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BENGALURU: Chocolates with ashwagandha, ginger or cumin; potato wedges with moringa leaves; a white rum pina colada with turmeric... Restaurants and cafes in Bengaluru are coming up with innovations to show that diners can actually get a host of health benefits in these pandemic-ridden times.

Many are now turning towards local ingredients for their immunity-boosting properties, with pepper, amla and chia seeds joining the list of condiments as the new stars of their dishes. According to food writer and consultant Monika Manchanda, in the last 15-20 days alone, a couple of clients have reached out to her for help with new recipes to include on their menu.

"And those who arent coming up with new dishes, are highlighting the immunity-boosting ingredients in their existing ones," she says, adding that she has recently helped a Bengaluru eatery with a Golden Glow smoothie that contains carrot, turmeric and ginger.

Antioxidants in dark chocolates are, of coursem said to be good for the immune system. But in light of the coronavirus spread, Smoor Chocolates has decided to further infuse their chocolates with ashwagandha, and come July, will offer customers variants with pecan nuts, goji berries, turmeric, ginger, amla and cumin.

Agreeing that these are not ideas one might stomach easily, chief marketing officer Kanchan Achpal hopes that people will develop a taste for it anyway since boosting ones immunity is the need of the hour. "People tend to be hesitant about such combinations but come to eventually enjoy it," she says. Case in point: The turmeric latte they introduced earlier this month.

Currently, the Indiranagar outlet receives 10-12 orders for this, as opposed to 30-35 orders for their regular latte.Agrees Nidhi Nahata, founder of JustBe Resto Caf, who is hoping to reopen her eatery for dine-in in July.

New offerings include a salad bar (with 50 varieties), potato wedges with moringa leaves, hemp hearts in milkshakes, hemp powder in chapati and pizza dough, and avocado chocolate mousse. "Right now, people have been cooking more and becoming more aware of what to eat. So such dishes will only be in demand," says Nahata, who is also a health coach and food therapist.

While the ingredients to experiment with are plenty, nothing beats the crowning glory of the golden spice. Having always been famous in its haldi doodh form (Chaayos has also introduced a haldi chai on its menu), turmeric has even managed to find its way into alcoholic drinks at The Leela Palace, Bengaluru.

The star hotel will offer diners a turmeric pina colada once restaurants get a go-ahead to serve liquor, with its team having spent the last few weeks coming up with a menu of 12 new drinks (eight cocktails and three welcome drinks) with amla, hibiscus, tulsi, etc.

"Turmeric powder tended to overpower the drink, so we settled for a crushed decoction of it that blends well with the drink. The taste of pineapple, coconut and white rum remains the same, with just enough spice to get its health benefits as well," says F&B manager Mark Manuel.

On the menu

Read the rest here:
Taste of times: Bengaluru eateries launch dishes with immunity boosting ingredients - The New Indian Express

This entry was posted on June 22, 2020 at 5:43 am and is filed under Immune System. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |