Penne pasta with cumin seeds

January 16, 2015 08:59 pm | Updated 08:59 pm IST

A medley of ideas: Ingredients not known to be used in cooking are used to whip amazing fare at Immigrants Café. Photo: special arrangement

A medley of ideas: Ingredients not known to be used in cooking are used to whip amazing fare at Immigrants Café. Photo: special arrangement

Migration has forever been part of our existence and continues to be so. Now a café in Delhi has derived inspiration from it and based its concept on it. Called Immigrants Café, it is located in Connaught Place, a part of the city which is abuzz with tourists and public at any given time.

Simple interiors and bright colourful posters take you back to the era of Cibaca and Campa Cola. As Immigrants Café is a chef-based restaurant, I had high expectations from the food. Chef Umesh Kapoor who is in the industry for more than a decade has been setting up themed restaurants across the country and is known for out-of-the-box ideas. But running a restaurant is a different ballgame altogether. Immigrants Café is Chef Umesh’s baby. Well, the menu was very interesting and every dish that came on my table surprised me. I started with a smoothie made out of chyawanprash and fresh mint. I must appreciate the dish for its balanced flavours because otherwise it would have been a damp squib. The grilled chicken salad was topped with young aam papad which added to the sweetness and went well with the salad. Chef Umesh must be commended for using such ingredients which are tough to imagine using in cooking but yet are relatable. The food at Immigrants café is not at all molecular but it is nothing less than spectacular when it comes to presentation or even the flavours. The sandwich served with panch phoran fries, gun powder flavoured fish and chips served with mushy peas really impressed me. But two delicacies which I would recommend to anybody visiting Immigrants Café are the classic khichdi and the Madrasi parmigiano pasta. I couldn’t imagine that a khichdi made out of arborio rice with all the red chilli tadka and desi ghee on top could taste so good. Same was the case with penne pasta where the curry leaves and cumin seeds gave it a very core ‘madrasi’ flavour. Another dish which stood out was kalakand cheese cake topped with carrot murabba and surrounded by some mango puree. It is a dish to remember and cherish.

Meal for two – Rs.1500 plus taxes

Chef Umesh must be commended for using such ingredients which are tough to imagine in cooking but are yet relatable

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