Basil & Time

What set Basil & Thyme apart from the very beginning was its honest,delicious preparations of classical Continental cuisine,engineered around the seasons in order to make the freshest food possible. It probably also helped that Chandra’s mother-in-law Bhicoo Manekshaw,the grand dame of Continental and Parsi food in the country who passed way earlier this year,was in charge of the daily specials,meaning that several years would go without a single course being repeated.

“While I used to change the a la carte menu every 100 days,my mother-in-law would work on the daily specials every two weeks,” reminisces Chandra,adding that as a result the restaurant has been witness to changes in Delhi’s culinary landscape. “When we started out,we served fish as a daily special only on Fridays,and that too for Christians,because you couldn’t get north Indians to eat fish,and off-the-bone was an absolute no. Today we have fish on three days out of the six ,” he shrugs.

However,many changes the restaurant’s menu has seen,some of its items have become sacrosanct,like the Quiche Lorraine,the Chicken Liver Pate,Crossiant (a great favorite of Indira Gandhi’s) and the Gateaux Zara. “Years ago,when we tried to remove the quiche and crossiant,we had a huge uproar. Then some years later,when we tried to change the method of preparing the Italian chicken,there was again an upheaval. I guess we’re going to serve these dishes for the unforeseeable future,”

says Chandra. Amen to that.