Monk-ey business

Pasta in Old Monk

In sickness, health, heartbreaks and celebrations, the sweet, comforting concoction of Old Monk and Coke has seen us through it all. Easy on the pocket and soft on the palate, the dark Indian rum has lived up to its name and legend - of a kind-hearted British monk whose good advice improved the flavour of the rum - of being a quiet confidante. To celebrate this Indian favourite, and its founder Kapil Mohan who passed away in January 2018, Chembur's Le Cafe kick-started the Old Monk Festival. This year, the festival is in its fifth edition, and honours the legacy of the distillery, Mohan Meakin.

Drunken chicken sliders

Like many desi beginnings, the idea sparked off over a few pegs, when founder-director Ashesh L Sajnani and a former chef at the cafe found a boozy fix in gulab jamun dunked in Old Monk. "It is a liquor which most tipplers will have had while growing up. It's the most common answer to ‘What was your first drink?' It's synonymous with the Indian liquor industry. For years, the chef and I would do all sorts of experimentation with the rum, including a Maggi-Old Monk combination, which led us to think, ‘Why not celebrate the liquor?'" shares Sajnani.

Old Monk coffee

After starting off with a small menu of one pizza, coffee and dessert, the spread now features a variety of treats. There are drunken chicken sliders, wings of fire with a Chettinad spice mix, pappardelle in Old Monk ragout, Monk's paneer pizza, rummy lamb burger, a chocolate-y Jamaican smoke bomb'e, and more. To wash it all down, there are inspired cocktails such as silent Monk, Monkgria, and a heady Old Monk coffee. "We've tried to play with the nostalgia associated with the drink. A lot of people might be apprehensive of adding the rum to food, but in my Sindhi home, my mother would cook chicken with dark liquor," Sajnani reveals.

Till: February 20, 10 am to 10 pm
At: Opposite BMC Office, 1st Road, Chembur
Call: 67099977

Ginger Monk

Ingredients
>> 45 ml Old Monk >> 10 ml ginger juice >> 15 ml lime juice >> 10 ml honey >> Dash of bitters >> Soda

Method
Take a high ball glass; pour the rum into it and add the ginger juice, lime juice, honey and the bitters. Add ice to the glass and top up with soda. Garnish the drink with a lime slice and a burnt rosemary sprig.

Arborio arancini rumbola

Ingredients
>> 20 gm risotto rice
>> 5 gm blue cheese
>> 10 gm mozzarella
>> 10 gm cheddar cheese
>> 1 tsp salt
>> 1 tsp black pepper
>> 1 tsp finely chopped parsley
>> 10 gm finely chopped bell peppers
>> 30 ml Old Monk
>> 15 gm panko crumbs for binding
>> 5 gm corn flour
>> 5 gm refined flour
>> 20 ml water
>> 3 tomatoes >> 1 tbsp olive oil >> 1 tsp chopped garlic
>> 1 tsp chilli flakes

Method
Mix the ingredients and make four balls; dust them in refined flour. Make a slurry out of the corn flour, refined flour, water, rum, salt and black pepper to taste. Whisk the batter. Dip the arancini balls in the batter and coat with panko crumbs. Keep the balls in the freezer for 30 minutes. Heat oil and deep fry. For the concuss (Arrabiata sauce), blanch the tomatoes and remove the skin. Blend them. Add olive oil in the pan; toss in garlic, chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Now, add four basil leaves and 10 ml Old Monk. For plating, spoon the tomato concuss on the plate and place the four arancini balls on top. Garnish with fine julienned spinach, and pomegranates. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar.

By chefs Mahesh More and Rupesh Petkar