Rooting For the Beet

By no stretch of the imagination is beetroot among Chef Vineet Bhatias favourite vegetables.

Written by Afsha Khan

February 11, 2012 02:41 AM IST

4 min read

By no stretch of the imagination is beetroot among Chef Vineet Bhatias favourite vegetables. Yet,the twice-Michelin starred chef loves working with it at his restaurants,Rasoi in London and Ziya at The Oberoi in Mumbai. On a recent visit to the city,the 45-year-old charmed guests with a creamy beetroot dip that added a touch of sweetness to the grilled prawns it was served with. It didnt stop there. He also served a light beetroot soup with Indian fish roe. While the vegetable did take centrestage on his menu then save for the dip Bhatia is hesitant to add more variations of beetroot dishes in India. Beetroot is underrated here because peoples mindsets are still closed in that regard, he says,adding,In Europe,people are more open to experimenting. With its vibrant colour and a flavour that blends well with anything from chicken tikka and coconut upma to rabdi and kulfi,its quite a hit abroad.

Shunned as a messy vegetable,associated with the least favourite sabji cooked at home,the very mention of beetroot still meets with upturned noses. Yet,its place on the menus of gourmet restaurants is on the rise,thanks to growing awareness regarding its health properties. Thanks to the internet and numerous educational write-ups,people now know that it boosts the bodys natural defenses in the liver and regenerates cells in the immune system, says Chef Rupesh Petkar from Pali Village Cafe,which serves a plate of supple tiger prawns on a bed of beetroot risotto. Now,foodies have developed a taste for it.

Chef Manu Chandra,executive chef at The Olive Bar & Kitchen,believes that beetroot is no longer looked upon as an inferior ingredient that stained everything it touched. One never applied good cooking techniques to it in the past. But that is fast changing,and Im delighted to see the number of places that feature it on their menu, he says. He also believes that this trend of shunning vegetables also extends to eggplant,radish,okra,kohlrabi and karela. People seem to regard them as sub-par vegetables,and happily embrace poor quality imported or English vegetables. This is still a trend but a fading one, he adds.

A number of chefs are taking advantage of beetroots versatility by using it in both sweet and savory dishes. It stays out of the limelight as a puree in soups and adds colour and flavour to cakes and sorbets. It also plays a key role in pickled salads,carpaccio and risotto. At The Table in Colaba,owner Gauri Devidayal made an extra effort to market the beetroot salad and risotto to her customers. Right from the tastings to when we opened up,people were averse to eating anything with beets in it, she says,adding,I encouraged guests to try these dishes and offered to knock them off their bill if they didnt like it. Today,the beetroot salad is in our top three signature dishes.

Like Devidayal,many Mumbai-based chefs are putting a lot of effort into changing mindsets regarding what defines the word gourmet. For years,peoples perception of gourmet has been ingredients that are hard to find or are imported such as fine cheese,cold cuts,flavored oils and mustard, says Bandra-based Bonobos Chef Sandeep Sonawane. With these products now being widely available,peoples perception of gourmet is not solely dependent on the ingredients,but rather what a creative chef can do with these and widely available local produce, he adds.

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Rooting For the Beet

By no stretch of the imagination is beetroot among Chef Vineet Bhatias favourite vegetables.

By no stretch of the imagination is beetroot among Chef Vineet Bhatias favourite vegetables.