Category: Chef Saby

Lavaash by Saby – a preview

2015 is Skeeter’s year to discover new food, chart culinary territories and eat the best grub on offer. In her quest for new food, she ended up sampling Armenian food with a Bengali twist presented by Chef Sabyasachi Gorai at a preview dinner at his restaurant Lavaash by Saby (Ambawatta Complex, Mehrauli).

Armenian-Bengali proximity

A chance discovery of an old grave picture led Chef Saby to reconnect with his childhood spent in Asansol (in West Bengal) that bore touches of Armeninan culture and food. Asansol was an Armenian colony some 200 years back. Chef Saby tells that the Asansol hood was named after Armenian families: Apkar Gardens, Agabeg bridge, Evelyn Lodge. More importantly, the Armenians gave to India, the tolmas, the tonir (tandoor, which is still widely used in India), the Lavash (an unleavened bread), paneer, curd among others. Chef Saby calls his offering the A-cuisine. Lavaash by Saby bears Armenian motifs across its interiors. Viplov Singh and Svabhu Kohli have given shape to the initial moodboard of the place made by Chef Megha Kohli and Chef Saby. Skeeter visited the restaurant at night, but is sure it looks dreamy and romantic during the day. With a beautifully done terrace dining space, Lavaash by Saby is bound to be a hotspot this winter.

Armenian grub

The food on offer is new, but not alien. You get the basic (yet most delicious) Claypot bread with a generous dollop of butter and scatter of chironji seeds. It is Saby’s version of Matnakash, an Armenian bread. It is called so, as the bakers fingermarks are imprinted on the bread before putting it in the oven. Along with this bread, you sample the most divine Pumpkin Manti (Armenian ravioli) cooked and served in a clay vessel and scattered with pine nuts. The outer wrapping has a soft, crusty rumali kind of texture and the filling of sweet pumpkin with walnuts, yoghurt sauce and cheese melts in the mouth. The use of nuts characterizes Armenian food which they use for texture as well as nutrition. Skeeter cannot wait to try the Mushroom Manti on her next visit.

Pumpkin Manti

Claypot bread

Baked Mochar Puff 

The baked Mochar Puff filled with a fragrant banana blossom and potato mash and served with a tomato relish is your everyday Bengali household grub revamped and how! This simple twist will leave the Bengali bhadralok craving for more.

Rice Tolma

The Rice Tolma (as opposed to the mideastern Dolma) are grape leaves stuffed with rice, peas, saffron, coriander, mint and melted butter.

Panir and spinach kofte 

Dumplings and stews also feature in Armenian cuisine. The Panir and spinach kofte at Lavaash by Saby are the most delicious version of cottage cheese Skeeter has sampled by a Bengali person. Soft, fluffy balls of cottage cheese with a well-seasoned spinach lining inside are a work of culinary art. Studded with nuts and served in a way that it remains hot, this dish is best eaten with another Bengali staple: fragrant gobindobhog rice with butter and gondhoraj lebu (a local lemon). Together, these two make a sublime combination.

Chef Megha Kohli
Chef Megha Kohli is ever smiling and suitably educates guests about Armenian food. Chef Saby’s sister, Sarbani, has helped him give the right Bengali touches to the food.

Ponchiki

The Ponchiki or square doughnuts filled with nutella are addictive. I recommend you sample them with some good coffee or the pomegranate tea that Lavaash by Saby has on offer.

An old fashioned chocolate mousse is just the right way to end your meal. Skeeter couldn’t keep her hands off this one. Sinful and indulgent!

The restaurant opens its doors to public next week. 

Of Ravioli rituals at Olive Culinary Academy

Fifteen student chefs, two buddy chefs and a master chef comprise the Olive Culinary Academy structure. For those of you who dine at Olive (Qutub), the sunshine room aka the Greenhouse has been taken over, length to length and breadth to breadth by the first batch of OCA. This, shall remain in force till the OCA finds a permanent home.

The culinary wizard
The trail blazer of this venture, Chef Saby (Sabyasachi Gorai), is a bundle of nerves these days. As Reeta Skeeter chats with him, Saby mumbles something impromptu, “they pulled off that choco mousse cake well. It did not fall apart. It was not perfect but it was not anywhere near what I was fearing it to be.” Clearly, his mind lies in getting every act being performed at OCA right. Skeeter has an opinion here… The OCA students did a fab job at the chocolate mousse cake. Spearheading a culinary academy with an international accreditation and holding the sessions at the premises of a very successful restaurant is not an easy task. But Chef Saby is not the one who is bogged down easily by anything that revolves around his passion: great food and better service. He shows Skeeter his cellphone and reveals it has not internet connectivity. He has even given up his laptop. He took an added responsibility (of the OCA) and tore away from his life what he deemed not-so-important at that point in time. The ever smiling Chef Noor-Al-Sabah and the gracious Subirendra Nath are among the faculty. 
The students
Skeets was on a self-invited visit to the OCA. She arrived when the lunch preparations were in progress. Every evening the 15 student chefs receive on their email addresses, the menu for the next day. They are given some warning as to what they are expected to do the following day. They can read the recipes, do their research and clear doubts with the buddy chefs or the master chef (Saby). The first batch at OCA come across as a confident lot. After all, they are handpicked by a star, after thorough interview rounds. Only two students who are over age(as per the prospectus limit) have been allowed on board. 
The students are a curious mix. There is Divija who comes across as extremely passionate about her new professional path (she is a lawyer and quit her job to study food); there is Sofya who left her job as a tax accountant in NY, came all the way to India and is exploring food. As Divija and Sofya share their experiences, they are rejoiced to discover Stephen’s stint with a middle-eastern restaurant. Divija is cooking up mid-eastern food for a friend’s’ party and promptly asks Stephen for help with some of the food she wants to make. For Pradeep, it is about refining his skills as he has previously studied at a culinary school. Sahil, who has done his BBA in Marketing to make the parents happy, finally coaxed them to let him persuade his passion. Sagar and Akash are from a culinary background. Infact, Akash dropped his Australian study plans when he heard that he could get an opportunity to learn from and work with Saby (cult following?). Yasir, Mansi and Ananya have just finished school and have found the culinary practicals and academics at OCA as their calling. Girish and Ritu are the exceptions among the young lot and are thrilled at what they have learnt at OCA so far.

Observations
Everything at the Greenhouse at Olive seems to be moving in a rhythmic fashion. There’s no causal banter, there are only jokes around food and more, around errors, if any. There are occasional shout-outs from Saby. No student escapes his hawk eyes. As Saby is talking to some visitors at the academy, he shouts at a student that what he has just thrown was pumpkin pulp that could have otherwise been used to make at least one and a half portions of pumpkin soup. The student gets the point and takes it well. The students are given top notch ingredients to work with and they ought to respect the same. They shout orders at each other. The one receiving the order promptly executes the task. This was an absolute delight to watch as it indicates they have been taught to work as a team and they do a mean job of it as is seen in what came. Skeeter has always regarded ravioli making as a ritual which requires utmost devotion, concentration and skill. She was particularly stupefied at the dexterity the OCA students showed at this skill. 
The Pasta ritual
The course
The students are taught at par with industry standards. Since it is a certificate course, it can be completed faster than an associate or bachelor’s program. The one year course has two modules. Module one consists of theory sessions, pictorial and live demonstrations as well as practical sessions. Module two is a 6 month Paid Internship at branches of Olive countrywide. Whilst, the rest of the desired info is up for grabs at the OCA website, what is of particular interest is the TAKE HOME CHEF concept introduced at the OCA. The students at Olive Culinary Academy will come to your home and rustle up a gourmet dinner for you and your guests, assisted by master chefs and senior chefs.

Olive Culinary Academy,
One Style Mile, Mehrauli, New Delhi.
Mobile:+91 880 011 1279
Landline:+91 (011) 2957 4407
E-mail: chefsaby@oliveculinaryacademy.com
E-mail: subir@oliveculinaryacademy.com
E-mail: noor@oliveculinaryacademy.com

The Dirty Martini

Reading NCERT text books and watching the Mahabharata, (the fancy war gear, shallow water pools that camfoulaged as well-laid carpets, a palace made of Lac to burn people alive) while growing up, I’d often fancy living in the past. What did the Red Fort look like when it was occupied by the its rightful owners. What Mandu (in Madhya Pradesh) was like when the hamam baths (that are now home to bats), were live and functional. This was the India story or some of it. Cut to the US.
Picture Prohibition era, picture Speakeasies. What plagued the past (remember crime peaked during Prohibition) is being celebrated today. Skeeter was delighted to have been invited to one such party that revisited the past. Sabyasachi Gorai or Chef Saby as he is lovingly called along with his team – chef Dhruv Oberoi (who has returned from his stint with Ferran and Albert Adria on one of their projects), Noor Al Sabah (who comes from Dubai to follow her passion-food), Astha Mittal (who loves to work around food), Harish (at the bar) hosted us.

The Dirty Martini at Olive Qutub, which is a Speakeasy-inspired bar recreated blast from the past. Speakeasies used to be illegal bars that thrived in the US in 1920s when there was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. The entry to these bars was through a lesser known path, often a dirty dingy alley and a clandestine entrance which required passwords to let you in. Since there are no dingy alleys at Olive Qutub, we were led through the kitchen and ushered in through a shabby looking door. A welcome drink called The Chai-Wala (Mulled wine in a mitti ka kulhad), warmed us up to the evening. And as the evening rolled South Side (cocktail made from gin, lemon, sugar, mint) was dished out in intricate tea cups, ideally suited to a High Tea. It was served to keep with the Speakeasy theme of The Dirty Martini. Next up was an excellent Cherry Wood smoked Gin tonic served in a wine glass topped with an Amuse Bouche.




Then came the wicked jello martini shots. Real fruit was scooped out and skins were retained to be filled with jellied martinis. Skeeter is a sucker for gorgeous looking food and always has a hard time thinking of destroying (read eating, okay drinking such glam things). Beer came hidden in brown paper bags and a lovely Sangria made Skeety’s evening. 
The vegetarian bites that were served with the drinks included Dive bar croistini (Ratatouille and gruyere), Big boss toast (Goat cheese, chilli jam and berries), the Rum runner (Mushroom burger, manchego) and a lovely Sheeben sandwich which was a Harissa spiced artichoke with feta and apricot chutney. It was Skeety’s favourite from that night. Godfather’s stew was a seven vegetable stew served with country style bread. Vegetables could not get better. 
The evening ended with Nutty Auntie, a sublime baked apple and walnut tart with a dash of maple syrup and The Smoked Cigar which was live Churros served in paper cones (A Spanish deep fried party served with molten chocolate). Interestingly, the first time Skeeter tasted Churros happened to be at Olive itself. It may be a breakfast/snack item in Spain, but ended our night on a toothsome note.