#blahvsfood goes to Masque: Chapter Two

With Chef Varun Tolani and Head Bartender Ankush Gamre 

As everyone knows I am both the biggest Masque supporter and a Prateek Sadhu fanboy. I’ve also known Prateek’s successor Varun Tolani from his earliest days at Masque and seen his growth over the last five years. 

So I was very curious to see how Masque would feel in Prateek’s absence and what direction Varun would take it in. I don’t believe in comparisons because I find that a reductive exercise and it was more interesting to me if Varun could bring his own ideas, imagination and influences to the table at this early stage of his leadership at Masque, as well as get a glimpse into the different pathways along which his food could evolve.

Drumstick marrow in a leek cream tart 

I was happy to see that Masque continues to be the gold standard for food in India. The one obvious change with Varun is in terms of geographical influence. While Prateek had already been moving away from Kashmiri to a wider range of influences, this current menu is probably the most geographically diverse menu I’ve eaten at Masque to date. Uttarakhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu were the most prominent influences in the meal I ate, but there were also elements from the costal cuisines of Mangalore and Goa and the farmers’ staples from Maharashtra and Karnataka. 

Of course, the challenge when you’re trying to put together a set menu with such a wide range of influences is in trying to come up with a meal that feels cohesive and harmonious. It’s easier to do this with a tapas style or a mix and match menu like Bombay Canteen, where the onus is on the guest to choose what he wants to. The restaurant’s role is to make sure every dish is great rather than ensure that each dish flows seamlessly into the other like some sort of symphonic work. A set menu is a bit of a high wire act at the best of times but when you’re taking diverse influences from across the country and synthesising them into a 10 course meal, the challenge is multiplied and the safety net disappears. That’s one of the many reasons why the greatest restaurants and chefs in the world still serve a set menu more often than not, because it’s the difference between Mozart and someone like Beatles who can craft a perfect pop song. Both are expressions of brilliance but we as a society do tend to value the ability to execute complexity as a higher form of art.

I was glad to say that Varun has passed that test with flying colours. My meal at Masque was note perfect. Each dish set the stage for the next, a complex interplay of freshness, acidity, spice, depth, umami, sweetness, texture, temperature… coming together to create a meal that reassured me that my favourite restaurant continues to be the best in the country.

Ghee Roast Oyster 

I miss Prateek Sadhu. The man and the genius. 

But I am also excited to see where Varun takes Masque and in my own selfish way, I’m glad that whenever Prateek opens a new place, I’ll now get to eat at two world class restaurants instead of one. 

Masque Summer Menu - In their own words 

 

Nagfani | Cucumber

Salad made with pickled cactus, aka nagfani, compressed cucumber, cucumber-chilli chutney and candy cane beetroot. Teamed with green apple and coriander broth.

 

Murungakkai Marrow

Our take on Tamil Nadu's murungakkai kuzhambu. The drumstick marrow is marinated in traditional flavours, seeds are seasoned with curry leaf oil. It's set within a leek cream tart.  

 

Oyster | Ghee Roast

Fresh oysters from Kerala, seasoned with fish sauce made at #MasqueLab from trimmings or leftover bones. Topped with ghee roast butter, crispy rice and curry leaves.

 

Blackened Sunchoke | Horse Gram

In 2019 we began experimenting with slow-cooking produce to extract different flavours. Sunchokes are blackened over a month, to make this sweet soda. For the dish, black sunchoke chutney is teamed with fresh sunchokes cooked with nettle and horse gram. Served with patudi, Uttarakhand's horse gram roti or pancake.  

 

Langoustine | Xec Xec | Pao

Langoustines from Kerala are famously a hard catch. The fishermen we source from bring them at peak freshness only twice a year. We marry it with a Goan xec xec-inspired curry that uses langoustine shells, coconut and top it with pickled coriander seeds. Mop it up with buttery ladi pao.

 

Kakka Roast | Tortellini | Rasam

Our take on Kerala’s kakka roast. Clam roast-stuffed tortellini, served with clear rasam, fried curry leaves and pickled seaweed. It’ll remind you of the Italian classic tortellini en brodo, which is served in a clear bone broth.

 

This course was inspired by the mountains.

Seabuckthorn sorbet, coriander oil topped with hisalu/hissir berries marinated with coriander root and finished with pickled young Timur

Lamb Bhutwa | Potato | Ragi Roti
Bhutwa is a pahadi preparation from Uttarakhand, made with offcuts of mutton. We use lamb offcuts (neck, liver and kidney), topped with pahadi aloo foam, hemp seeds and jakhiya. Served with ragi roti.

Aam Papad | Vin de Passerillage | Ambemohar Rice

Summer in Maharashtra on a plate. Fresh mangoes and aam papad made with alphonso. Sorbet made from Valloné's dessert wine, Vin de Passerillage made in Nashik. Ambemohar rice cream, made from rice grown in the foothills of the Western ghats.

Khari | Berries | Gondhoraj
Made with our favourite khari biscuits. Gondhoraj lime custard, topped with summer berries, milk cake (kalakand) crumbs and mulberry ice cream.