Namma traditional sappadu turns sassy

For the uninitiated, molecular gastronomy blends physics and chemistry to transform the tastes and textures of food. The result? New and innovative dining experiences. Executive chef Deepak Dandge of Above Sea Level, too, has used several methods of foaming and spherification, to add elegance to traditional Indian dishes. For example, a yogurt papdi, doesn’t quite look like the classic chaat drowning in yogurt and slathered with mint chutney. Instead, the yogurt sits on the papdi in the form of a sphere, and topped with flavoursome mint foam, pomegranate seeds and sev. “The rasam vada looks like a gulab jamun rather. Unlike soggy vada floating in a sea of rasam, the rasam is instead infused inside the vada, which bursts into your mouth accompanied with a perfect concoction of parmesan and coconut foam. The podi idli also comes with a coconut foam, reminiscent of coconut chutney. The curd rice features “air” mango pickle, where you can’t see any pickle, but once you pop it into your mouth, the tangy taste is certainly discernible. So the idea is to give these dishes a new look and texture while also retaining the authenticity of the flavours. We’ve altered the texture by spherification — a process of changing liquid into spheres — or by foaming,” elaborates Dandge. 

Meanwhile, Jonus Sterbi Bellgin, the owner of Semparuthi Restaurant, is offering vegetarian food with medicinal values presented with a contemporary twist for the health conscious food lover. Some of the dishes in the specially curated menu are mudakkathaan dosai, thoothuvalai chutney, amla rice, vallarai chutney, banana flower vada, tulasi tea, hibiscus juice and amla juice. Jonus explains, “Amla, for example, was a regular part of our ancestors’ diet. It provides remedies for many diseases, and is widely used in ayurvedic treatment. It is also a powerful antioxidant agent. Likewise, hibiscus was consumed regularly to lower body temperature, treat heart and nerve diseases, and as a diuretic to increase urine production. However, overtime, these habits have died. The new generation needs something attractive and less time consuming when it comes to food. So we decided to package these medicinally essential herbs into daily food preparations like juice and dosa."