This New Year has so much to bring in when it comes to delectable cuisines that looks vibrant and colourful, and will make your weekend more relaxed and soothing. This is the time when people love to experiment and try out new dishes that satisfy their taste buds. One of the unconventional additions to this is the gastro pubs in the capital. The GrogHead is an engaging, tempting and friendly place that will appeal to all age-groups who are looking for a fine-dining, drinking and entertainment experience.
“Grog” is a popular slang for alcohol, and a ‘GrogHead’ is someone who loves his or her booze. So, the GrogHead is here for all among us who enjoy their evening drink in a soothing atmosphere. So much so, that even the grub menu features a section called ‘The Groggy Grub’. Chef Arun Chanda of Mint Hospitality Consultancy (the chief consultants for GrogHead) did his bit of research to apply the most popular alcohol combinations to his recipes in this section.
In this regard, every dish in “The Groggy Grub” has been created either with an alcoholic marinade or an alcoholic sauce. The most popular alcohol mixes like Gin & Tonic, Rum & Cola, Sangria, Tequila & Lime, Bloody Mary, etc have been carefully married to various spices to create these unique dishes. When asked about what kind of alcohol infused dishes being introduced in the menu and what kind of alcohol is used in them and how does it enhance the flavour of the dishes, he provides with the eccentric yet exciting recipe to us.
Grog is a popular slang for alcohol, and a GrogHead is someone who loves his or her booze. So, the GrogHead is here for all among us who enjoy their evening drink in a soothing atmosphere. So much so, that even the grub menu features a section called The Groggy Grub.
He starts with intoxicated Prawn Sta; alcohol used in it is ‘Tequila’. He further elaborates the menu, jumbo prawns marinated in Tequila and zesty lime, grilled and served with chipotle butter cream, cumin and garlic beans and spicy Mexican rice.
In this preparation, the tequila, lime and salt, the most popular shot worldwide, has been incorporated in the recipe as a marinade for the prawns along with other spices. And since Tequila is a Mexican drink, the grilled tequila prawns are served along with chipotle butter cream sauce, (Chipotle, being a Mexican Chilli) & spice Mexican rice is served as an accompaniment. Though it sounds very international, the taste of chipotle makes it friendly for the Indian palate and the flavour of tequila gives the uniqueness to the recipe.
For the second dish, we have cottage cheese steak with bloody mary sauce served with grilled asparagus, pan tossed veggies and slice of focaccia. The alcohol being used is ‘Bloody Mary’.
In this recipe, the cottage cheese steaks are marinated with garlic and pesto, grilled over lava stone and served with a sauce which has all the ingredients of the cocktail, Bloody Mary. So tomato being the main ingredient of the sauce is mixed with Worcestershire sauce, Tabaco sauce, Vodka and Celery and served with the steak. It is a perfect blend with the pesto marinated cottage cheese steaks. Grilled veggies, asparagus and a slice of focaccia bread are served as accompaniments.
Third, we have Gin and Tonic Chicken with alcohol used is ‘Gin’. Whole chicken leg, marinated with gin, tonic water, lime& basil, grilled, served with orange tomato sauce, garlic polenta and grilled veggies.
In this recipe Gin and Tonic has been used to marinate the chicken leg along with lime and basil which perfectly marries to the flavour of gin. One can taste the subtle flavour of the juniper berries imparted to the chicken from the gin used in the marinade. This chicken is then chargrilled and served with a tangy sweet and sour orange & tomato sauce which perfectly balances the taste of Gin and Tonic Chicken. It is served with creamy garlic polenta, a dash of pesto and grilled veggies.
He further elaborated about what kind of customers they have in their mind. Most patrons who visit them for their dining experience are well travelled and have a tasteful palate. And they appreciate their gastronomic innovations. Especially our “Groggy Grub” section, that features beautiful alcohol infused main course items, is attracting customers to a large extent. This kind of unique fusion of alcohol with cuisine has gone well with the visitors satisfying their souls.
What about the coming year plans? They are already with an idea to enhance and further curate “The Groggy Grub” section. The bar menu is already well stocked with wonderful spiced cocktails, as they intend to keep innovating intensely to come up with some awesome cocktails in the coming year. Not only we have The Groggyhead, we have other restaurants offering the alcohol infused drinks with a twist.
Like Desi Roots has the new menu infused with alcohol Sharabi Murgi — Brandy Infused Chicken Tikka served with Hari chutney and strawberry mustard, Braganza pranws — Goan Spice Marinated, Beer batter fried prawns, Port Blair Squid — The coastal special , Crispy fried in beer batter chilli coconut squid. Yet another we have Cafe Dalal Street offering Barbeque chicken wings- alcohol used is Rum, Louisiana chicken- alcohol use is Rum, Tiramisu- alcohol used is Kahlua.
So, the dining culture of India has been witnessing a new kind of evolvement which is being appreciated. These innovative and delicious cuisines introduced are not only mouth-watering but will also make your New Year more irresistible and enchanting.
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