, managed to be on every Delhiite’s “must-visit” list.
Growing up in Patna, the young man whose father had a petrol pump, never imagined that he would one day be regarded as one of the finest chefs this country has seen. In fact, he did not even have any particular fondness for cooking. “I didn’t want to sit at the petrol pump and I wasn’t any good in studies, so the next best thing to do was to join a hotel management course. It was a very practical decision,” he says matter-of-factly. Armed with a degree from the Institute of Hotel Management in Mumbai, he joined Thai Pavilion of Taj Hotels under Chef Ananda Solomon, who he considers his mentor.
Whether it was his days as student learning about the hotel industry, or working with the celebrated chef, Mehrotra recalls those days as full of all kinds of learnings. At college, he would often end up reaching late, leading to punishments. “We would be asked to grate 100 coconuts or to clean the walk-in area of the kitchen. These things instilled a sense of discipline in us,” he says.
We don’t want to be an occasion restaurant but somewhere you can dine anytime, have a good meal and enjoy yourself
Chef Manish Mehrotra
Nisaba is Mehrotra’s answer to a gap in the market—a luxurious yet non-intimidating space where the food is Indian at heart but adventurous in spirit. “We don’t want to be an occasion restaurant but somewhere you can dine anytime, have a good meal and enjoy yourself,” he says. The dishes on the menu, from the comforting mini samosas with Moradabadi dal, to the exquisite barbeque river sole and the chilli tomato crab ghotala, were created from memories of dishes eaten, cookbooks read and places travelled. The superbly crafted baked rasmalai, for instance, finds its roots in the baked rasgullas he had in Kolkata, prompting him to create a dish inspired from it. “For close to 30 years, I have been told that the dhodha barfi treacle tart is the best dessert I have created. But now, many people, including Rohit Khattar (his longtime creative collaborator at EVH International), have said that I have surpassed it with this baked rasmalai,” he says, with a hint of pride in his smile.
His learnings at Thai Pavilion have stayed with him till date, and he tries to pass down some of them to the newer chefs he comes across as well. “Every day, there is a new recipe or a cuisine, ingredient or technique to learn about. When we joined as trainees, we didn’t have mobiles in our hands. Chefs these days are adept at social media and technology, and have more access to information. So, I have to be on my toes and keep myself updated,” says Mehrotra, who has no qualms admitting that it is the younger chefs he is in competition with.
A big believer in cookbooks, he wrote one while he was at Indian Accent and wants to pen another soon. “I like reading cookbooks, because they are fixed and they are there in front of you on paper. I want to write another one which is slightly more casual than my first,” he adds. For a man who claims he stumbled into the culinary world to avoid the family petrol pump, Mehrotra has spent three decades fuelling the fire of Indian gastronomy. He isn’t resting on the laurels of the treacle tart; he is busy perfecting the baked rasmalai for a new era of diners.