#blahvsfood goes to Avartana

 

I know that Avartana has forged a brilliant reputation ever since it opened. And while there are people who like hating on it because it doesn’t serve a traditional take on South Indian food, that criticism comes from the same school as people who complain about the lack of butter chicken at Indian Accent so I ignore it. But on the whole it’s a sensation, and now it has global recognition with its recent placing in Asia’s 50 best restaurants. 

Crispy chilli potato 

But to me it’s not enough to say that a place is good. I want to know why, to explore and to understand. Because to truly appreciate anything, one must understand it. That’s what separates a reaction that is led by dopamine from something that goes a bit deeper. 

The challenge for Avartana is that it’s very easy for the buzz to come from form over substance, because there are dishes that feel gimmicky like the ghee candle that accompanies the mango pudding. We live in a country where we’ve seen so many imitative concepts do well that people often get excited about the special effects, without understanding the context where these techniques emerged (and why they are increasingly dead).

Raw mango pudding with ghee candle 

Avartana is a triumph because unlike most places that do a contemporary take on Indian food, the approach is about flavour over presentation. Every technique at Avartana is aimed at distilling and enhancing the core flavour or integral feature of the dish being served. Instead of a “how do I present this dish in a cool way” approach, the chefs focus on how to extract maximum flavour and texture in the dish and the choice of technique and presentation are just a medium to achieve the same. 

Lamb rice 

When I last went before the pandemic, I ate a largely meat and seafood based menu and enjoyed it. What has changed for me over the last few years is that I increasingly believe that vegetarian cooking at its best is more challenging, more creative and more satisfying when done well. This is even more the case in South Indian cuisine where vegetables are allowed to reveal their flavours without being doused in masala or cooked until they are pulp. South Indian vegetarian cooking is a triumph of subtlety and sophistication and I was curious to see if Avartana had the ability to translate that into its food or whether it relied on protein to be the star.

Spiced aubergine 

At the end of my meal, I think I would happily go back to Avartana and eat just a vegetarian tasting menu. Almost every one of my favourite dishes was vegetarian. I love aubergine, and the charred Aubergine sheet encased with sago and aubergine served with tempered yoghurt and byadagi chilli sauce may be the best Aubergine dish I’ve ever had. Over a week later, I can still taste the smokiness of the aubergine, the creaminess of the yoghurt, the zest of the chilli sauce and the texture of the sago. This was a fully imagined and fully articulated dish, a masterpiece, flawless in every way. 

Another highlight was the Steamed Dumpling stuffed with lentils and Drumstick served with moringa broth. Drumstick is usually used to flavour broth dishes like a sambar, or their leaves are used as a dish in itself. This dish took the essence of a drumstick sambar and a dry drumstick palya to create something that was intense, new and wonderful.

Asparagus and coconut stew 

I also wanted to comment on the asparagus and coconut stew because I still don’t know how they pulled this dish off. I swear it tasted like a fish moilee, a creamy, luxurious stew that was bursting with flavour, with the surprise of the asparagus crunch rather than fish. 

Stir fried Guntur chicken 

The meat and seafood vegetarian dishes were also excellent and strangely it was the humble Guntur chilli chicken that impressed me the most. Fancy restaurants almost never get this dish right because this comes down to oil temperature and timing. The meat inside must stay hot but moist, the outside must have a hint of crispness, and the chilli needs to pack just enough flavour to not overwhelm the meat. It’s more technical and sophisticated than people realise, and there’s a reason why overconfident, condescending hotel chefs can never achieve the quality of specialised street vendors or local joints. The one at Avartana was on point, exactly like I would eat in Hyderabad, and elevated by the lovely buttermilk mousse it came with. 

I know that ITC Hotels has had enormous success with their food brands for half a century now. But the world has changed since the days of Dum Pukht and Bukhara and Dakshin. The excitement and innovation in food nowadays usually comes from stand alone restaurants rather than 5 stars hotels. In that context, Avartana feels even more important, proof that when it comes to food, the 5 stars aren’t just about serving dated food to old, rich people. Avartana is a path breaking, innovative restaurant, probably the most interesting and successful South Indian fine dining concept in the 21st century and one that can hold its own against the best the world has to offer. If you haven’t been there yet, make a trip to Chennai and eat there because this place is up there as one of India’s best and most essential restaurants. 

I ate: 

*Kimaya Bespoke Menu*

Amuse bush 

*Crispy Chili Potato*

Crunchy potato nest with pineapple and mint sphere

*Stir Fried Chicken*

Chicken tossed in guntur chili accompanied with buttermilk mousse.

*Cauliflower Crunch*

Crispy and dehydrated cauliflower served with homemade coconut yoghurt and pomegranate pearls.

*Beetroot and Curd cheese*

Pickled beetroot with home made curd cheese and Puffed rice crisp dusted with dehydrated curry leaf powder.

*Tempered bottle gourd*

Bottle gourd marinated with raw mango,mint ,coriander  accompanied with plum chutney and multi seed crisp.

*Drumstick dumpling*

Steamed Dumpling stuffed with lentils and Drumstick served with moringa broth.

*Lemon leaf sorbet*

*Asparagus & Coconut Stew*

Asparagus simmered in coconut stew served on top of steamed rice hoppers with coconut and turmeric cream flavoured with cinnamon.

*Steamed Seabass*

Steamed seabass served in the bed of tempered butter rice accompanied with gangura emulsion and fried gangura leaf.

*Spiced Aubergine*

Charred Aubergine sheet encased with sago and aubergine served  with   tempered yoghurt and byadagi chilli sauce.

*Uthukuli Chicken*

Butter chicken curry served with mini malabar paratha , potato crisp & butter toffee.

Uthukuli is famous  for white butter, the toffee is made from Beetroot sheet and has a stuffing of white butter.

*Lamb Rice*

 Peppered lamb steamed with stick rice in banana leaf accompanied with Okra yoghurt.

*Raw Mango Pudding*

Raw mango pudding accompanied with edible ghee candle.  With a lentil crisp on the side.

*Fennel Panna Cotta*

The egg shaped desert has  3 layers, outer shell made of coco butter, inner shell made of panna cotta 

And the inner most layer made of mango jelly. 

Accompanied with a nest made of caramelized sugar.

*Paan*

Betel leaf with frozen puree of honey cardamom, caramelized rosepetal.

Ps: Thank you to the following people:

- Chef Mayank Kulshreshtha for taking the time and organising things 

- Sanjukthaa for organising such a smooth and memorable experience while battling illness 

- Chef Satheshwaran for the wonderful meal. I didn’t end up missing Chef Nikhil Nagpal which is saying a lot!

- Abhimanyu Arora for an excellent front of house experience and hospitality 

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