Breaking Healthy Bread
Foodies have flocked to Smoke House Deli from the day it opened its doors in Bengaluru city. From its elegant white interiors telling a city-based story to its elaborate, yet non-fussy menu boasting of massive portions, this deli has become a go-to place for food lovers. And now with the launch of their new health menu, RiyasAmlani has taken things one step further by including not only the health conscious eating bunch into his fold, but also expanding his menu offering a wide array of choices to vegans and those with gluten and carbohydrate allergies.
RITZ invited young entrepreneur MayuraKadur and SubodhSankar, owner of Atta Galatta, the city’s favouritedesi bookstore and now popularly its favourite bakery as well, to sample this new healthy menu.
The bread basket that made its way to our table was the first difference that caught our eye. So used to seeing bread sticks, soft slices and crunchy multi-grain bread nestled in its signature sack, the platter that was brought to our table as we commenced our sampling experience of Smoke House Deli’s new health menu, was the first change we noticed. Instead of the sweet, warm breads in a sack we were served hefty slices of quinoa and ragi bread with olive oil and pesto – the healthy alternatives to white flour and butter respectively.
Our dining companions couldn’t have been more poles apart in their palate preferences. Young entrepreneur MayuraKadur, founder of Do Bandar, a brand of handmade soaps and skincare products, was keen to sample the quinoa bread. SubodhSankar, our second guest, owns Atta Galatta a brand that manufactures bread and confectioneries, alongside it also being one of the city’s most kitschy bookstores. Now it is morally wrong to ask someone who makes bread for a living to judge the standards of someone else’s baked products.
But that’s what we did and here’s what Subodh had to say, “It definitely looks healthy, but I don’t think of it as bread!” Yes, we agree that quinoa and ragi may not be the best at rising, but for one who suffers from gluten intolerance or carbohydrate allergies, this bread platter would feel like manna. And so we move on from breads to salads, a part of the meal that the chef has hit the perfect chord with.
We sampled the Kafir Soaked Chicken Salad With Organic Red And Brown Rice Flakes, Grape Asparagus With Fig And Balsamic Dressing and Bean Sprouts And Crispy Quinoa With Brown Rice Flakes. Each of the salads was spectacular and you could tell, for there wasn’t a shred of lettuce left in any of the plates.
Moving on to the main course, Mayura who claimed she was stuffed already (and we believe her, for she’s really small made)decided to sample the Paleo Seafood And Coconut Broth. Now Paleo is also known as the original or caveman diet and contains meat, seafood, plants and no processed foods. Hence she found the broth a bit watered down for her palate, but was able to finish the bowl and assured us that it was perfect for anyone who wanted a light, non-greasy meal.
Subodh, who by now was craving his tried and tested favourites, decided against being adventurous and ordered himself a portion of Pan Roasted Jerk Chicken With Grilled Vegetables, Red Rice And Millets. His verdict was superlative, considering he isn’t a huge millet fan. We also sampled the White Mushroom, Arugula Risotto made with millets instead of risotto rice. A substitution that nearly came on par with the original on the tasting scale.
Knowing SMD’s standard sizes we were full post the main course, but our enthusiastic server would not allow us to complete the meal without sampling dessert. And so a portion of Cacao Nib And Soya Milk Cheesecake With A Nachini Crust (also known as ragi and finger millet) and a massive chunk of Banana Flour Cake With Carrot Pate (banana flour is flour milled from dried unripe Bananas. It is a good substitute for regular flour and is 100% gluten free) found their way to our table.
While we might have had a few taste adjustments to make while sampling the breads and the main course, we definitely had no qualms about gobbling up dessert and then looking expectantly at each other, wanting to check if anyone was game for seconds.
The menu is definitely one that must be tried out and popularised so that more vegan and diet specific diners can know that they too have options to eat out now!
