10-05-2006, 01:54 AM
Veggie supreme
Anurag Yadav
Say `hello' to a culinary trend that is taking the country by storm. Vegetarianism gets a thumping vote of confidence as restaurants are cashing in on a green diet that sits lightly on your conscience and your tummy as well!
Some dismiss it as a fad. Others say it's the sign of the changing times. The truth is that eating out is fast becoming an Indian passion. If you don't believe that, then just take a peek in at any restaurant on any given evening and you'll find it choc-a-block with people. From the ubiquitous dhabas in north India vending butter chicken and daal roti to the restaurants dotting every town and city and from the roadside kiosks hawking cut fruits and chaat to the swank five star eating joints, it's brisk business all the way.
Whether it is Puran Da Dhaaba in Amritsar, Bukhara in Delhi, Copper Chimney in Mumbai, Paradise in Secundrabad, Saravana Bhavan in Chennai or Mocambo in Kolkata, there's a new prosperity and respectability to the business of food.
With the disposable incomes of urban families on the rise, cooking has become a cumbersome chore best left to someone else. And lending a helping hand is an array of convenience food vendors. Pizza parlours, curry joints, bakeries offering sandwiches and salads, south Indian tiffin, Chinese eating rooms, coffee shops and more, have mushroomed in most cities.
<span style='color:red'>However, over the last couple of years a new trend has surfaced. An increasing number of people are sinking their teeth into gourmet vegetarian food. As the preference for veggie foods goes on the upswing, hotels and restaurants are fine-tuning the art of developing vegetarian cuisine.</span>
Take the case of the popular Nosh restaurant right next to Mumbai's Regal cinema in the posh Colaba area. The eatery draws customers in droves as it offers a heady mix of vegetarian international cuisine with choice dishes from the world's gourmet capitals.
Unlike many such upmarket eating joints that dot the area, Nosh is a totally veggie affair where the menu offers all the pleasures of dining in a good ambience, where one can enjoy quality cuisine. Says owner Czaee Shah, "We knew the trend was catching on but never imagined such a big hunger for vegetarian food. This has surpassed all our expectations."
Veggie brigade
<span style='color:red'>Dominos Pizza, Pizza Hut and Pizza Corner have added a distinct vegetarian Indian flavour to their new range of toppings that include peppy paneer, matter paneer and â hold your breath â spicy chaat pizzas.
Special packages for festivals such as Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and Holi are planned to attract the ever-increasing veggie brigade. There are also Navratra special pizzas and burgersfor the customers who continue to flock in during the period of fasting. </span>
Diva, one of Delhi's most popular Italian restaurants known for its wood fired-grilled seafood, and Sirloin Steak, is fast changing its taste to Pasta of your Choice, Lasagne and Italian Pizza â all vegetarian.
Says its proprietor Ritu Dalmia, "A number of our <span style='color:red'>regular clients especially the foreigners, are ordering more and more vegetarian dishes</span>. That's why we have added a lot more veggies to our menu."
Adds Devendra Kumar, Executive Chef of Hotel Le Meridien, "<span style='color:red'>Vegetarianism today is gaining popularity worldwide. There are several reasons for this change. People are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of vegetables and the health hazards of meat. Also, as people travel more often they prefer vegetarian food, as one can never be sure about the quality of meats being served. Eating vegetables, on the other hand, is always healthier and safer.</span>"
This Indian fascination for meatless diets is not new. The only difference is that earlier the vegetarian restaurant was considered the country cousin of the Food and Beverage (F&B) business. But not any more. Now it is the upmarket thrust that is making the cash registers jingle.
Says Chef Gomes, executive chef at Delhi's Tivoli Garden Resort, "We organise a large number of parties and corporate functions and the <span style='color:red'>vegetarian fare is a major draw today</span>. It is not just Indian fare sans meat that people are asking for. There are also demands for the latest international cuisine, which is vegetarian."
Adds Manoj Thapa, F&B manager at Uppal's Orchid, one of Delhi's new five-star hotels, "As far as international vegetarian recipes are concerned, we have to give customers the very best. So, we import stuff like fresh shiitake mushrooms, Roman artichokes and asparagus. Because even though people may not be familiar with some dishes of international vegetarian cuisine, they are ready to experiment and expect us to give them the best."
Exotic cuisines
The greatest and most visible revolution in the vegetarian food business is happening in top-end hotels and restaurants that are preparing separate menus for the vegetarians. Mumbai tops the list with many veggie joints offering exotic Indian and international cuisines.
Little Italy was opened eight years ago to cater to the up-market, veggie clientele, particularly the high-spending Gujarati market in Mumbai. Proprietor Umesh Mehta says the decision to specialise in Italian cuisine was due to the scant number of restaurants, particularly stand-alone ones that served Italian food. The initial response to the restaurant was not very good, but over time it has made its mark and two more branches outside Mumbai have also been launched. Little Italy has an Italian chef and serves authentic Italian food made from imported ingredients.<span style='color:red'>According to the Hemant Oberoi, chief chef of Mumbai Taj Mahal hotel, around 40 per cent of its clientele is vegetarian</span>, and this necessitates planning special menus for them. Even Delhi's Maurya Sheraton will now offer its celebrated Dal Bukhara without garlic for its Jain clientele!
Many hotels and leading restaurants regularly run vegetarian festivals to cater to the growing and high spending veggie brigade. Another joint that serves totally vegetarian fare in a regal setting is the Carnival at the Ramada Palmgrove Plaza Hotel in Mumbai. According to restaurant manager Oniel D'souza, the promotion offering a pure vegetarian, Marwari style thali, has been conceived with the intention of attracting a vegetarian clientele from the Jain and Marwari crowd.
No longer do chefs pass over a ratatouille or a green salad as a side dish. And no longer does a fresh, green diet breed disdain. It is now given star treatment at all top eating houses. Pulses, fruits, fungi and herbs, vegetable stews, fiery and enticing Thai salads, Chinese mushrooms made with herbs and heady Indian chutneys and pickles are all the pick of the season.
And as vegetarianism gets a thumping vote of confidence for its nutritional value and good taste, it is time to say `hello' to a genre of eating that sits lightly on the conscience... and the tummy as well!
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2...20200130100.htm
Anurag Yadav
Say `hello' to a culinary trend that is taking the country by storm. Vegetarianism gets a thumping vote of confidence as restaurants are cashing in on a green diet that sits lightly on your conscience and your tummy as well!
Some dismiss it as a fad. Others say it's the sign of the changing times. The truth is that eating out is fast becoming an Indian passion. If you don't believe that, then just take a peek in at any restaurant on any given evening and you'll find it choc-a-block with people. From the ubiquitous dhabas in north India vending butter chicken and daal roti to the restaurants dotting every town and city and from the roadside kiosks hawking cut fruits and chaat to the swank five star eating joints, it's brisk business all the way.
Whether it is Puran Da Dhaaba in Amritsar, Bukhara in Delhi, Copper Chimney in Mumbai, Paradise in Secundrabad, Saravana Bhavan in Chennai or Mocambo in Kolkata, there's a new prosperity and respectability to the business of food.
With the disposable incomes of urban families on the rise, cooking has become a cumbersome chore best left to someone else. And lending a helping hand is an array of convenience food vendors. Pizza parlours, curry joints, bakeries offering sandwiches and salads, south Indian tiffin, Chinese eating rooms, coffee shops and more, have mushroomed in most cities.
<span style='color:red'>However, over the last couple of years a new trend has surfaced. An increasing number of people are sinking their teeth into gourmet vegetarian food. As the preference for veggie foods goes on the upswing, hotels and restaurants are fine-tuning the art of developing vegetarian cuisine.</span>
Take the case of the popular Nosh restaurant right next to Mumbai's Regal cinema in the posh Colaba area. The eatery draws customers in droves as it offers a heady mix of vegetarian international cuisine with choice dishes from the world's gourmet capitals.
Unlike many such upmarket eating joints that dot the area, Nosh is a totally veggie affair where the menu offers all the pleasures of dining in a good ambience, where one can enjoy quality cuisine. Says owner Czaee Shah, "We knew the trend was catching on but never imagined such a big hunger for vegetarian food. This has surpassed all our expectations."
Veggie brigade
<span style='color:red'>Dominos Pizza, Pizza Hut and Pizza Corner have added a distinct vegetarian Indian flavour to their new range of toppings that include peppy paneer, matter paneer and â hold your breath â spicy chaat pizzas.
Special packages for festivals such as Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and Holi are planned to attract the ever-increasing veggie brigade. There are also Navratra special pizzas and burgersfor the customers who continue to flock in during the period of fasting. </span>
Diva, one of Delhi's most popular Italian restaurants known for its wood fired-grilled seafood, and Sirloin Steak, is fast changing its taste to Pasta of your Choice, Lasagne and Italian Pizza â all vegetarian.
Says its proprietor Ritu Dalmia, "A number of our <span style='color:red'>regular clients especially the foreigners, are ordering more and more vegetarian dishes</span>. That's why we have added a lot more veggies to our menu."
Adds Devendra Kumar, Executive Chef of Hotel Le Meridien, "<span style='color:red'>Vegetarianism today is gaining popularity worldwide. There are several reasons for this change. People are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of vegetables and the health hazards of meat. Also, as people travel more often they prefer vegetarian food, as one can never be sure about the quality of meats being served. Eating vegetables, on the other hand, is always healthier and safer.</span>"
This Indian fascination for meatless diets is not new. The only difference is that earlier the vegetarian restaurant was considered the country cousin of the Food and Beverage (F&B) business. But not any more. Now it is the upmarket thrust that is making the cash registers jingle.
Says Chef Gomes, executive chef at Delhi's Tivoli Garden Resort, "We organise a large number of parties and corporate functions and the <span style='color:red'>vegetarian fare is a major draw today</span>. It is not just Indian fare sans meat that people are asking for. There are also demands for the latest international cuisine, which is vegetarian."
Adds Manoj Thapa, F&B manager at Uppal's Orchid, one of Delhi's new five-star hotels, "As far as international vegetarian recipes are concerned, we have to give customers the very best. So, we import stuff like fresh shiitake mushrooms, Roman artichokes and asparagus. Because even though people may not be familiar with some dishes of international vegetarian cuisine, they are ready to experiment and expect us to give them the best."
Exotic cuisines
The greatest and most visible revolution in the vegetarian food business is happening in top-end hotels and restaurants that are preparing separate menus for the vegetarians. Mumbai tops the list with many veggie joints offering exotic Indian and international cuisines.
Little Italy was opened eight years ago to cater to the up-market, veggie clientele, particularly the high-spending Gujarati market in Mumbai. Proprietor Umesh Mehta says the decision to specialise in Italian cuisine was due to the scant number of restaurants, particularly stand-alone ones that served Italian food. The initial response to the restaurant was not very good, but over time it has made its mark and two more branches outside Mumbai have also been launched. Little Italy has an Italian chef and serves authentic Italian food made from imported ingredients.<span style='color:red'>According to the Hemant Oberoi, chief chef of Mumbai Taj Mahal hotel, around 40 per cent of its clientele is vegetarian</span>, and this necessitates planning special menus for them. Even Delhi's Maurya Sheraton will now offer its celebrated Dal Bukhara without garlic for its Jain clientele!
Many hotels and leading restaurants regularly run vegetarian festivals to cater to the growing and high spending veggie brigade. Another joint that serves totally vegetarian fare in a regal setting is the Carnival at the Ramada Palmgrove Plaza Hotel in Mumbai. According to restaurant manager Oniel D'souza, the promotion offering a pure vegetarian, Marwari style thali, has been conceived with the intention of attracting a vegetarian clientele from the Jain and Marwari crowd.
No longer do chefs pass over a ratatouille or a green salad as a side dish. And no longer does a fresh, green diet breed disdain. It is now given star treatment at all top eating houses. Pulses, fruits, fungi and herbs, vegetable stews, fiery and enticing Thai salads, Chinese mushrooms made with herbs and heady Indian chutneys and pickles are all the pick of the season.
And as vegetarianism gets a thumping vote of confidence for its nutritional value and good taste, it is time to say `hello' to a genre of eating that sits lightly on the conscience... and the tummy as well!
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2...20200130100.htm