Banquet in a box

While number of COVID-19 cases in India are seemingly dropping steadily and the Centre approving the vaccines are both great news, the miserable weather and the fact that people across the NCR have become accustomed to ordering in means there still isn’t a whole lot of dining out happening. It is still the holiday season, and Indians cannot celebrate without a table groaning under the weight of foods. To the rescue is awardwinning and cross-continental Chef Sujan Sarkar with The Dinner Box.

The eclectic home delivery pop-up, which features celebrated chefs across the (smorgas) board curating meals for diners at home, debuted late last year to much acclaim and is being now helmed by the man who started it, at least for this week. “The thing is that now when you do home delivery, you have to realise there could be three generations eating the same meal and so you have to figure out how to appeal to all their palates and expectations,” says Sarkar of his festive menu, which can best be described as a post-Christmas degustation.

Sarkar, who is running successful restaurants across the US as well as Rooh in Delhi, notes, “It’s relatively easy to come up with a menu for nonvegetarians, but the vegetarians always get and or feel left out. With this festive menu, I’m trying to cater to both groups.” And what a menu it is, dear reader. Both non-vegetarian and vegetarian diners begin their meal with the Pumpkin Shorba, with black garlic and lime khari; followed by Goan Chorizo Scotch Egg, with fermented pepper, bhut jolokia mayo and shaved pickles for the former and Beetroot Scotch Egg, with fermented pepper, bhut jolokia mayo and shaved pickles for the latter.

“We ensured that all the major accompaniments for the vegetarian and non-vegetarian menus are the same, so again that there is no favouring of one of the food demographics,” points out Sarkar. While non-vegetarians will have a Duck Haleem, vegetarians will indulge in a Jackfruit Haleem with the chef pointing out, “There’s a great farm that provides premium-quality ducks next to our restaurant in Chhatarpur. Similarly, we have access to amazing locally grown jackfruits.

While the inspiration was Christmas, we also didn’t want to stray too far from people’s comfort zones, and everyone can enjoy a Haleem in the winter.” Similarly, either courses are followed by Gucchi and Walnut Manti, with Parmesan Yakhni, winter greens and a walnut crumble (“white Christmas so a pasta in white sauce”).

“People have sort of become accustomed to the pandemic, and we know that they are also much more aware of where their food comes from. So, we sourced the best local produce and meats possible. We have a whole roast chicken for our main course for the non-vegetarians and a Paneer Ghee Roast (Paturi) for the vegetarians, using ingredients from the best and safest vendors,” shares the chef.