It’s a sprawling 10,000 sq ft giant of a fine-dining restaurant. On the menu are delicacies like seared Canadian scallops and more. And figuring out what to drink could be problematic because of the long list of choices. The restaurant in question is the one-month-old Manre which has just opened in a swanky MGF Metropolitan mall in Delhi’s Saket district. The owner is Ramola Bachchan, businesswoman, one-time London socialite and charity activist. Bachchan moved to India two years ago and has been scouting for business opportunities ever since then. She has a lifetime as a globetrotter behind her and she has tasted haute cuisine around the world. She hopes to bring her experience to the table at Manre. “My vision is to create a destination that offers high quality food, entertainment and ambience,” she says. Certainly, she’s pouring her heart into the fledgling venture. She arrives at the restaurant every morning at 11am and calls it a day just before midnight. She keeps a hawk-like eye both on what’s happening in the kitchen and at the tables. The menu here features modern European dishes with a sprinkling of Middle Eastern and pan-Asian items. The man on the spot supervising the food is executive chef Uttam Karmakar who worked most recently at Shalom, a happening resto-lounge in the Capital and has also worked in Ireland. Also, at the helm is Laurent Guiraud the restaurant’s general manager handpicked by Bachchan and who brings long years of experience in the fine dining game. Guiraud co-owned a restaurant in Paris until two years ago when he left and moved to India. “We all function as a team and our primary concern is to constantly check on the quality,” says Bachchan who loves cooking and has personally worked on the menu. Here, she shares two signature dishes from Manre.

COUSCOUS ROYALE

Ingredients
60gm couscous 2gm paprika 3gm mint 100gm bell pepper 10gm butter 10gm lemon candy 10gm prunes 10gm olive 5gm garlic 5gm onion 50gm asparagus 50gm zucchini 60gm artichokes 5gm basil 50gm broccoli 5gm pine nut Tahini Sauce: 5ml lemon juice 10ml cream

Method
Boil the couscous with paprika. Saute the onions, garlic and chopped bell pepper in butter and add couscous, chopped mint and lemon candy. Marinate the vegetables with lemon juice, the chopped basil, the chopped mint, olive oil and garlic. Grill the vegetables. Make the Tahini sauce with lemon juice and water and finish with fresh cream. Make the round base of couscous 9mm thick and put the vegetables over the base and pour the creamy Tahini sauce on top.Garnish with prunes, black olives, pine nuts, chilli oil and a sprig of parsley.

VALRHONA CHOCOLATE DELICE

Ingredients
500gm Valrhona chocolate or any dark chocolate 60ml water 125gm egg yolks 185gm egg white 185gm castor sugar 650gm whipped cream 60gm chocolate truffle 80gm strawberries 240 gm wild berry sauce

Method
Boil water and castor sugar till the mixture turns soft. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks and the egg whites. Slowly add the soft sugar mix to the whisked egg yolks. Add melted Valrhona to it and fold the whipped cream in. Mix well to make the mousse. Put it in a mould and refrigerate for 24 hours. When serving, put berry sauce on the plate and place the mousse over it. For garnishing, put chocolate truffle and fresh strawberries and serve.

As told to Hoihnu Hauzel;
Pix: Jagan Negi