Get Ready to Welcome Indigo Deli at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, But What Happened to Indigo?

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

Mumbai's star restaurateur,
Rahul Akerkar, has not had the
smoothest of starts in Delhi,
but he's hoping to make up
for lost time and keep his
staff morale intact by launching
Indigo Deli at the Ambience
Mall, Vasant Kunj

IT'S A PITY most people assume that Indigo Deli, which is formally opening tomorrow (May 30) at the Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, is Indigo Delhi. If Mumbai's star restaurateur, Rahul Akerkar, had the freedom to act according to his Delhi expansion plan, he was to launch Indigo, the restaurant that's won every award and accolade possible, sometime in mid-January.

He was to make a grand opening at the urban renewal project, an arts and entertainment space that was to have transformed what used to be an open drain opposite the Hyatt Regency, in the shadow of Netaji Nagar. And he was to roll out Indigo Deli, starting with the second floor of Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, in the space formerly occupied by Zambar, only after Indigo settled down as "a 'back-to-basics' address that will serve up eclectic modern European fare, coupled with an expansive bar and a private dining section". Indigo Deli will be next door to Pizza Express, which is the next high-profile opening to watch out for at Ambience Mall.

But for some mysterious reason, the area, which was blessed by the Sheila Dikshit government and is being developed by the father-and-son duo of Sanjeev and Samegh Batra, has been in suspended animation ever since Dikshit got a drubbing in the Delhi Assembly election, even though Delhi Metro has been constructing buildings next door at a frenetic pace. Was the previous government's showcase project not a priority for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dispensation that followed? If that were the case, why did Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung not push it after the fall of AAP? No one is ready to share the real story.

"You know how officials work," was Sanjeev Batra's first response when I asked him about the delayed project. "But we will be up and running in a month," he added. Batra has been the man behind such significant heritage rejuvenation-cum-restaurant development projects at Mehrauli such as Olive Bar & Kitchen and The Kila, where blueFROG has re-opened, though after giving up the associated cafe and restaurant spaces.

Batra said that when it became clear the urban renewal project wasn't taking off according to the time-table they were working on, Akerkar came to him and shared his desire to launch Indigo Deli before Indigo. He had hired staff for Indigo and they had been trained in Mumbai, but they had no restaurant in sight, which was clearly a dispiriting prospect. He had to do something to retain his staff, which was why he fast-forwarded Indigo Deli, which is best known for its salads, burgers, sandwiches and ice-creams, and of course, its delicatessen.

"I feel a tinge of sadness, but when Indigo finally opens opposite the Hyatt Regency, the grandness of the setting and the cuisine that has given the restaurant its share of international acclaim will have their desired effect," Batra said, striking a hopeful note. For the sake of the city, we wish him luck! Delhi deserves an Indigo, as much as it can do with an Indigo Deli. Neighbouring Mistral's Mayank Tiwari has serious competition on his hands and even Chili's may experience some loss of lustre.

At India's Woodstock, A Soul-Stirring Offering of Food, Wine and Music

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

SULAFEST, without doubt, is India's Woodstock. A celebration of youth power. A showcase of good wine, food and pop fashion. A music programme packed with the best of electronica and world music. A crowd that deserves to be held up as a model of self-discipline.

When the late lamented Chateau Indage pioneered grape stomping as a marketing gimmick to glam up the wine business, wine snobs would turn their noses up and just about tolerate the publicity that the Chateau got as a result of it. No one then could imagine that the tradition would get a life of its own and grow into a cultural festival under the leadership of Rajeev Samant of Sula Wines, the Chateau's challenger and nemesis.

Sula put Nashik on the world wine map after Samant, with help from his Californian winemaker, Kerry Damsky, changed the face of a district that was previously famous for having Asia's largest wholesale onion market. Today, Sula has 238 contract farmers, supervised by a team viticulturists, growing 17 varieties of wine grapes, some of which, such as Pinot Noir (at a place named Sangvi near Pune), were considered impossible to sustain in India. In the same way, Sulafest has ensured the district's place on the tourist map -- it's a pity that the event lasts just for two days.

When you have a 20-artiste lineup with Dub Pistols, The Dualists, Vasuda Sharma, Susheela Raman and DJ Anna leading the pack, you know Sulafest 2014 is a "gourmet music festival" not to be taken lightly. There's food for every taste bud -- from shawarma and kaukswe at the Food Court next to the Main Stage to piping hot and deliciously juicy kathi rolls at the Electrozone, which has a very different vibe and music that just sucks you in. It grows on you, especially after you've had a blueFROG bottle filled up with a heady vodka and watermelon juice combo (Rs 800). You can also have a Mount Gay rum mojito (highly recommended at Rs 300), or a shot of Grant's, or an Asahi beer, or any Sula wine that catches your fancy. If you wish to take some home, my good friend, Rinku Madan, who's presiding over the Club Sula stall, will take your order and have your choice shipped to your home.

Now in its seventh year, Sulafest has put Nashik
on the world tourism map and become
India's No. 1 gourmet music festival.
Image: Courtesy of blueFrog

Or you can grab a preservatives-free, sparkling fruit juice (Rs 100) -- apple, pink guava or passionfruit, take your pick -- from Pune's Good Juicery, which was launched last year by a South African resident of the city, Michelle Bauer, and her food technologist friend Julia Madlener. I was talking to Michelle's friend, a New Zealander named Brendan (not McCullum!), and he said the company insists on sourcing its fruits from India (each can of Good has 40 per cent fruit juice). Passionfruit is an exception, naturally, but Brendan surprised me by saying that the company has zeroed in on a vendor in Kerala. Imagine having passionfruit from Kerala! It reminded me of what celebrity chef Vikas Khanna said to me some time back: "There's nothing that isn't grown or eaten in India." Of course, he wasn't talking about fruits, but octopus cooked Keralan style!

I was lucky to catch up with Ajoy Shaw, Sula's talented and forever happy winemaker. He treated me to a Rasa 2007, a 100 per cent Shiraz, which still has maintained its ruby red hue bordering on purple, its luscious tannins slithering down my thirsty throat. Sula is re-launching Rasa 2007 as a Collector's Edition wine. Shaw said it was a pity Sula couldn't hold back stocks of its top-end wines -- my favourite, Dindori Reserve Shiraz, being one of them -- for later release. The demand for Sula wines invariably shoots ahead of the supply.

I asked Shaw about his preparations for the tough-as-nails Master of Wine examination. He said he wakes up sometimes at 3:30 in the morning to prepare for it, because he has full-time job to do. The process is expensive. It requires extensive wine tasting opportunities, which are not easy to come by in India, unlike, say, in London, where you have such events every week. And there's a lot of emphasis put on your English writing skills, which a biochemist such as Shaw may at times find challenging. I had heard the same story from Sonal Holland of ITC at the Chandon launch in Mumbai. But something tells me, both will eventually become India's first Masters of Wine.

Sulafest is not only about food, wine and music. It's also about conversations and memories that remain with you for a long time after the curtains have come down on the event.

Indigo Delhi Opening to be a Part of Urban Renewal Project Across Hyatt

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

A PATCH of land across the road from the Capital’s Hyatt Regency hotel, skirting a busy road that’s called Africa Avenue, overlooking an old colony of government officials (where yours truly grew up, is transforming into a retail and entertainment zone where Rahul Akerkar’s celebrated Colaba restaurant, Indigo, will have its first outpost in Delhi.

Heritage real estate developer and chartered accountant Sanjeev Batra, who gave the cowlands of Mehrauli a new chic identity by turning around the stables of an old haveli into a restaurant space where Delhi’s first Olive Bar & Kitchen opened about a decade ago (and blueFrog more recently), acquired the patch of land from the Delhi Government about four years ago. Overlooking the busy Ring Road and Bhikaji Cama Place business district, it was a meeting point of anti-socials, with an open drain on one side, a sleepy Coffee Home run by the Government of Delhi-NCT not far from it and a beehive of car workshops behind it. It took Batra months to clear the area, but with the firm back of the Delhi Government and civic agencies, he was able to turn it around.

That was the project’s first phase. Batra had envisaged it as a recreated heritage zone, but then came his son, Samegh, after his higher studies abroad (University of Essex, UK) and turned the idea around to make it a contemporary space for young people to hang out. Apart from Indigo, the space will have fashion retail and handicrafts outlets, a performance area for art, fashion, theatre and music, and a park where families will be encouraged to have Sunday picnics with food hampers provided by Indigo and carts operated by the restaurant will sell hot dogs. There will also be a 200ft blackboard on the boundary wall for children to doodle on.

Rahul Akerkar makes his first foray outside Mumbai since
he opened his Colaba restaurant in 1999.
Image: Courtesy of www.foodindigo.com

“We want to create a space for citizens to savour the open-air pleasures that we enjoyed as children before the mall culture overtook the city,” says Sanjeev Batra. “The project will set the pace for the proper use of public spaces and the government has really backed us on it.” Samegh, his son, is the Managing Director of the House of Sunrydge, the company steering this urban renewal project.

Sharing his vision for Indigo Delhi, Rahul Akerkar, the man who opened the widely acclaimed restaurant in Mumbai in 1999, says in a media release: “Just as in Mumbai, Indigo in New Delhi  will be a ‘back-to-basics’ address that will serve up eclectic modern European fare, coupled with an expansive bar and a private dining section.”

Sanjeev Batra at his first development,
One Style Mile, Mehrauli, where Olive
Bar & Kitchen opened a decade ago

On his food, says the self-taught chef and entrepreneur, who got bitten by the restaurateur’s bug when he was dishwashing at a French bistro to pay his way through college in the U.S.: “The food is fundamentally ingredient-driven and contemporary in construction with strong and distinct flavours, with Indian and Asian influences.” Olive Bar and Kitchen loosened up the city’s stuffy dining culture when it opened at One Style Mile, Mehrauli. Indigo will complete this process of transformation.

Significantly, Indigo’s Rahul Akerkar and Olive’s AD Singh were once working together, running Just Desserts many moons ago in Mumbai, where Akerkar met his wife Malini. They have since gone their own ways, but now, they are in one city, so look out for the wheels of change working overtime.