Chef Nimish Bhatia, a veteran of the Bangalore culinary scene opened the doors to his dream project, Nimmiserie , on Christmas day last year. I was invited to the opening day lunch with other fellow food enthusiasts to see what culinary chemistry Chef Nimish Bhatia was working on. Unfortunately I had an afternoon screening of Star Wars : The Force awakens that day and had to leave lunch halfway. I was invited back at the start of March to try out the new Tavakerie which had opened up.
The evening began with everyone being seated on the lower floor at a large table with all the extravagance of Nimmserie up for everyone to see. The meal kicked off with a Reconstructed Chilled Samosa in a Melon Wrapper with Hibiscus Dust and a Fiery Nimbu Chutney. This take on a samosa gets rid of all the fried guilty pleasure of the traditional Indian samosa and replaces it with a healthier option of a melon wrap on the outside rather than the greasy fried outer layer that we all love. Being on my salad-quest mode the last few months, I thoroughly enjoyed the flavours of this dish. I’m not sure the regular palate would appreciate it though.
This was followed by Cream Horns a La Galawat. This dish was a new addition from the last time I ate here. Personally, I’m a big fan of savory cornettos ever since I had a Mexican-flavoured chicken and red beans cornetto on one of my trips. I might be a bit biased in saying I enjoyed this dish with the simple flavours of galwati mutton kabab coming through. The play of textures was interesting, starting off with the crunch exterior to the slightly gamey kabab filling.
The soup for the evening pushed the envelope in terms of presentation where a hot flavorful vegetarian stock is poured in front of you into a bowl filled with tomatoes that have been engineered into bubbles that pop in your mouth releasing the citrus flavor of the vegetable. Accompanying the soup are distinct floral elements of marigold. The freshness of the soup was undone by the next dish, a dhokla disc with shrimp on top with a Moroccan Chermoula sauce. I wasn’t particularly impressed with either the innovation or the flavours. While the mix of chermoula with seafood is a classic combination, the addition of the dhokla messed both the flavours and the textures for me.
We moved to the upper floor where the restaurant does away with the formal ambience of the lower floor and offers customers a more intimate environment with one section offering tepanyaki-inspired style live cooking counters, known as the Tavakerie, and slightly more private dining sections. The private dining sections are cordoned off by beads that are very reminiscent of the early James Bond movies and made me feel that we’re going to have a belly dancer come out at any minute.
While we waited for the live counters to heat up, we were offered a salad which consisted of Smoked Chicken Breasts with Arugula, Marigold Flowers, and Basil. Throwing out very earthy aromas, I enjoyed sniffing away at the salad a lot more than eating it. The aromas matched the flavor and the salad was an ideal palate cleanser for the strong flavours of chermoula left behind by the previous dish. One of my favourite dishes.
Our innings at the Tavakerie continued with a palate cleanser of Mushroom and Camomile Shots. Strong notes of chamomile when one takes a whiff of the shot with a complementing tastes of reduced mushrooms made this a favourite amongst everyone at the table.
Pushing the envelope of innovation in flavor and presentation, Chef Bhatia served us his take on the Doda. Cooked live, the doda was made of radish and maize. Served to vegetarians with a topping of fresh goats cheese cream and to the non vegetarians with a topping of minced lamb, the dish ticked all the right spots in terms of flavor. I personally enjoyed the vegetarian version more than the non veg as the flavours seemed to complement one another much better. The minced lamb was a tad too spicy for the flavours of radish in the doda. Other chefs, please note – Radish is yet another vegetable that one can cook good veg food with. Move beyond the usual unimaginative veg spread.
The main course had a very intriguing Grilled Mock Fish for the vegetarians. While it wasn’t spot on with the texture and flavours, it was quite close to the real deal. The non vegetarians were served a grilled chicken. Both these were accompanied by an superbly flavoured Kache Ande ki Biryani ( Biryani with Raw Egg). Cooked on the tawa, the biryani had a raw egg cracked into it and served. More than the meat, and the mock meat, the biryani had strong flavours and aromas that made one salivate and crave for more. I’ll be honest in admitting I tried this at home with less than desirable results.
Dessert was a relatively muted affair with Tarte Tatin Mishti Doi Crème Brulee. Call me conservative, but the Bengali in me wasn’t too appreciative of messing around with the hallowed mishit doi. While the flavours were all there, my mind and heart were not able to give the dessert the due justice it may have deserved.
Nimmiserie to me is best described as a modern day progressive rock album. It has elements that are new that you can’t quite wrap your head around sitting right next to elements that are old and familiar. This is accompanied by notes that your head tells you are familiar, but your taste buds say otherwise. But at the end of it all, it’s progressive. It’s a step in the right direction, and a move like that always means there will be moments that bewilder people and moments of applause. Overall, it was a rich-experience at Nimmiserie
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