Apna time aa gaya!

In conversation with Restaurateur Rohit Khattar, Chairman EHV; Culinary Director Chef Manish Mehrotra and Head Chef Rijul Gulati on what to expect at Indian Accent, Mumbai.

When Indian Accent launched in Delhi in 2009, the idea of progressive Indian cuisine was still unprecedented. A 35-year-old chef, reinterpreting Indian dishes that are doused in nostalgia, and pairing them with global ingredients and techniques was an unconventional approach that got Chef Manish Mehrotra enormous recognition. It put the restaurant on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list - for nine years in a row; TIME Magazine listed it on the 100 Greatest Places in the World in 2018. In 2016, they opened the New York outpost and this weekend, finally, Indian Accent opened its doors in Mumbai.

"Der aye, durust aye [better late than never]," smiles Mehrotra, who is now the culinary director for EHV International, a part of the Old-World Hospitality Group that runs Indian Accent, Comorin, Koloman and Hosa. Two weeks ago, at a lunch hosted exclusively for Sunday mid-day, he looked part happy, part stressed, part relieved.

How does it feel, we ask? "It's like coming full circle," he replies, adding, "I studied at Dadar Catering College [IHM] for three years and worked at Thai Pavillion [Taj President, Cuffe Parade] for five years before moving out. Coming back is a very fulfilling experience. Mumbai was always on the cards but something or the other wouldn't work out - be it the location, ambience, infrastructure, or staffing. Maybe the time wasn't right then."

The decor of the serene 75-seater restaurant appears to be a labour of love of restaurateur Rohit Khattar, Chairman EHV, and his wife Rashmi. Classic, dreamy with modern chandeliers, the space looks cheerful, even on a day when the large windows display gloomy, grey clouds outside. "In Delhi, everyone wants the glasshouse. Here, there are no bad tables - all of them overlook the fountain of joy as it pulses to light and music outside. It looks spectacular in the evenings," says Khattar as he walks us around the space.

Designed by London-based Russell Sage Studio, who worked closely with EHV's Design Director and Khattar's sister Rohini Kapur, the restaurant is a tribute to Mumbai's Art Deco movement. Photographs of timeless UNESCO Indian heritage sites and curated Art Deco vignettes from Mumbai - some shot, some commissioned from archives - by fine art photographer Rohit Chawla find a home on the pastel walls. The private dining rooms; one with an attached interactive show kitchen, are ideal for corporate lunches and special occasion parties.

While the menu includes signatures that lean towards a Kashmiri influence, a few more seafood and vegetarian options are chosen, acknowledging the dining habits and seasonal produce of the city. We reckon a quick dipstick was done when Comorin did a popup at corporate club Jolie's a few months ago. Mehrotra observes, "While both cities have contrasting palates, I find Mumbai having a more adventurous one. From churans to masalas to morels, we've brought in everything from Delhi and sourced produce from the vendors across India who we usually buy from, only to ensure similar tastes. When you go to war, you must carry your own ammunition," laughs Mehrotra.

For this, hiring began in December last year and the team was trained in the capital for four months. "Their after-hours bonding has helped them feel comfortable to share knowledge and expertise. Only when you start thinking like Indian Accent and not Delhi, or Mumbai or New York; is when you've been truly inducted in the system," he opines.

The Mumbai kitchen will be helmed by Head Chef Rijul Gulati, who has been with the brand for eight years, starting as a trainee. We sense the nervousness in his dimpled smile as he says, "It is exciting just as it is scary. Along with pride, there is also the pressure to carry forward the legacy of 14 years in a new city. Till now, I was always under the guidance of Shantanu [Mehrotra] and Manish; but here, from supplies to produce, I need to build everything from scratch and bring in a system - all this while I have all eyes on me. As for the city, I am still gelling with it - it has a relaxing vibe. Once you are off work, you can head to Marine Drive and watch the sea, something that you don't get to do in Delhi."

Khattar, who avoids being in the limelight, believes the chef - not the restaurateur - should be the brand. "When I started India Habitat Center, New Delhi, we were the first performing art centre and every morning, the newspapers would have my pictures from the night before, posing while greeting someone. After a while, I was worried I'd have the party boy image which I didn't want. I was AD Singh before AD Singh was born," he laughs, adding, "I consciously cut that down. At a restaurant, your chef is your real star and that's what we did with Manish. Now, we want his chefs to come out of his shadow because Manish cannot be everywhere. He has achieved all that he had to achieve," he adds.

Besides an expansive global wine list under the aegis of head of wines, Kevin Rodrigues; Varun Sharma, who leads the award-winning bars at Comorin and Hosa, has introduced new signature Jazz Age Cocktails to take guests down memory lane. It would be interesting to see how sustainable bartending practices, focussing on natural resources, edible garnishes and rotovaps for cocktails, will keep the bar hip and revolutionary in a classic setup.

Drop cap
On the chef's tasting menu that afternoon, [non-veg, R4400 per person; veg, R3900 per person] the first dish that arrived was the Indian Accent shorba with blue cheese naan, served in black handmade pottery from Manipur. This was followed by bite-size representations of smoked eggplant and maple plantain; churan ka karela and rice cracker; dilli papdi chaat; and chhole bhature with pickled green chilli. Each one had sharp flavours that delightfully complimented each other. Next was the creamy murgh malai, gobindobhog and mushroom payesh, summer truffles; followed by smoked duck shaami, crispy sevai, barberry chutney. The pulled lamb dumpling, aab gosht, rice puffs that came next was a charming coming together of Ladakh and Kashmiri cuisines.

An anar and churan kulfi sorbet, served in play-size pressure cookers, was our palette cleanser. Through the meal, Mehrotra discussed how while there will be comparisons, Indian Accent is very different from restaurants like Masque or Ekaa. "All of us have a common goal of putting Indian food on the world map, albeit in our own way. No matter how many restaurants open; there is still a market for everyone in a big city like Mumbai. If you are doing a good job, people are ready to pay any sum if they get value for money.

Even if you buy a Louis Vuitton for five lakh, only to flaunt the brand, you will demand value for your money when it comes to food - especially, Indian food - because you have so much to compare it with not just at other restaurants but with your own family's, friend's or relative's way of cooking. That's why I believe, once you make Indian food well, the sky is the limit with experimentation."

Up next was seafood stew in raw mango, smoked chilli curry that was. This was our favourite on the menu if we had to pick just one. The flavours from prawn, crab meat, scallops and tuna converged exquisitely in a silky curry sauce. The Indian Accent kulcha with black dairy dal, wasabi and kakdi raita are staples that were served along with this course.

For desserts, the mishti doi cannoli, pista ki lauj and warm doda burfi treacle tart, homemade vanilla bean ice cream, similar to a pecan pie were the perfect way to end the meal but we weren't done just yet. We couldn't leave without the famous daulat ki chaat, so we called for a portion to share with the crew and it arrived in all its pomp and circumstance - with dry ice smoke, fake money bills, and drama. With that melt-in-mouth desert, we walked out like a happy child.