Close your eyes and think Parsi food. What comes up is a whole range of dishes Indian afficionados of Parsi cuisine are familiar with, ranging from Irani Chai and Kuku to Berry Pulao, Salli Boti to Patra Ni Machchi. These are certainly the dishes that most of us would be familiar with. But Chef Viraf Patel’s curated Chef’s Table menu at Pune’s popular “cocktail-first” bar gave us a rare glimpse into Parsi food. The menu not only offered up dishes that are Parsi-origin, as we know it, but also fused them with Levantine touches in an organic yet delicious way.
The combination of Levantine and Parsi cuisines, Chef Patel reveals, is the most natural progression in his head. “The Parsis came from Iran to India, and we started being called Parsis,” he says. “But all the food we eat actually comes from the Levantine region. After we came to India, we amalgamated with the Gujarati community, so the food changed. So, this is like an ode to what it would have been.” Highlighting the age and historical significance of Levantine cuisine, the Chef’s Table menu was the perfect presentation of Parsi food in an avatar that will take everyone by pleasant surprise.
The menu kicked off with Roasted Carrots served on a base of tamarind-infused yoghurt, curry butter pistachio and almond duqqa. The orange and black baby carrots were perfectly roasted and presented a medley of natural sweetness. The yoghurt-based sauce cut through the sweetness beautifully. With the pistachio and almond duqqa, nobody could possibly miss the crunch of carrots.
Next came the Spinach & Dill Kuku with Zereshk Berry Agrodolce. This dish was the highlight of the menu for this author. If you’ve ever tried Kuku at your neighbourhood Parsi restaurant in Mumbai or Pune, then this one will be a revelation for you. Paired with the sweet-and-sour agrodolce, the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth Spinach & Dill Kuku was a shock to the senses, simply because it plated up a combination you’d never imagine. If there’s one dish from this curated menu that this author can eat more of, every day, it’s this one.
The same could not be said about the next course, at least at first glance. For a Bengali foodie, imagining eggplant and shrimp on the same plate is next to impossible. So, the Eggplant with Spiced Shrimp, Crispy Black Rice Salsa and Toum, seemed to be confusion on a plate. But once you scoop up a bit of the fleshy eggplant with the crunchy shrimp and black rice into your mouth, the doubts disappear as your palate begins to understand this light yet meaty pairing.
Brooding, spicy and yet smooth, the next course of Black Bean Hummus, Spiced Lamb and Pita was another ride for the senses. The crispy lamb was the perfect topping for the dark-hued, meaty hummus, while the chillies cut through the smoothness with bursts of heat. The warm, spiced Pita, despite being a side, was the highlight of this course simply because of the way it carried the flavours of the hummus and the lamb.
For the next course, Chef Patel once again paired a Parsi favourite with elevated ingredients. The Braised Duck was perfectly cooked to a medium-rare, while the veiled or Pardeli Berry Pilaf was like a pasty full of flavour. The walnut relish simply added to the dish. Like with all his courses, Chef Patel offered vegetarian versions for this one too, and the Braised Cabbage which replaced the duck on the vegetarian plate looked like a piece of art.
To end the menu, Chef Patel offered Rose Water Muhallebi with Parsi Sev, zereshk berries and roasted grapes. Given that the meal itself leaned more towards the savoury side, including the carrots, you’d expect the last course to turn out to be saccharine sweet like many Indian sweets tend to be. But the rose water-infused milk pudding was so light on the sweet touch that it worked as the perfect post-meal palate cleanser. The berries and grapes added a bit of refreshing zing, while the crunchiness of the sev popped in the mouth. What a pleasurable way to end a Parsi-Levantine meal!