OUR DINING EXPERIENCE: INDIAN ACCENT, NEW YORK

 OUR DINING EXPERIENCE: INDIAN ACCENT, NEW YORK

Our travels in the United States have delayed my posting in the blog- today I share my experience in Indian Accent in New York nearly two weeks ago! 

Some of you may have had the pleasure of dining at The Indian Accent in New Delhi.  Located in the  Lodhi Hotel, this restaurant for fine dining was voted the No. 1 restaurant in India by Condé Nast Traveller. It has featured since 2015 in Asia's 50 Top Restaurants.  This group has restaurants in Mumbai and New York as well. During our recent visit to New York, I was thrilled to get an opportunity to dine at The Indian Accent there. This is an upscale Manhattan restaurant situated in the larger premise of Thompson Central Park by Hyatt at 123, W 56th Street. 

I had the great pleasure of meeting the very talented Head Chef Raveesh Kapoor. He has worked earlier in Indian Accent in New Delhi.  He was kind enough to make time for me. He explained what they seek to do to set them apart from other Indian restaurants. His goal is to create innovative presentations of Indian cuisine using his experience and creativity. 

We started with a refreshing mocktail.

I was extremely impressed by Chef Raveesh's culinary skills. He  used traditional Indian vegetables, ingredients and dishes to transform them almost magically to superbly crafted high cuisine offerings. Quite amazing! 

Here are a few examples that stay in my mind:-

Let's start with the first introduction to innovation. Look how cute is this!! Pumpkin and Coconut Shorba with Blue Cheese Naan! The shorba was as good as it looks -served in a small cute black cup. The mini-naans were delicious. 

This was definitely eye catching! Here is Paapdi Chaat - the humble yet legendary Indian street food- after it gets an upmarket styling! 

Guess what this is ? An innovative take on Idli Sambar with a Jackfruit Podimas ! Presented like a sandwich. 

Another treat for the eyes- and the palate! As an admirer of food plating, I couldn't take my eyes off Crispy Uttapam with roast onion chutney. Just imagine- our good old Utappam presented as this multi-colour dish.

Picture above is of- if I recall correctly- Dal Kalbelia, made with lentils in a buttery tomato sauce. It's origins are from our Indian State of Rajasthan.

Now look at this! It's a Medu Vada but made with Tofu. Served with Madras gunpowder and sambar cream ! The plating reminds me of a welcoming smiley!! 

Another interesting dish was made with Sweet Potato (Shakarkhandi) garnished with Rajasthani style  crispy okra topped with fresh herbs. 

Picture below is of Potato Kofta, Punjabi Kadhi, Achari Mirch

This superb dish was the Tawa Paneer with Lauki (Bottle Gourd) Curry. Lip smacking!! 

Finally the delectable dessert:  a creative take on a dessert from Tamilnadu: Black Rice Kesari paired with  Coconut Payasam 

Here's a clip I saw in Instagram on Chef Raveesh in On The Clock. 

So signing off with grateful thanks to Chef Raveesh Kapoor, Head Chef at Indian Accent, New York. I promise we will visit again! 

If you happen to be in New York and are looking for some excellent Indian food- served in spectacular style- look no further than Indian Accent!