Chatpata chaat in California

To pursue a dream in the midst of a pandemic can be daunting Food bloggerjournalist Nikhil Merchant who travelled between continents to see his dream through would know A familiar face on Mumbairsquos gastronomic circles Merchant moved bag and baggage to Los Angeles sometime in the fag end of 2019 There in the upmarket Whittier California he along with his childhood friend and former South Mumbai resident Ashwini Jhaveri were to launch the cityrsquos first Indian restaurant when the Covid19 outbreak threw a spanner in the works While they settled for a popup on weekends that offered a rotating menu of Indian snacks and meals they are now just months shy of finally realising their passion enterprise an allday restaurant named ImliMerchant and Ashwini Jhaveri coowners say their dream restaurant has been five years in the makingTesting new waters as the architect and cocreator of Imli was a sound decision feels Merchant who despite a glowing foodie resume never donned the chefrsquos hat ldquoI donrsquot come from a conventional food background This wasnrsquot the line my family expected me to take They wanted me to get an MBA and become an entrepreneur So while I was passionate about cooking since I was 11 I only pursued it as a hobby The thought of doing a hotel management course hadnrsquot even occurred to merdquo he says over a call Merchant started slow cooking meals for family and friends while researching about food histories As his interest grew he landed writing gigs with publications and began consulting for Mumbai restaurantsWatching his journey closely was his friend Jhaveri a legal professional who moved to LA in December 2007 after she was married She had become nostalgic about her home city especially its street food ldquoThe food at restaurants here didnrsquot strike a chord with me Thatrsquos also because it was meant for the American palaterdquo she remembers On a whim she reached out to Merchant ldquoto pick his brainsrdquo about starting something that would come close to the chaat eateries of Mumbai The idea to start a restaurant came up during these conversations says Merchant of the project which has been over five years in the making ldquoI kept travelling between Mumbai and the US during this time developing recipes and curating the menurdquoThe murgh badaami shorba a slowreduced spiced chicken bone broth scented with saffron poppy and almonds is part of the chefrsquos special menuIn the US Indian cuisine is synonymous with butter chicken and chicken tikka gravy which are if anything interchangeable feels Merchant When he came on board he was happy to start with a town like Whittier that had little or no exposure to Indian food The challenge here was to acquaint the locals with the cuisine about which many of them had no clue except that it was ldquotoo spicyrdquo ldquoIt was my prerogative to paint a perfect picture for themrdquo Also Read Chaat time with Sarah ToddldquoWhen the pandemic happened construction of our restaurant took a hit In the same building where we had bought a space was a brewery which had opened in January 2020 It had managed to survive as they were allowed to do takeawaysrdquo says Merchant At some point the brewery owner reached out to Jhaveri and Merchant asking if theyrsquod like to collaborate and do a weekly popupGoan pork soportelThe menu at this popup includes experimental street style offerings with favourite Bombay eats like rasta sandwich kheema pav sev puri aloo chaat and chicken frankie it also has a ldquochai barrdquo where you can pick from filter kaapi and masala elaichi and pudina chai to enjoy with the buttery and slightly sweet Shrewsbury biscuits and puff pastries For those craving a hearty main course there are ldquofamily stylerdquo mealsmdashshrimp moilee the vegetarian option is jackfruit and cauliflower moilee Goan prawn curry achari murg and also desi thalis comprising paneer makhani dal makhani mixed vegetable raita pickles and papad There has been an attempt to ensure that the lesser known curries like the coconutbased moilee have their moment in the sun ldquoI am trying to stay away from trends and all the boxedup assumptions of what Indian food and culture is aboutrdquo he saysThatrsquos also one of the reasons why Merchant refuses to tone down the spice in his dishes unless of course the customer makes a special request Even then he doesnrsquot before trying to first convince them ldquoRecently we had someone come in who told us point blank that she has lsquozero tolerancersquo for spice I went up to her with the sauce that I had prepared for the jackfruit curry and which I had blended with some spices and asked her to taste it She had a lick and then some more before polishing it off She was taken aback Until before that day she didnrsquot know she could handle spicerdquo says MerchantThe menu has everything from ldquostreetrdquo style offerings like rasta sandwich and sev puri to special ldquofamily stylerdquo shrimp moilee and achari murgIn March the popup launched the Golden Quadrangle Series showcasing one dish from the North South West and Eastern parts of India every month The dishes are part of the chefrsquos special menu They started with the crab rasam a brothstyle soup from the region of Chettinad made with rasam masala black pepper sweet red chilli and coriander This was followed by the sorpotel from Goa in April and recently the murgh badaami shorba a slowreduced spiced chicken bone broth scented with saffron poppy and almonds from the NorthJhaveri and Merchant are now gearing up to launch their restaurant in the next few months With residents at Whittier already able to tell the difference between puri and papad their experiment seems to be working The ultimate goal says Merchant is to bring these lessons back home ldquoSometimes I wonder how I managed to uproot myself from Bombayrdquo he later confides quickly adding that you have to move out sometimes to appreciate everything yoursquove left behindAlso Read Notsoaam flavours