Exploring the culinary magic of coriander oil

Fragrant and flavourful, the new herb oil on the block seems to be making its presence felt on city menus

A few years ago, chilli oil was all the craze, popping up on menus, grocery shelves and diners’ minds. With a kick of heat and a hint of sweetness, it is still a prominent ingredient in kitchens, although in an obvious manner. Picking up on the trend now is coriander oil that has been finding its way into the menus of the city’s most awarded restaurants. It’s only a matter of time before it seeps into consumer consciousness and city-wide menus. Ekaa’s chef Niyati Rao shares, “I think this [trend] is taking place with every single oil right now, chefs have started to realise [the potential] of extracting oil from different ingredients, and why not? It brings out more flavour. As the culinary world progresses, people are looking at ingredients not just in their natural forms, but other forms that they can be used in.”

Sous Vide Chicken

Last month, this writer tasted koji cucumber and sweet cream dotted with vibrant green at Ekaa’s Sunday Picnic, which added, as chef Rao terms, a flash of freshness to the dish. More recently, from Slink & Bardot, chef AliAkbar Baldiwala’s solkadhi broth, with barramundi ceviche, came with coriander oil and now it’s hard to imagine solkadhi without it. In keeping with their light-bite day menu, Sesame-Hyatt Centric Juhu has a chilli cilantro cheddar melt sourdough toastie where the coriander oil is infused with a coriander pesto and topped with the fresh herb. Chef Rahul Shrivastava, executive chef
at Sesame, adds, “It’s an interesting flavour which gives a dish a great deal of freshness, elevating it, and a bit of citrus.” Chef Rao adds that coriander offers an aftertaste of citrus flavour and fragrance without the acidic sourness, quite opposite to the earthiness of dried coriander seeds.

Chef Amit Shetty

The oil makes an appearance in two of Café Noir’s dishes — sous vide chicken and red snapper that incorporates the oil into the slow-cooked chicken and is also used as a garnish. “It also adds a colour component to the dish,” chef Amit Shetty from the Lower Parel eatery explains. We eat with our eyes and perhaps, the visual cue aids our comprehension of the flavour. Rao adds, “Along with the visual appeal, when the thought process of using any flavour oil is unveiled to the customer, they’re fascinated and there’s a newfound respect for the chef, dish and ingredient.”

chef Rahul Shrivastava

There seems to be truth behind the trend or, in this case, flavour. Rao decodes it, “Infusing an herb with oil encapsulates that initial fresh flavour of the herb, and intensifies the depth of flavour components. Oil does that.” She explains why these flavours are so prominent even as a garnish, “With a water-based dish, using an oil goes a long way because the two mediums can’t emulsify without an acid. So, you can taste the coriander as incorporated in the dish but also separately.” It also texturally balances a dish when chefs can’t use handfuls of fresh herb, they can use just a drizzle, Rao concludes.

Chef Niyati Rao

Innovation fun

For experimenters at home, Rao suggests pairing coriander oil with raita, dahi and salt, in broths with noodles or with poached chicken; while chef Shrivastava stands by his mother’s chutney recipe of fresh coriander, salt, lemon and one green chilli. Eat it with dal, chawal and dahi, he recommends.

Koji cucumber and sweet cream

Taste it here

>> Burrata chaat
At: Nksha, Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate
Cost: Rs 900

>> Koji cucumber, sweet cream
At: Ekaa, Kitab Mahal, Fort. Manzil, Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate.
Cost: Rs 2,400 onwards (Part of the Sunday Picnic set menu)

>> Chilli coriander cheddar melt toastie
At: Sesame-Hyatt Centric, Juhu. 
Cost: Rs 535

Coriander oil. Pic Courtesy/Ekaa

>> Sous vide chicken
At: Cafe Noir, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel. 
Cost: Rs 825 onwards

>> Barramundi ceviche with solkadhi broth
At: Slink & Bardot, Thadani House, Worli. 
Cost: Rs 3,500 onwards (Part of the Tales from the Shoreline menu)

Make it at home

Place coriander leaves in a strainer and plunge into the boiling water for 15 seconds. Remove and immediately plunge into a bowl of water filled with ice cubes. Place in a blender with olive oil. Whiz until the leaves are broken down. Add vegetable oil and whiz for one minute on high speed. 
Chef Amit Shetty

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