I Tried Indian Food from the Best Chef in India!! (Full Review)

0:00 I'm currently about to eat a meal cooked by Chef Manish Mehrotra,

0:04 one of India's best chefs.

0:07 In a country with a population of nearly 1 and 1/2 billion people,

0:11 what does one of India's best chefs cook?

0:14 Today we're meeting up with Chef Manish Mehrotra,

0:17 one of the most respected Indian chefs in the country

0:20 to try his newly opened restaurant Nisha Ba.

0:24 An Indian restaurant, but my kind of an Indian food.

0:27 I can have more fun with the menu.

0:28 He's famous for combining ingredients never before used in Indian cooking.

0:33 So, I'm curious to taste his food

0:35 and find out how he pioneered modern Indian cuisine.

0:39 So, I'm in a taxi now on my way to Nisha Ba, but as we go,

0:43 I want to read you a quote by Chef Manish Mehrotra,

0:47 uh which he which I found in an article and I found this really cool.

0:50 He said, "I don't cook for critics.

0:53 I cook for the person who has traveled through Delhi traffic to eat at my table.

0:57 If they leave happy, I've done my job." So,

1:02 we survived Delhi's notorious traffic,

1:04 made it down here where I'm not sure I'm quite

1:06 sure if this is considered South Delhi, but New Delhi.

1:08 Actually, the restaurant is located within Humayun's Tomb Complex,

1:12 a UNESCO World Heritage Site,

1:14 part of Delhi's history, and then also Sunder's Garden.

1:22 So, we have about 30 minutes before we go to eat.

1:25 So, we just bought tickets to come visit the Sunder Gardens,

1:28 uh which is a biodiversity paradise in Delhi with so much history as well.

1:34 So, it covers 90 acres and there's about 15

1:37 different heritage historical uh UNESCO sites within the park.

1:45 There's something like 300 different species [music] of trees within

1:48 the gardens and it's such a contrast from the busy,

1:52 the chaotic, [music] the congested streets of Delhi and then

1:55 step into the garden and it's just so peaceful.

1:57 And this is the site where the restaurant Nisha

2:00 Ba is located just on the on the edge there.

2:02 So, we're going to walk around.

2:03 We just have a few minutes before we go eat.

2:10 You just continually hear birds chirping, flying overhead.

2:14 It's an oasis for birds and squirrels.

2:19 If I don't talk for 1 minute, just listen.

2:30 It's just a symphony of birds and this is already

2:33 setting the scene for the meal that we're about to have.

2:38 Welcome to Nisha Ba right behind me,

2:40 but it's located just outside of the garden,

2:43 uh but still within the garden and there's a whole courtyard here.

2:46 Beautiful surrounding trees, a few coffee shops as well.

2:49 Uh and this is really an incredible location.

2:54 [music] Okay, we made it.

2:57 Welcome to Nisha Ba.

2:58 Beautiful from the outside.

3:00 [music] Hi, Chef.

3:05 Manish, nice to see you.

3:07 nice to meet you.

3:07 I only saw you on a on a on a YouTube video.

3:10 Thank you.

3:11 Thank you.

3:11 Especially your Thai food classes, I love.

3:13 Thank you very much.

3:14 Thank you.

3:14 Thank you very much.

3:17 Can you tell us a little bit about your history, your story?

3:21 So, I I I belong to a place called Bihar in in India.

3:26 Okay.

3:27 I'm born and brought up there in Patna, the city called Patna.

3:30 Oh, great.

3:31 my hotel management [clears throat] in from Bombay, started working in 1996.

3:35 All right.

3:36 Worked at lot places, um but in 2009,

3:40 I started a restaurant called Indian Accent Oh, yes.

3:44 in Delhi and ran it for [music] 16 years.

3:47 Then

3:48 Wow.

3:48 Indian Accent New York, Indian Accent London, Indian Accent Mumbai.

3:51 [music] Then I started a restaurant in 2018, another one called Comorin.

3:57 It is in Gurgaon.

3:59 So, ran that restaurant for 6 years and then took a break.

4:04 Daughter went to college.

4:05 So, took her there and after a break last 6 months,

4:09 I was planning this restaurant, Nisha Ba, which is an Indian restaurant,

4:14 [music] but my kind of an Indian food, which is Indian food at heart,

4:18 but with little bit of unique combinations and maybe some unique ingredients.

4:24 That is what I I do [music] and this is a fine casual Indian restaurant.

4:28 Would you say Nisha Ba is more More more more

4:31 traditional or more More [music] more casual.

4:33 I won't say traditional, but more casual and not too stiff.

4:37 Uh Here I can

4:40 [music] I can have more fun with the menu.

4:41 Okay.

4:42 There you are you are limited to certain rules that it has

4:45 to be go like this, it has to be served like [music] that.

4:49 Here you can have a little bit of fun on the menu.

4:51 Amazing.

4:52 Amazing.

4:52 Okay, great.

4:53 From here, I think we're just going to take a little walk,

4:56 a little tour of Nisha Ba, the restaurant,

4:59 and then I can't wait to Try the food.

5:01 See the kitchen,

5:03 [laughter] see some of the the dishes that we're going

5:04 to be eating and of course, try the food.

5:08 This is the front entrance here.

5:10 And what does what does Nisha Ba mean?

5:12 Nisha Ba means a goddess of grain.

5:14 Uh [music]

5:15 like in India we have Annapurna, which is goddess of grain.

5:19 So, Nisha Ba in some ancient culture,

5:21 Sumerian culture, goddess of grain is Nisha Ba.

5:25 Ah, okay.

5:26 So, we're going to start walking around

5:27 right here at the front of the restaurant,

5:28 again at the entrance of Nisha Ba.

5:30 This is this is the bar and bit of a lounge.

5:33 Today we have a large table, so we put table also here.

5:36 Okay.

5:39 And then from the bar section, then you get to the main dining area.

5:42 Main dining area.

5:43 Which is kind of divided into two sections.

5:46 I love how it's so spacious and so modern

5:49 and roomy and just it feels good energy, good positivity.

5:54 [music] Really nice and spacious.

5:55 And then you come to the back here.

5:56 This is the private dining room.

5:58 Oh, nice.

5:59 Okay.

6:02 Great.

6:03 And now we're moving on to the kitchen.

6:09 Okay.

6:10 With this we have a curry.

6:11 Mm.

6:12 Oh, Chef, I Lamb curry with lamb bones.

6:15 South Indian pineapple curry.

6:18 I'm doing a mushroom confit for a Calcutta style mushroom chop.

6:21 Oh, okay.

6:23 mushroom croquettes.

6:23 So, and then the tandoor is here.

6:26 And sigris.

6:27 All right.

6:29 [music] Oil.

6:30 Oil.

6:32 Ginger, garlic, green chilies, mustard.

6:36 The mustard seed.

6:42 [music] Chaat masala, little bit of hing.

6:53 Oh, and potatoes go in.

6:55 Potatoes.

6:58 So, that tempered down spice mixture with the mustard seed, potatoes go in.

7:03 Chopped coriander, little bit of green garlic.

7:09 The crispy potatoes.

7:11 Okay.

7:19 So, those potatoes are going to be incredible and now moving to the next dish.

7:22 All right, Chef.

7:23 So, you must be familiar with dahi vadas.

7:25 Oh, yeah.

7:26 You you have eaten in South India also and North India dahi vadas.

7:29 right?

7:29 With yogurt.

7:30 Like lentil dumplings with yogurt.

7:32 Okay.

7:33 So, here we do it with a beetroot.

7:35 And instead of yogurt, we use goat cheese yogurt.

7:39 Wow, okay.

7:40 That's the twist.

7:41 Okay.

7:41 That's the twist.

7:42 Ah, cool.

7:43 This is the goat cheese yogurt with a little bit of cumin.

7:45 Okay, goat cheese yogurt

7:47 and tamarind chutney, little bit of mint chutney, little bit of chili chutney.

7:53 Okay.

7:55 beetroot vadas And it's going to go right on top.

7:57 Little bit of green candied tomatoes, some roast [music] beetroots, ready.

8:04 Me on a nutmeg powder.

8:06 Oh, nice.

8:07 Okay.

8:08 The chaat masala Nice.

8:10 Okay.

8:11 and puffed rice.

8:13 Wow.

8:17 So, Chef, what is this dish called?

8:19 This is [music] from my home state, from Bihar.

8:22 So, this is a Bihari style mutton from place called Motihari in Bihar.

8:27 It basically this is onion, ginger, green chili, garlic.

8:33 That's it.

8:34 No yogurt, no tomatoes.

8:36 Wow.

8:36 And here goes in the mutton.

8:38 Oh, that is going to be so tender.

8:44 The spices [music] in there.

8:45 Garlic.

8:45 The masala, the blend is incredible.

8:48 So, this is some skewed garlic.

8:51 Okay.

8:56 Coriander.

9:00 [music]

9:02 Okay.

9:02 Clay pot.

9:06 [music] Perfect.

9:12 Oh, yeah.

9:13 And you immediately they float to the surface and puff up.

9:17 So, made from chickpeas.

9:18 Yes, this is this is flour.

9:20 Okay.

9:20 Flour, but stuffed with chickpeas.

9:23 Okay.

9:24 Okay, what is this?

9:25 So, please your banana chili shadow.

9:27 Thank you.

9:29 Cheers.

9:29 Thank you very much.

9:30 And what is in it?

9:31 That's a gin based cocktail with a bananas,

9:34 syrup and a bit of chili hint of chilies.

9:36 Nice.

9:37 Very cool.

9:37 Thank you.

9:38 Thank you very much.

9:39 Oh, wow.

9:40 Start with a blue cheese naan.

9:41 Nice.

9:42 Okay.

9:43 It will be really hot from inside.

9:46 Okay.

9:46 It will drip.

9:46 Okay.

9:47 Thank you, Chef.

9:48 Cheers for this banana cocktail.

9:54 [snorts] Oh, the kick of chili in the end.

9:59 Oh, that's incredible.

10:01 A blue cheese naan.

10:11 You bite down and there's this pillow

10:13 of melted blue cheese oozes out into your mouth.

10:16 Oh, it's so good.

10:17 And it's not overpowering.

10:18 The blue cheese is not overpowering.

10:19 Just a perfect balance and harmony with the gooey naan baked around it.

10:30 That's superb.

10:30 You know, mutton seekh kebab with blue cheese butter.

10:33 Amazing.

10:34 And it has to be eaten along with this baked naan for you.

10:36 Okay, cool.

10:37 Thank you.

10:38 Second one is called beetroot goat cheese dahi vada with fresh

10:41 green candy tomatoes and nut pink drizzle rice on top.

10:44 Thank you very much.

10:45 That's your samosa Muradabadi dal.

10:47 Oh, nice.

10:47 Everything chutney on top.

10:48 The everything chutney?

10:50 Yes, sir.

10:51 Okay, let's move in for the seekh kebab with the blue cheese butter.

10:55 Oh.

10:55 Oh, you definitely don't need a knife for this.

10:57 It feels like a pillow and you can just see the spices in there.

11:00 The melting pool of blue cheese butter on the bottom there.

11:05 And actually, he said we must be eating it with this bread here.

11:09 So that we don't miss out on the the melted

11:11 blue cheese butter on the bottom there.

11:24 Wow.

11:27 That's so soft.

11:28 The texture is really incredible.

11:30 Just kind of crumbles and melts in your mouth.

11:32 Again, the blue cheese is not overpowering,

11:34 but it gives it that layer of richness and complexity with the butter.

11:38 And just the spices and the chili.

11:40 And you need that bread to be able to absorb all that flavor.

11:44 Oh, that's insanely tasty.

11:48 Okay, next up for the chef chef

11:50 Manish's version of dahi bhalla but with beetroot.

11:53 Let's split one in half and see how crispy this beetroot is.

11:59 You can just feel like the the texture.

12:01 It feels like shredded beetroot that made into a little cutlet.

12:04 I'll get some of the yogurt all together

12:06 in one bite with all the different chutneys all together.

12:08 The crispy puffed rice.

12:10 You want to get as much as possible

12:12 of everything in your spoon at once for your bite.

12:23 That beetroot the shreds of beetroot melt

12:26 in your mouth with the crispy fried outer

12:30 exterior and that goat yogurt has this depth of flavor that's a little bit sour,

12:36 a little bit sweet with that chaat masala sprinkled on top.

12:40 Then you got the puffy crispy rice.

12:42 The tamarind gives it a tanginess as well.

12:44 And then that mint chutney.

12:46 Everything combined together.

12:48 That's just flavors hitting all your taste buds and textures all at once.

12:53 Okay, and next up for the mini samosas with everything chutney.

12:57 Chutney and dal Muradabadi.

12:59 Chef, what what is the everything chutney?

13:01 Everything chutney is inspired from a New York style everything bagel.

13:05 Oh, cool.

13:06 Bagel, you put all the all the toppings and Very cool.

13:09 This chutney is uh many chutneys in the kitchen we make.

13:13 We mix few in a proportion and make a chutney which is everything chutney.

13:17 Incredible.

13:18 Okay, incredible.

13:19 So with the moong dal on the bottom, everything chutney,

13:22 there's a little bit of onions and tomatoes in the center as well.

13:33 Okay.

13:34 I knew I was going to love this from the way it looked.

13:36 That dal is just it's like a gravy of dal that just dissolves on your tongue.

13:42 Then you got the mini samosas have that little crunch.

13:44 And then that chutney that everything chutney, it really is everything flavor.

13:50 That is absolutely superb.

13:52 So this one is baby back ribs, pork ribs.

13:55 Wow.

13:56 Tossed in a sweet mango pickle from Gujarat

14:00 with little bit of bacon and sour fennel.

14:03 Thank you.

14:04 Looks like a sticky glaze.

14:06 Oh.

14:07 Oh, look it just falls off the bone.

14:09 That's That's a bone on the inside.

14:11 It just literally falls out.

14:14 Oh, the tenderness.

14:15 Oh, the aromatics.

14:17 Like every single dish so far,

14:18 you can just the aromas hit your nose before you taste it.

14:30 That's a total contrast of flavors from what we've been eating already so far.

14:34 That really is a sweet and sour flavor.

14:37 But sweet in the perfect kind of way where it enhances that sourness.

14:41 The sugars have caramelized, so it's a little bit crispy.

14:44 And the pork on the inside just melts in your mouth with tenderness.

14:47 The gentle subtle spices in there as well.

14:50 Just kind of elevate the complexity.

14:52 It's actually so tender.

14:54 It you risk it collapsing when you pick it up, but I'm willing to take the risk.

15:06 This is a pork rib that doesn't require chewing.

15:09 Phenomenal.

15:10 And I was reading another article about Nisha Ba

15:13 where they mentioned and chef uh Manish had a quote

15:17 in there where he said Nisha Ba is not

15:20 about like having that set 12-course kind of stuffy meal.

15:25 Nisha Ba is about a meal you'd want to be eating on any random Tuesday night.

15:31 Or any night for that matter.

15:33 But just supposed to show how he's serving food that's more casual,

15:36 that's laid-back, that just tastes incredible.

15:42 [music] [music] I almost forgot about the bacon that slid off.

15:53 [music] Melt in your mouth.

15:54 Okay, and here comes the main courses.

15:58 [music] [music] Thank you very much.

16:08 On the menu there's so many regional varieties and also some

16:13 combinations of things I don't think I've ever experienced or had before.

16:16 So this is a a meal that's an experience and showcases different

16:22 pairings of ingredients and flavors that you might have never thought before.

16:26 So these are the potatoes we saw chef make with the dog

16:29 mustard seed and all the spices which he tempered down in the fire.

16:32 Then with crispy potato as well.

16:34 But I think it's all about highlighting the dog mustard seed.

16:48 Oh ho ho, man.

16:49 That sauce has formed a glaze.

16:52 You taste all that garlic in there.

16:54 The coriander, the flavor of that mustard seed all caked

16:58 on and formed like a glaze that sticks to the potatoes.

17:01 When you judge that from the outside, it looks good.

17:05 But it looks like potatoes.

17:06 But when you taste that, it opens up a new world of flavors on your taste buds.

17:13 Seriously, those are right up there with some

17:14 of the best potatoes you'll ever have.

17:16 Okay, next up for the pineapple curry.

17:18 Um you can see some of the tempered down curry leaves, mustard seeds on top.

17:22 There's pineapple in here.

17:23 I think there's nuts in here as well.

17:25 Like cashews.

17:26 I'll just taste the full spoonful before eating it with the dosa.

17:35 Oh, the creaminess of that.

17:37 The sour acidity.

17:39 And then that sharp sourness of the pineapple.

17:42 And those fragrance of the curry leaves and the mustard seed.

17:45 To me this has the the flavors of South India

17:49 but with the richness of North India all in one.

17:52 Then this is served with like a fluffy

17:54 South Indian style pancake like a thick dosa.

18:03 That is so rich.

18:04 So creamy and flavorful.

18:06 Outstanding.

18:07 And next up for the dal.

18:08 And I'll take some of this bread.

18:10 And this dal looks incredible.

18:18 Wow, it's so flavorful.

18:20 It's like a dal gravy, but it has this almost a fluffy texture.

18:25 Studded with all the spices.

18:27 Again, nothing is overpowering.

18:28 Everything is a harmony of flavor.

18:30 And actually everything Nothing seems spicy at first,

18:33 but when you keep on eating, you start to feel the chili which is layered

18:36 within each dish and the balance of all the spices.

18:40 It's extraordinary.

18:43 You know, everything so far and the starters as well have been phenomenal.

18:48 But we're moving on to probably the dish I was most looking forward to trying,

18:52 the Motihari mutton from Bihar, from the home state of India of chef Manish.

19:09 That mutton perfectly tender without being mushy.

19:13 It's that type of mutton that's been braised for so

19:15 long where it just kind of melts on your tongue,

19:18 but you still feel the texture and the stringiness and the bounce of it.

19:22 That's how you know when it's good mutton.

19:23 It's like that type of masala that at first starts off mellow,

19:26 but gets stronger and stronger as you keep on chewing

19:29 until like the full force and balance in flavor is there.

19:33 That is superb.

19:34 Okay, and then you take one of the poories.

19:36 Well, these are like complete Oh.

19:38 They're completely puffy.

19:41 Okay, I'll just take a piece of the mutton

19:43 into the poori and just bite it from there.

19:53 That poori, when it puffs up, it's so thin and so crispy,

19:56 so it just collapses and it gives you a nice vessel for carrying

19:59 that that gravy and that mutton for taking it to your mouth.

20:05 Mhm.

20:06 Fantastic.

20:07 Now you know what I have to do next.

20:09 And remember that garlic he added in as he was frying this?

20:12 I found it below here.

20:13 We'll top it with the garlic.

20:16 There we go.

20:17 We have to Our mission is to get it to our Oh, no, it's going to fall off.

20:22 I got to take it to my mouth fast.

20:24 Oh, it's a big risk to pick up the bone because it's so tender,

20:28 but it had to be done.

20:38 Check this out.

20:38 You can just shake it, give it a little wiggle,

20:41 and the the meat will just slide off.

20:44 Did you see that?

20:46 Mhm.

20:48 Mhm.

20:51 I guarantee you'll be licking the bone when you come here.

20:54 I'm very happy.

20:56 Yeah, this is an extraordinary meal.

20:58 Decades of experience, Chef Manish,

21:01 and his passion, [music] his love, his dedication.

21:08 And Indian food has been popular around the world,

21:10 but Chef Manish, he wants to cook Indian food for today's India.

21:14 It's not progressive, it's not fine dining, it's Indian food for today's India.

21:21 That's taken right from a quote from Chef Manish,

21:23 and I think that summarizes what he's doing here perfectly.

21:27 So two different desserts to try,

21:29 and we better start with this dessert because the ice cream is starting to melt,

21:32 but this is a barfi, an Indian barfi, served with pecan ice cream.

21:37 Oh, you feel the custardiness of it.

21:40 And I think this is like a different interpretation

21:41 of barfi because of Barfi is a traditional Indian dessert,

21:44 which I've had a few times in India at the market or deep within lanes.

21:49 This is definitely a a different version.

21:52 Oh, and you just smell the aroma of the pecans.

22:07 That is the perfect sweet contrast with that pecan ice cream that's cold.

22:12 Oh, and the barfi is warm as well.

22:14 Really rich, buttery, sweet, caramelly barfi.

22:23 And that pecan ice cream, I can't believe the quantity of pecans in there.

22:28 It's like pure pecans, but just ice cream holding it together.

22:33 Superb.

22:34 Another one of their signature desserts here is their ras malai,

22:37 baked into a custardy like Oh,

22:39 and it's like oozy and creamy and sticky on the bottom.

22:43 Ras malai is a very common, a very classic Indian dessert.

22:46 I think it's these milk curd balls within a milk,

22:50 like a milky soup almost, but this one is baked.

22:53 I think the milk has kind of like caramelized, like condensed milk.

22:56 It almost looks like because it's been baked.

22:58 Let's try it out.

23:00 Mhm.

23:02 And then it's cold as well.

23:03 Oh, for some reason I thought because it's baked it's going to be hot.

23:06 Oh.

23:07 Yes.

23:08 You can still tell that it is ras malai, that familiar Indian dessert.

23:13 And at the same time, it has that dulce de leche kind of flavor.

23:17 It's sweet, it has the flavor of saffron,

23:20 then the milk balls just kind of like absorb more

23:23 juiciness that is incredibly dense and rich, but so good.

23:36 Tastes like a butterscotch crispy ball.

23:38 Incredible desserts as well.

23:40 The whole meal has just been phenomenal and well-rounded.

23:46 1.46 billion people and Chef Manish really is one

23:50 of the best chefs in all of India, and he's so humble,

23:55 yet he's one of the most recognized, one of the most respected,

23:59 and highly [music] awarded and successful chefs in all of India.

24:03 I loved hanging out with him.

24:05 He's such a good guy.

24:06 His food was outstanding, highly recommended.

24:08 It's non-gimmicky, it's just just in the words of Chef himself,

24:13 today's Indian food.

24:15 Thank you for watching.

24:16 Uh be sure to check out Nisha when you're in Delhi,

24:19 and thanks for watching this video.

24:20 [music] Be sure to check out the next video here.

24:22 We're eating some of the best food in Delhi

24:24 that you're not going to want to miss.

24:25 Good night from Delhi.

24:26 See you on the next video.