Katrina Kufer: Your roots are North Indian, and you’ve spent a significant time in New Delhi, known for its food scene. Touches of this appear through the menu, with an emphasis on reinventing great dishes rather than a regional focus. Key flavour profiles are present throughout – from the five liquids for Naivedhya to the katu-amla-tikshna-lavana-madhur balance – with each of the 16 dishes embodying textural playfulness and discernible layers of flavour complexity. What are your culinary influences, and how is that translated?
Rahul Rana: My cooking philosophy revolves around festive treats, memories and techniques. I like to innovate while concentrating on the actual taste which remains. On this new degustation menu, we are exploring what we’ve noticed are people’s least favourite ingredients because of the flavour profiles. My vision is to break through that perception, where I can show limitless possibilities of Indian vegetarian food. We also want to educate the people about the nutritional value and health benefits of those least favourite ingredients.
KK: How and why do you select these ingredients?
RR: I always believe in working in a team and one day in a briefing before operations started, I asked my team which vegetables they like most and which they prefer not to eat at all or never even want to try. Everyone came up with the same ones. At first, my idea was to create something with people’s favourites, but I realised that there are so many vegetables people don't prefer. Everyone only wants to eat their favourites. My only vision was to change people’s perceptions by creating something magical with them – and my team's perception was changed drastically when they tasted the menu.
KK: You’re referencing the infamous Bottle and Bitter Gourds! You’ve also revealed that "real" Indian families cook with more nuance than garlic, onion and oil-heavy mainstream Indian restaurant fare. Avatara adopts subtlety, offering an experience that proves filling – but not overwhelming – and nutritious for body and soul. For example, the menu highlights Ayurvedic practice. Is this a more accurate representation of the connection between Indian culture and its cuisine, or is this a connection you are encouraging as part of your culinary ethos?
RR: If we talk about Indian cuisine, it’s a big chapter to study, and it cannot be described in a few words. At Avatara, we are using simple household cooking techniques: people cook food with less oil and spices so that the food doesn’t become heavy and remains flavourful. Following that Indian household cooking culture, we are encouraging people and telling them about the health benefits of the ingredients which we are using on the menu by referencing Ayurveda.
KK: A simple philosophy presented with precise, technical and elegant culinary execution. Each plate showcases refined but experimental artistry, often evoking nature: gardens, lily ponds and misty hills. How essential is this in creating sensorial dialogue?
RR: Presentation without a question plays a very important key role in culinary art. There is a stereotypical belief that one eats with the eyes first followed by the taste buds, but my thought process is different. I believe that when someone indulges in a particular dish, s/he should enjoy each and every bit of it with all their senses. Who doesn't prefer beautiful art on the plate? By listening to the story and the process behind it, your curiosity imagines the creativity and the hard work that goes into building the journey of that creation from kitchen to plate. You should know what you are eating, which ingredients are there; it’s a must that you can actually taste the ingredients. Also, to know the important role of each and every ingredient, along with the high nutritional value that is creatively blended within the food. These form the major elements we mention on the physical menu. With every bite you are picturing the ingredients and health benefits they carry, exceedingly salient for your body and soul.
KK: Avatara is a journey, with each dish intelligently countering the previous and next with a delicate take on what could be powerful flavours. You show that vegetarian dishes are so much more than its stereotype, and Indian cuisine seems an ideal vehicle to explore that. Is your motivation to “reinvent” perceptions of Indian cuisine, or more broadly, to reframe increasingly outdated notions that “fine dining” and “Michelin” equate overly indulgent and meat-focused? Are you out to show that technique and finesse can equally apply to and allow vegetarian fare to compete on equal grounds?
RR: Yes, at Avatara we want to showcase that Indian vegetarian food can be introduced to the finesse level of Michelin restaurants, and we were listed by the Michelin Guide within the first three months of opening. It is a good start and opportunity for us, where we can reincarnate Indian vegetarian food, taking diners on a flavourful journey through different parts of India.
