When a restaurant opens its Delhi flagship in Lutyens’ Delhi, they mean business. And who better to sing the song of ‘Location Location Location’ than the poster boy of progressive-Indian cuisine, Zorawar Kalra. His company, Massive Restaurants Pvt. Ltd., has nine restaurants across five brands including successes like Farzi Cafe and Made in Punjab in the capital. Thankfully, Mumbai decided to shower some love and send across its best over to it’s political cousin – Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra. Zorawar is a result oriented entrepreneur and has a razor sharp vision – modernise Indian cuisine and put it on the the global map to share space with the Nomas and Osteria Francescanas.
After months of anticipation and on-point PR buzz, Masala Library opened doors to its Delhi patronage in July 2016 at a smashing central Delhi address. As opposed to its loud and playful sister establishment (Farzi Cafe), Masala Library shows restraint, experimentation and attention to detail. Kalra tells us that the underlying objective is to marry authentic flavours with science and new-age presentation.
Walking into the erstwhile Ferrari showroom, we are greeted by a statement bar and a wine wall boasting of an impressive selection from across the globe. Other than these two major design accents, the decor is neutral and borderline-bland that is contrary to a fine-dine establishment.
PC: Masala Library
Greeted by a soon-to-be-discovered warm and efficient service staff, we are strongly recommended the Chef’s 19-dish Tasting Menu (Rs 2100 for vegetarian; Rs 2300 for non-vegetarian; Rs 2200 extra for 6 glasses of paired wine). We kicked off this degustation with a visually-cheering Amuse Bouche, and amuse it did – a mango ‘yolk’ with a tender coconut ‘albumen’, served in ceramic egg shells resting in a nest. One gulp and the spheres burst in your mouth, leaving a mild sweet taste ensuring a promising start to the meal.
Medu Vada with Rasam
We slowly made our way through an array of visual and palate teasers. Starting with the Medur Vada that sat atop a horizontal test tube with a glug-ful of a mildly spiced rasam; we progressed to the Mango Pirada with Manchego Poee where the sweetness of the rambutan coupled with the saltiness of the manchego cheese, drizzled with acidic droplets of the mango vinegar helped realise our first “this is what we came for” moment. One of the key highlights of this meal was the Nadir Churma – A slice of a crispy lotus stem (sprinkled with kashmiri chilly and rock salt) and with a garlic-radish-walnut chutney. The creaminess of the chutney was nicely offset by the crunchy lotus stem crisp. A mid-meal softie was the Deconstructed Samosa where the pastry could have been flakier that ought to have melted in your mouth.
Deconstructed Samosa
We cheekily popped out for a smoke break (terrible, we know, we’re quitting this weekend) and were pleasantly surprised by a well-labelled herb garden. The team has taken special care in building their in-house green oasis to ensure a micro version of the farm-to-fork model. We continue chatting about the brand, the man at the helm who despite having no professional training has a great command over pairings, flavours and understanding complexity of ingredients.
We returned to our table in time for the arrival of the smashing galouti kebab that had been nicely broken down to form a melt in the mouth moment. True to Zorawar’s promise of redefining Indian food and give it a new lease of life, we were kids in a candy shop tasting the pesto kebabs served with a parmesan papad.
These were followed by Curry Leaf Prawn with Thaiyir Satham, Scallop and False-Scallop, Naga Pork with Black Bean and Bamboo Shoots and Tawa Keema with Pickled Bitter Gourd. The prawn was a clear favourite, with its sharp flavours of pepper and curry leaf perfectly cut by the cool and mild curd rice foam. The pork too was great, as the succulent piece of protein would just give way with one nudge of the fork.
As part of a mid-meal tea-service ceremony, a scrumptious Mushroom Chai was served on the table. A cup of ‘water’ (mushroom consommé), a generous portion of ‘tea leaves’ (porcini mushrooms) and a sprinkling of the ‘powdered milk’ (dehydrated truffle oil) – possible the clear hero of this degustation.
Moving on to the main course, we ordered the Hand Pulled Duck with Plum Korma and the Langoustine Moilee. This take on the classic duck with plum sauce left us spell bound-the pulled duck, like the Naga Pork, was falling apart easily and the Korma took the dish to another level with its complex yet perfectly balanced flavours. The langoustine was another cracker of a dish, the meat was impeccable, and the moilee sauce delicately tied the dish together. We’re not going to forget this dish anytime soon!
Their Homage To India included four options, a tomato based curry, korma, white curry, or spinach based curry; and was accompanied by Ting Mo & Lachha Parantha. This dish along with the Kadhi Pakoda were quite the tease, leaving us expecting hidden flavours or magical textures, but disappointingly finding none. The Mushroom Soufflé with a Truffle Saffron Curry was another delight that smashed it outta the park.
Mushroom Soufflé with a Truffle Saffron Curry
Bhappa Doi, Chhena Payesh, and Ashen Kulfi
If we had our way, dessert degustations would be mandatory at every meal, at every restaurant. Hence, it should come as no surprise that we were eagerly awaiting the finale of our Masala Library expedition. We were greeted by a trio of desserts- Bhappa Doi, Chhena Payesh and Ashen Kulfi. The gorgeous desserts turned us into all-time fans of the Chef’s plating skills. The Bhappa Doi was the table’s favourite with spot on balance in flavour, without the unnecessary overpowering sweetness that typically accompanies a Bhappa Doi. The Chhena Payesh was texturally beautiful with the crunch of the almond chikki and the soft balls of the Payesh, but we thought it was a tad bit over sweet. The server was exceptionally proud to present their piece de resistance, Mumbai’s most favourite export, the Jalebi Caviar which was a play on the quintessential Delhi Jalebi Rabri.
Jalebi Caviar
We finished the meal with riveting conversation accompanied by white chocolate balls which were expertly tempered with a raspberry coulis. The Orange Tree made a late entry, but with its thin slivers of bitter-sweet candied orange, hit the spot and confirmed our belief in the formula ‘Science+Food=Brilliance’!
Masala Library promises an experience and it delivers- with interesting and detailed presentation of food and a couple of star dishes in the kitty. With its strategic pricing, quiet sophistication, spot-on service and smashing cocktails, this new kid on the block is here to stay.
