Curry Leaf ice cream to the top left, ragi molten cake to the top right, coconut ice cream in the lower row. |
Did the headline baffle you? It was meant to.
Let me give some context in case you are living under a rock. Or belong to the majority who do not follow happenings in the Indian fine dining space.
Hosa is a restaurant in Goa which is operated by EHV International. The much-feted Indian Accent by Chef Manish Mehrotra is the flagship brand of this hospitality group.
People referred to Hosa as the ‘South Indian Indian Accent’ when it opened. Having eaten at the Indian Accent a few times, I was keen to see what Hosa was all about. Whether it was indeed a southern version of Indian Accent and if it was, how it did compare with Avartana from ITC Hotels which operates in this space.
I got an opportunity to do so when I was invited to attend the Bangala pop-up at Hosa and also experience the food at Fireback which is a Thai restaurant from the EVH group. I met the founder/ chairman of EHV, Rohit Khattar, while there. He told me that Hosa does not fall in the Indian Accent segment in his opinion. That it is meant to provide good food in a relaxed environment. The old Goan Portuguese bungalow in Siolim which housed Hosa added to this vibe. He said that the food that was rooted in the home kitchens of the South and was presented in a fun, contemporary format, he added.
This got my guards up. I am a traditionalist. I am not a big fan of the ‘we will make Indian cuisine modern and match international standards’ school. I believe that there is a lot to showcase in our cuisine without having to reinvent it. I was not sure what to expect.
According to Khattar, the idea was to keep the food more affordable compared to that at Indian Accent My young friend and lunchmate Parth Bajaj, who is a popular 27-year-old baking and travel influencer, raised his eyebrows sceptically on hearing this after he saw the menu. Perceptions of price points are relative of course.Back of the envelope calculations told me that an order of 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 desserts here would work out to be much cheaper than what the basic tasting menu for 2 costs in Indian Accent. This is keeping alcohol aside.
With Chef Suresh DC of Hosa |
I met Hosa’s ever smiling Brand Chef, Suresh DC, while there.He said that his menu was based on the food he had grown up in Bengaluru on (he is Tamilian and not Kannadiga), as well as the food that he had come across while travelling across the south before designing the menu at Hosa. This was a passion project said the chef as he wanted to do something around South Indian food after having worked in international cuisine based restaurants in India and abroad. It took him a while before he could find someone who believed in him. Then he took the proposal to Rohit Khattar who saw the power of the idea and decided to back it.
The meal that followed turned one to be of the most memorable ones that I have had in recent times. The food was excellent. The ‘contemporariness’ of the food was more in terms of the presentation or the pairings, than in terms of changing the DNA of the dishes. There were traditional dishes such as thokku, pongal and varavals which had Chef Suresh’s embellishments, but the dishes were definitely recognisable!
Here’s what we had in order of preference:
Trumpet mushroom varuval: The meaty bite of the grilled and spice spiced mushroom, served on a creamy ghee redolent mushroom pongal with a parmesan topping, was sensuous and sensational. I forgot my manners and licked the serving plate clean.
Trumpet mushroom veruval |
Curry leaf cured snapper |
Mutton pepper roast: The meat was a very tender, juicy and refined version of the Kerala toddy shop beef sukka (done with goat meat here). It was served along with a fluffy and pillowy, mildly sweet, bun parota. The ‘bun porrota’ is a Malabar parrota, which chef Suresh calls a ‘bun’ as his version is chubbier and thicker than the average Malabar porrota.
Prawn Iguru |
Young jackfruit thokku |
Wild mushroom sukka |
Parth loved the Almond 65. |
That dosa was so good. Worth missing a flight over, good. |
Amrit Grewal, Parth Bajaj, Chef Suresh, Rohit Khattar |