What sustenance would you need within the afterlife? For Historical Egyptians, who have been usually buried with an array of foods and drinks, bread was a standard alternative. As I chunk into Ekaa’s 110% Hydration Bread impressed by this civilisation, I’ve my reply to the query. Time and custom have been transcended… one feels that if any bread may give new life to the lifeless, it will be one thing like this. We ourselves are blissfully rejuvenated with extra bites.
This beautiful bread is a part of Ekaa’s lately launched Tasting Menu 5.0. By means of an impressively elaborate 10-course meal, Chef Niyati Rao and her staff take you on a journey by means of (Earth’s) area and time. Chef Niyati explains, “We got here throughout so many dishes from the previous that we wished to reconnect to. We wished to create our personal variations of them. So we thought, ‘Why not compile them and curate a complete tasting menu based mostly on kingdoms of the world?’ There are a number of tales and legends related to every dish. Historical past buffs are undoubtedly going to get pleasure from it. However there’s different trivia as properly. Every course could be a dialog starter.”
Throughout my meal, I nearly felt like a gourmand Physician Who making foodie stops over the centuries utilizing the TARDIS. In any case, every course goals to move you to a area throughout a selected historic period. And if we had the prospect to embark on such a voyage, would not we need to feast like royals? That is how Ekaa hones its focus, utilizing storytelling to curate an expertise that includes regal delicacies from a choice of world dynasties. This isn’t a simple, archival plunge into royal diets. There are signature twists within the story.
As an illustration, the 110% Hydration bread reinforces its Historical Egyptian ties with a date pairing. Nonetheless, the substances for the latter do not come from Egypt. As a substitute, you might be provided Indian nolen gur and buffalo milk white butter. “The bread is flavoured with coriander seeds and unripened blueberries we have now freshly picked from the farms,” Akshay Bhonsale, Ekaa’s Head Boulanger, tells us. Though the conceptualisation of Tasting Menu 5.0 requires a sure suspension in time and area, Ekaa finds methods to floor you ceaselessly within the current and the native.
The Kingdom of the Tzars course. Picture Credit score: Ekaa
Among the many different favorite overseas forays is Trout Roe with Smetana and Buckwheat – Ekaa’s tackle Russian Tzar Nicholas II’s beloved “eggs on eggs”. It’s served with beetroot cooked in terracotta, harking back to the famed Faberge Eggs. The cool softness of the roe, the creaminess of the garlic-infused smetana and the crunch of the buckwheat show how ingenuity and ability complement the storytelling right here. This texture deal with is adopted by a flavour delight. The Kingdom Of Qings course consists of soup made with goji berries, tapioca pearls, spices, and mugwort-flavoured Chinese language lap cheong. The playful presentation brings to thoughts goldfish frolicking in a small pond, whereas the wholesomeness justifies the nod to the medicinal soups of imperial China.
Picture Credit score: Ekaa
Ekaa launched a brand new cocktail menu a couple of months again and we had the chance to attempt it alongside Tasting Menu 5.0. Though the cocktails should not a part of the identical narrative, they nonetheless rejoice historical past. Curated by Head Mixologist Jishnu AJ, the bar menu highlights the wealthy heritage of Ayurveda by means of revolutionary concoctions and lesser-known substances. We extremely suggest ‘Camphor’, a gin-based cocktail with edible camphor, jasmine syrup, supasawa, blue pea and jasmine leaves. One other gin and supasawa choice is the fascinating ‘Mountain Pepper’. We additionally favored ‘Khus’, which launched us to smoked tequila and honey black garlic.
Camphor cocktail. Picture Credit score: Ekaa
Returning to our culinary voyage, we relished the soul-soothing mixture impressed by the Kingdom of Travancore. This course celebrates the easy, well-balanced flavours of Kerala Sadya by means of a horse gram thuvial, Ghandasale rice and a Nendran banana broth. It additionally supplied a much-needed respite from the richer choices. Every course launched us to novel substances and astonishing texture combos. Therefore, we cannot reveal what the Kingdom Of Siam, the Aztecs, the Marathas, the Rajputana, the Meiji Restoration, and The Vikings. You need to cease by to find their delectable riches first-hand.
Picture Credit score: Ekaa
Ekaa’s new menu promised to allow us to in on royal secrets and techniques and proceeded to offer us a style of them. Fantastically illustrated playing cards prefaced every course, hinting on the treats to return. As we collected them on the finish of the night time, we realised we had certainly drawn a successful hand.
What: Ekaa’s Tasting Menu 5.0
The place: Kitab Mahal, 1st Ground, D Sukhadwala Street, Azad Maidan, Fort, Mumbai.
