To keep the free spirits of the Rastafarian culture alive, there is a new destination in New Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village. The recently opened restaurant dedicated to its followers (There are over a million of them across the globe), is by the name of Raasta. It is a funky lounge, which interplays with the surrounding green environs to create a warm space that transports you to the easy, lazy charm of the Caribbean islands with some great music and good food.
The menu is dominated by starters which usually pair well with drinks. I start with the seafood gumbo, a well-textured soup, tomato based. It has an ensemble of prawns, river sole, calamari and dill in it.
Running my eyes on the menu card for something fresh and uncooked, I go for its watermelon aragula salad. As promised, it is refreshing and pretty juicy. The scooped watermelon with feta cheese and an olive dressing also looks pleasing to the eye. I order a mocktail to complement the food on the table, a strawberry delight. As it should be, it is arich red coloured brew.
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I move on to some other starters like the cheese and jalapeno cigar, quite interesting. As soon as I take a bite of it, the cheese just bursts in my mouth. I also order a golden fried baby corn but it is disappointingly too soggy. However, the panko prawns are crunchy and delicious.
I also take a bite of its chicken wings. They have a coating of corn on them which gives the pieces an even crispier coat. They also have oven roasted lamb chops though the one put into my mouth is too bony with little meat.
In the main course, you can go for Arni potharakia. It is basically a Greek style farmer lamb stew served with dill lemon rice. The thick gravy has mixed veggies with tender pieces of diced lamb. Burgers and pizzas of Raasta are also worth trying.
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In desserts, Raasta has a good fare of ice creams. I try out its nutty triple sundae, no complains.