Rohit Ghai – Food for Thought

Contrary to common misconceptions, Indian cuisine is far from homogenous. Head north and Punjabi cuisine is distinguished by its use of dairy, where a glass of cold Lassi and buttermilk is an appendage to an everyday meal alongside bulky wheat dishes such as Aloo Paratha and Makki Roti. Head south to the state of Kerala, and expect a rich compendium of spices including chillies, ginger, and black pepper. Or head along the Konkan Coast to bustling Mumbai and expect a smorgasbord of street food from fried Pani Puri to Vada Pav and crispy Mutton Rolls. 

With over 26 different types of cuisine, this is only a snapshot of just how rich and diverse Indian cuisine is in every corner of the country. In recent years, revered Indian chefs in the UK such as Rohit Ghai have been trying to champion the limitless variety of Indian food and serve dishes full of heart, elegance and tradition. A noble feat, and one that resulted in Ghai shooting for the stars when he won a Michelin star for Jamavar restaurant in just under a year. 

With over ten years’ worth of experience under his belt, Ghai made his name working in notable kitchens including Gymkhana, Bombay Bustle, Hoppers and Jamavar. Since September, he has turned his attention to opening up a new restaurant in Mayfair called Manthan. Here, the menu is shaped by his experience working at some of these top restaurants but also draws on the less familiar food and flavours of his childhood in Madhya Pradesh.

Ghai’s love affair with cooking began, as it so often does, in his mother’s kitchen in Punjab, northern India. As the youngest member of a big and bustling family, Ghai would watch his mother cook day in and out, serving up an array of dips, plates of dhal makhani with split gram lentils and stacks of paratha with homemade butter. Growing up, Ghai became progressively more aware that he wanted to do something with Indian cuisine. “My family were from a maths and science background, so naturally, they wanted me to do some public service,” says Ghai, “but when I told them I wanted to be a chef, they supported me.” 

Ghai would receive his formal training at the Institute of Hotel Management in New Delhi, where his “journey began.” The chef then honed his craft at some of the best-known hotel groups across the country, including the Oberoi Hotels and Resorts and Taj Hotel Resorts. He then took the plunge and moved to the UK to spend the next decade working in the aforementioned kitchens.

But eventually, he could not fight the fire in his belly that told him to open up his open restaurant. And so, in late 2019, he and Abhishake Sangwan opened Kutir in Chelsea, which would go on to receive rave reviews: “It was the first place of my own, and so there was a big expectation from everyone to deliver something great,” he explains.  

Kutir pays respect to India’s rich heritage and wildlife – with a modern menu inspired by India’s history. Kutir is best-known for its impressive “expedition” tasting menus, which range from “signature”, “vegetarian” and “hunter”. Without a shade of doubt, Ghai tells me how the signature dish is his Quail Naan, which is comprised of quail, masala scrambled egg, truffle shavings and oil. “People rarely leave Kutir without taking a photo of it,” he proudly says.

While Kutir seems to be for the richer palette and heftier wallet, Manthan is a “totally different” venture for Ghai. “Rather than doing the same old thing, I wanted to do something new and unique for the market,” he says, “so I took a lot of dishes from the sub-continent as well as the content to craft the menu.”

Manthan in Hindi means to “churn and reflect”. This name was especially important for Ghai as the planning for Manthan occurred over lockdown, which meant Ghai had more than enough time to ruminate and reflect on what he wanted his next venture to be and what it should look like. What’s more, he wanted a name that echoed and reflected his culinary experiences and growth, both professionally and personally. 

Manthan sits on 49 Maddox Street, right in the beating heart of Mayfair where Sotheby’s art dealers and Condé Nast fashionistas parade the cobbled streets. Entering Manthan feels as if you’re stepping away from the hordes and aboard an underwater Orient express. The narrow restaurant is an explosion of teal, and the reflective mirrored walls are paved with illustrations of sea life and crustaceans; a clear homage to Ghai’s vision to have an oceanic theme running throughout.

The aquamarine menu boasts dishes with “traditional flavours but with a contemporary twist”. There are snacky plates like their take on the street-food favourite of ram ladoo (balls of yellow lentil fritters with a thick date and radish chutney), chicken buttermilk (with pink peppercorn, curry leaf and ginger), black pepper fish (tender salmon rolled in Malabar peppercorn and pachadi) or a meatier option of the much-loved Osso Bucco curry (lamb, curry leaf and jaffina spices). There is also the odd-sounding Garlic Kheer (slivers of almond and rabri with a fleck of pistachio). It must be said that this sweet-savoury dish, which according to Ghai takes an arduous 6-7 hours to make, is an unmissable part of the tasting experience at Manthan. 

While juggling the opening of a new restaurant, running Kutir, and also his street food restaurant Koolcha in Wembley, Ghai is also in the process of releasing his first debut cookbook Takari. “It’s been back-to-back for me recently as we launched in the US market last week,” he says. “I wanted this book to be straightforward and include recipes that are easy to make at home.”

Takari means “vegetable” in Urdu, and so it will only feature 90 vegetarian and vegan recipes. From innovative starters like Malabar Cauliflower, big and bold curries like Jackfruit Masala and Lotus Root Kofta, as well as how to make a range of breads, rice, dips and pickles to enjoy alongside. 

For Rohit Ghai’s latest supper, he picks his mother’s besan chilla (gram flour pancake) for his starter, followed by making ki roti Sarson ka saag (cornmeal bread with fresh mustard lead and home churn butter) and then masala buttermilk and carrot halwa for dessert. 

You can book a table at Manthan here.

Rohit Ghai’s recipe for Seabass moilee mussels.

This is a delicacy from South India with a very settled flavour and velvety texture sauce with pan-seared fish and mussels. Usually, when making this dish at home, people like to cook the fish in the sauce to get the flavour, but I think it works better when you make the sauce with stock using the mussels and pan sear the sea bass. This way you have the great texture of the fish and there is a bit of a twist on the classic dish.

Ingredients

For the sea bass

2 fillets of sea bass 400-600 gm Pinch of turmeric powder
1tsp of ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste

For the sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil
8 garlic cloves, minced
20g finely julienne fresh ginger
4 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 10 fresh curry leaves, finely sliced
200g onion, finely sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp mustard seed
400ml coconut milk
6 cherry tomatoes
10 Mussels with shell

Method

First, marinate the sea bass in the turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and salt to taste. Leave for at least an hour.

To make the sauce, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the mustard seed, garlic, ginger, chillies and curry leaves, then stir until the leaves begin to crackle.

Add the onion and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the ground turmeric, then stir for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes.

Add in the mussels to the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes before removing the pan from the heat. Meanwhile, take another non-stick pan and pan sear the marinated fish on slow heat. Finish with a thin slice of butter for nutty taste.

Serve the fish covered with the sauce and with plain rice.