Blini with Sour Cream and Caviar – Winter Palace, Chennai
The restaurant offers authentic Russian pancakes, folded to resemble sui mai dumplings, served with sour cream and a spoonful of caviar.
Four Zero One to T Burger — Woodside Inn, Mumbai
The name comes from Nagaland’s Bhut Jolokia chillies, which are used in this dish — they are said to be 401.5 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. Crispy chicken, BBQ sweet potato crisps and a side salad are the other components.
Fish Ceviche – Lima, Mumbai
This Peruvian dish is made by curing raw cubes of fish in a citrus marinade called Leche de Tigre (‘tiger’s milk’). There are various accounts of the origin of ceviche, one being the use of salted fish and chicha (fermented corn beverage) during the Inca empire, and the use of lemons and onions when the Spanish invaded Peru. The ceviche at Lima is made using Indian sea bass, avocado and red onion.
The Egg – The Fatty Bao, New Delhi
This is an eggless take on a soft boiled egg in a shell, featuring coconut panna cotta, passion fruit and mango yolk in a white chocolate shell and filo pastry nest.
Pork Tea – Toast & Tonic, Bengaluru
Clear pork stock is clarified further to make it crystal clear. Pork trotters give it a gelatinous feel. Mini pork tortellinis are stuffed with pork mince with other seasonings. Served with pickled ginger and julienned black fungus.
Savoury Baklava – Craft Deli.Bistro.Bar
A spicy take on the Turkish sweet, with crispy phyllo sheets that are packed with spinach and crunchy almonds, topped with caramelised onions and a dab of bhut jolokia pepper coulis.
Fresh Guava Cheesecake – The Pantry, Mumbai
The dessert is made in a local and classic way, where salt and paprika are drizzled over it. The guava paste adds a tropical flavour to the baked cheesecake — a change from the monotony of using chocolate. Honey and jaggery are used as natural sweeteners.
Three Little Pigs – Olive Beach, Bengaluru
Slow cooked trotter pie, glazed pork belly and house-made bacon wrapped sausage patty served with braised red cabbage, sweet onion apple chutney, caramelized cauliflower and honey mustard sauce.