Rohit Khattar, known for his award-winning Indian Accent, has brought his all-encompassing Indian food brand Comorin from Gurugram to heart of Mumbai.
Walnut Sour |
Classic Malai Kofta, Nuts, Sesame Garlic Naan |
Quite contrary to the feeling that it will be as overpriced as Indian Accent, I am pleasantly surprised to see the prices that match the portions. Don’t go by my photos, some of them are half-size portion photos. “The idea was to give comfort food from all parts of India to one and all,” says Chef Dhiraj Dargan, Brand Chef for EHV. “We have added a few dishes in Mumbai menu to get the Maharashtra feel.”
Bheja Fry, Khasta Roti |
Varun Sharma, head of bars for EHV, adds that he has made a few changes to the bar menu for Mumbai as well. Comorin Gurugram is known for its house-made liquors, infusions and fermentations. And Varun brings all that and more to Mumbai. They have inhouse Sous Vide machine and use a pour-over for clarification. This makes most of their infusions authentic and fresh. The gin that they use in their cocktails has different variants of infused clarifications and washes. One of the best things at Comorin bar is that they give tasters of their infusions and inhouse wines and liqueurs at a very nominal rate. As per Varun’s advice, I choose the vermouths — dark and light. The light is subtle, fresh and doesn’t allow flavours to come one by one. The dark slightly more complex where all flavours, kind of, burst in your mouth one by one — vanilla, khus and rose to finish.
Espresso Martini |
No surprise to the regular readers that I choose to start my cocktail session with a taster of Khus Vermouth Negroni. This is prebatched like most of their cocktails. Clarified sous vide gin, house vermouth, and orange bitters. Use of in-house vermouth instead of rosso or cinzano definitely gives them an edge. It’s smoother and milder than the traditional negroni.
Aam Ki Kadhi, Khoba Roti, Bakharwadi |
Smoky Spritz |
Non-alcoholic drinkers should go for Beet-O-Shrub — beet shrub with hint of mustard. Finished with honey n tonic water. Served in a flute is ideal for non alcoholic drinkers to go with starters. Try Comorin 75 if you want an alcoholic, but a light, refreshing drink to sip through the afternoon. Raspberry infused gin, cherry liqueur, a dash of coffee liqueur, topped with sparkling wine
Chawal Ka Zarda, Sesame Seed Crisp, Almond Milk |
Meanwhile, their gracious assistant manager, Shemouli, explained the origin of the name Comorin and suggested what I should try in food. Raw Banana Dahi Wada with Mini Motichoor sounded quite intriguing. Instead of the usual urad dal, they use mashed raw bananas and besan to make the vadas and garnish them with mint caviar (mini motichoor) along with the usual spicy ’n’ sweet chutneys. The caviar gives a delightful crunch. The next in small plates is Sweet Corn Khichdi, Sem Ka Beej, Khakra — is inspired by bhutte ka kees (shredded corn dish) Served with khakra and garnished with sem seeds that are spiced up with home spices, this dish is a medley of textures and flavours. Creamy and subtle khichdi, crunchy spice of seeds and khakra. Vegetarians, please don’t miss this. You can pair this with Neer More 2.0 — green chilli-infused tequila, house-made Velvet Falernum (in-house liqueur with almonds as base), ajwain liqueur combo that’s lacto-clarified using yogurt and topped with coriander foam topped with a curry leaf. Neer More 2.0 goes well with Green Chilli Prawns too since the chilli flavour is enhanced by the cocktail’s zest and the ajwain hint that comes at end of the cocktail sip.
Tandoori Red Snapper, Mint Chutney, Laccha Salad |
I move on to Haleem that’s served with almond flour Bakar Khani. Well pounded and spiced. Taste to kill for. Andhra Gongura Chicken — chicken marinated in gongura pickle and later tossed with some onion and pickle; delicious but could have been little spicier to do justice to the pickle. Pair it with Smoky Spritz — Islay Malt Whisky, Vermouth, infused with tomato shrub and celery and topped with soda — if you like whisky-based cocktails.
Chicken Pepper Fry, Malabar Parotta, Tomato Chutney |
They go Marathi with their Palak Masala Thaleepith that’s served with Amrud ki Sabzi in the mains. But their bestseller remains what they imported to Delhi from Mumbai and brought it back – Pao Bhaji!
Food_Badam Kathal Ki Nihari, Moti Roti |
My recommendation for non-veg is Himachali Cha Gosht that’s served with steamed rice and Til-Pudine ki Chutney. The nutty black sesame chutney is perfect company to subtly flavoured, tender, fall off the bone meat cooked and marinated in buttermilk. Also recommended is the Champaran Mutton. In desserts, their version of good old Cassatta is worth a try as is the Kulfi. Cassatta has jamun, mango and salted almonds ice creams, currently, to suit the season and is served with dollops of chocolate ganache on the side. Their all-time best seller remains Cheeni Malai Toast.
Cheeni Malai Toast, Honeycomb |
Sip the coffee liqueur or the Velvet Falernum with the desserts. They have an extensive coffee, tea, and mocktails menu as well. But you need to go online to read detailed review.
(Average cost for two: ₹4,000)
Where: Comorin, Peninsula Corporate Park, Lower Parel, Mumbai
