Drinking rasam from French press

Fennel panna cotta with angel hair caramel. Pics/Anurag Ahire

Steaming hot rasam, that has been simmered for 48 hours, served in a French press and poured out into a martini glass, set the tone for the 10-course meal that awaited us. Known for offering culinary experiences that showcase well-researched, traditional and progressive renditions of Southern Indian cuisine, Avartana first opened its doors at ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, then at ITC Royal Bengal in Kolkata. The restaurant is now all set to open at the ITC Maratha in Andheri, and we dropped by for a taste test of their award-winning fare.

Asparagus and coconut stew with turmeric coconut and idiyappam

Pronounced ‘Avartan', the Sanskrit word refers to rhythm, mysticism and magic. The menu shines a light on vegetables, fruits, grains and spices from across the southern states - think ghee from Kerala, mango ginger sourced from Andhra Pradesh, sago, jaggery and mochai beans from Tamil Nadu; tamarind from Telangana; butter from Uthukuli from Tamil Nadu; byadgi chillies from Karnataka and a particular variety of mountain garlic called Kodai garlic from the mountainous region of Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu.

The simple yet classic décor features the banana leaf in a recurrent theme. The cutlery includes earthenware and plates from Mahabalipuram and even a gorgeous ceramic piece in shades of blue and green from Pondicherry made with gin bottles and clay. Diners can usually choose from a bunch of tasting menus - the seven-course Maya (Rs 2,500), nine-course Bela (Rs 3,000), eleven-course Jiia (Rs 3,500), and the 13-course meals of Anika (Rs 3,950) and Tara (Rs 4,750) which predominantly features seafood.

Interiors of the restaurant also reflect its regional focus

The rasam, a classic dish on the Avartana menu, uses simple ingredients such as cumin, black pepper and tomato, infused with coriander and cherry tomato, but it is the technique that makes it unique. "A lot happens before the rasam reaches the table. The technique is scientific and requires a basic understanding of the process of distillation," explains Diptii Jadhav, senior sous chef, ITC Maratha and chef-in-charge, Avartana Mumbai. "The tomatoes are blended, distilled, and then double-distilled. They are then heated and cooled down," she adds as we sip the comforting rasam.

The amuse bouche soon arrives. It's called crispy chilli potato 2.0. The mini dish is, as a fellow foodie on our table suggested, a ‘great ice breaker'. The texture of the dish caught us all by surprise. "The base is made with string potatoes, and the top is a combination of pineapple and mint which is frozen and dipped in cocoa butter. That is how you get the casing outside, while the liquid melts inside," explains Nikhil Nagpal, executive chef, ITC Hotels.

Diptii Jadhav

Next to arrive on our table is the tempered bottle gourd with plum chutney. It is humble vegetables like the bottle gourd that find pride of place on the menu. "I am from Kolhapur and worked on farms for many years. I understand the produce both when it is played around with a lot of spices, and also when it is kept as is, like in this dish. We pair it [the bottle gourd] with raw mango from the region, and the combination of ingredients creates an experience of its own. Then there is a flavouring of ambe halad or mango ginger. It's usually used in pickles but this is a very different way of using it," Jadhav explains.

As of now, the produce and the ingredients come from the South, including the seabass. "We have a herb garden and a vegetable garden here, but ingredients from different regions taste different. There are a lot of things which we might not be able to get on a daily basis but the cuisine and taste will stay the same whether you eat in Chennai or Mumbai," Jadhav assures us.

Tempered bottle gourd with plum chutney

We had two favourite dishes. The shrimp and coriander dumplings with chilli coriander jam - the melt-in-the-mouth dumplings hid a delightfully flavourful coriander oil made with coriander stem and lime inside it - the second dish was a light, fragrant and flavourful lamb rice with a sweetish okra yogurt.

Some of the other highlights of our meal were an asparagus and coconut stew with turmeric, coconut and idiyappam, which remind us of Kerala's famed meen moilee, the steamed seabass with fermented gongura emulsion (a flavoured pickle made from gongura leaf) and butter rice (sweet kollam rice which is thicker and has a bite) and the uthukuli chicken, a delicious, buttery curry served with the crisp, layered Malabar parotta and butter toffee. Beetroot juice is bloomed with a plant carrageenan called methylcellulose, spread very thinly and dried to attain a texture like thin plastic film, which is then wrapped with uthukuli butter and shaped into a toffee.

The dessert was just as innovative as the rest of the meal. Fennel panacotta with angel hair caramel is a dessert that looks like an egg and needs a mini hammer to crack open. It is served in a bird's nest created using Isomalt (a sugar substitute), heated to 130 degrees and drizzled onto the plate in thin silky strands using a fork. We found the combination of fennel and mango interesting. The discerning Mumbai foodie is certainly in for a treat.

Avartana at ITC Maratha
Opens: February 1 (dinner only)
Time: 7 pm to 11 pm (all days)
At: ITC Maratha, Sahar Village, Andheri East. call 28303030 (for advance reservations)