My gloomy Friday morning considerably brightened with that first cup of hot chocolate. The best part was that it was easy on the stomach and quite relieving to know it did not come from packeted milk, but from fresh coconut milk. Customers have the choice of choosing their favourite milk -- almond to soya, cashew, brown rice and coconut -- which are all made in-house. I was pleasantly surprised to realize it didn’t taste any different from hot chocolate made with animal milk. It, in fact, tasted much better.
I was at a Koramangala-based restaurant, Carrots, one of the first vegan restaurants to have sprung up in the city.
Carrots is not just a restaurant, it is a centre for the establishment of veganism in Bengaluru, points out Susmitha Subbaraju, the restaurant’s co-founder and managing partner. It hosts regular veganism awareness initiatives and movements in the city, accompanied, of course, by food.
The restaurant also contributes to the spirit of service to humanity, with a fridge placed at its entrance, which houses meals for the homeless. Any homeless or underprivileged person simply needs to open it and pick a meal. Customers are welcome to contribute by sponsoring one such meal for ₹90.
The food at Carrots is eclectic, with an exhaustive menu comprising a bouquet of cuisines from Italian to Thai, North Indian, Spanish, American and Indian fusion, all of which are vegan. They also have a special raw food section, complete with raw food pasta made with zucchini. As always, we began with a soup, a creamy corn and cilantro soup, featuring cashew sauce. The cashew sauce wasn’t altogether unpleasant but the soup did warm me up.
The starters we pigged out on included millet croquettes made with millets; mashed potatoes, carrots and beans dipped in breadcrumbs, and pesto grilled tofu, apart from a chatpata sprouts salad, all ideal for a rainy day. They were easy on the palate and light on the stomach.
I would have loved to try their range of pastas (not just the zucchini ones), but we have to intimate them earlier if you prefer the gluten-free versions. The restaurant does serve them, if informed in advance. But the garlic cream pasta and the almond palomino sauce pasta (there were four more options) sounded delicious (with the cream component made with cashew). Carrots also makes vegan pizzas and calzones.
Instead, I helped myself to their mighty Buddha bowl, made with grilled tofu, chickpeas, carrots, cucumber lettuce in a garlic-peanut sauce with a drizzle of apple cider vinegar. The bowl is ideal for those who love tangy, pad-Thai like flavours and want to go in for a protein blast. The almond pesto paella, made with brown rice and almond pesto sauce, was delicately flavourful.
No Indian meal is complete without curd rice, why should being vegan stop you from going for it? And Carrots’ soy curd rice, which I had with millets and lots of seasoning (including a heady ginger and tadka flavour) comes to the rescue of the South Indian in you.
Despite being full to bursting, I made just a little room for dessert with the creamy vegan chocolate ice-cream accompanied by a piece of chocolate cake. I left with notes of saffron lingering on my palate, from the creamy rasamalai (who would have thought there could be a vegan version?). I couldn’t ask for more.
- Carrots is located at No 607, First Floor, 80 Feet Rd, 6th Block, Koramangala. Call 4117 2812 for details.
- Ambience: Desi
- Speciality: Vegan pastas, desserts, beverages, and sweets
- Wallet factor: Rs 1,200 for a meal for two (approximately)
