For a colourful and delicious culinary tour of India, look no further than the South-West of England. Leave your passport at home and let The Mint Room, Bath take you on an extensive gastronomic journey, thanks to their speciality created “Tour of India Tasting Menu”.
Having introduced a new style of Indian cuisine to the South-West, with dishes that showcase the heritage of Indian food, whilst putting a modern spin on presentation, the Rahman brothers are taking things one step further by bringing the very best in flavours, spicing and regional Indian cooking to the historic, Roman city of Bath.
“We’ll take diners on a culinary tour of out vast continent,” explains Moe Rahman, General Manager of the Mint Room Bath. “The Tasting Menu allows us to demonstrate the varying styles of cooking that are present throughout the country; from the rich, tomato and lamb-based dishes of the north and east, to the coconut milk and mustard seed-flavoured seafood of the south. Let us transport you to our vibrant and colourful country with a selection of tasting dishes from every corner of the Indian continent.”
Tour of India tasting menu
‘street food’
We start the journey in the bustling and noisy streets of India’s main cities, where colour and evocative scents dominate the scene. Enjoy a mix of some of India’s favourite street foods such as Pani Puri – crispy little puffballs of pastry stuffed with a spicy mix of chickpeas, diced potatoes and pomegranate seeds – and Aloo Papadi Chaat – crushed puffed pastry balls with tender potatoes and chickpeas tossed in cooling, creamy yoghurt and drizzled with tamarind and mint chutney – all prepared fresh and daily, just like in the streets and markets across the continent.
‘On the journey’
Join us along the road through India as we stop off at a traditional ‘Dhaba’ (a roadside café) serving authentic and delicious northern Indian bites such as Punjabi Grilled Chops – meltingly tender baby lamb chops marinated in traditional Punjabi spices – and Aloo Tikki – a vegetarian Scotch egg filled with crushed cashew nuts, spices, potato and a rich centre of melted brie cheese.
‘The main event’
All main course dishes will be served simultaneously and cover the breadth of India’s culinary richness.
“Kerala”
Kerala, a region famed for its seafood and rich exotic dishes, combining coconut milk, mustard seeds and curry leaf, such as Keralan Seabass Moilee – pan-fried seabass served with a spicy but creamy sauce of coconut milk, tempered mustard seeds and red chillies.
‘Hyderabad’
Staying in the deep south we move to the vast city of Hyderabad, home of one of India’s most iconic dishes, Biryani. The cuisine here is influenced by the Mughal empire with Turkish influences and typified by fragrant, gentle spicing with dishes based on rice, like Lamb Dum Biryani – fragrant Basmati rice mingled with spiced Somerset lamb and traditional herbs and spices, then served piping hot under a sealed hot pastry crust with cucumber Raita.
‘Dehli’
We now transport you north to the bustling city of Delhi, a place full of vibrance, colour and a cacophony of sound. Delhi is home to of one of the most classic of Indian dishes, Delhi Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken). Here we serve a meltingly soft and tender Tandoor smoked Somerset chicken, prepared in a delicate tomato and fenugreek sauce and simmered with butter and cream.
‘Bengal’
Your journey through India now takes you to the East of the continent, where the spicing of the dishes is unique to Bengal, focusing on fennel, cumin, cardamom, mustard seeds and onion seeds. The Bengali Tawa Duck sees a tender breast of Creedy Carver duck marinated in Bengali spices, then smoked and pan-fried on a plancha before being served with a creamy coconut and cashew nut sauce alongside saffron rice
‘Rajasthan’
Your final destination is in the far north west and Rajasthan, land of kings and palaces. This is a stunningly beautiful land with rich, red soils and sumptuous architecture. The region is famed for the richness of its cuisine where spicing is aromatic with sweet, exotic spices. Enjoy Lamb Lal Maas – a spicy dish of Wiltshire lamb cutlets spiced with Kashmiri red chillies and a traditional mix of black cardamom, cumin, cloves, coriander and cinnamon.
To finish
We finish with Assorted Kulfi, a popular frozen dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent that is often described as “traditional Indian ice cream”. You’ll try a variety of spicy and fragrant blends, from saffron and cardamom to pistachio Kulfi with a delicious roasted almond crunch.
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