THE 100 DAY
JOURNEY
Two chefs of The Spice Route Co. were sent on this ambitious task of traveling 29 states of India; gathering stories and experiences along the way and bringing home age old regional recipes, which have been translated into our eclectic menu.
Explore the journey by hovering (desktop) / tapping (mobile) over the map.
musaafer
noun (मुसाफ़िर)
translated means 'a traveler', making the journey an integral part of our restaurant menu & its offerings.
RAJASTHAN, INDIA
‘Pyaz kachori’ is a very famous snack which comes from the royal city of Jodhpur in Rajasthan. It is a kind of fried pastry filled with a spicy onion mixture. It is a very popular snack in Rajasthan and pairs perfectly with tamarind chutney. Xuixo on the other end is a viennoiserie pastry which comes from the city of Girona, Spain. Using the filling and flavors of pyaz kachori, and technique of xuixo, the Chefs have come up with the idea of our Onion Xuixo. After 20 unsuccessful hit and trials, they devised their recipe of it.
BIHAR, INDIA
Pumpkin is considered to be a superfood as it boosts vision and helps have a healthy heart. It is a commonly included ingredient in the diets of Indians. Kaddu puri is a common breakfast dish in Bihar and other neighboring states. The chefs, during their #100dayjourney loved eating this dish for breakfast and wanted to include it in their menu. When they travelled to the United States, They saw butternut squash and decided to celebrate it by replacing pumpkin in their dish with it.
NEW DELHI, INDIA
Indian food is incomplete without the iconic “Butter Chicken”. This is a very popular dish and originates from the old streets of Delhi. The chefs of Musaafer would like to give you an experience of “Butter Chicken” by creating it in three different forms.
GUJARAT, INDIA
During the journey to gujarat, observation was given to the dish called 'patrani macchi', and thoughts were gathered in order to prepare a vegetarian version using the same ingredients and process. Hence, Patrani paneer idea was born. To add a crunch of texture, we added leeks to it which are tempered live with burnt garlic oil.
NAGALAND, INDIA
A man from one of the Naga tribes, in the Hornbill Festival at Kisama in Kohima selling his in-house brewed beer using his family recipe. Every Naga Tribe has its own unique method and ingredients to making the perfect white rice brew
KASHMIR, INDIA
Being one of the most expensive spice in the world, we will be using the handpicked saffron from Kashmir to roll out some of our great dishes in Musaafer. Pampore and its neighboring areas produce an average of 2,128 kilograms of saffron every year. Fresh saffron is hand picked and processed ~ handed over to the chefs on their journey to Kashmir.
MAHARSHTRA, INDIA
The Pandra Rassa was high on the list of recipes being researched by the chefs on their #100dayjourney and it took them to Kolhapur. Their cab driver overheard the conversation, and thought of helping them out by taking them to his village named ‘kokrud’. The homecooks of that village taught them their recipe of Pandra Rassa which they really liked and further transformed it in Musaafer.
MEGHALAYA, INDIA
Dohneiiong is a dish from Meghalaya in the North East of India and belongs to the Khasi tribe. It is prepared from the indigenous ingredients of the hills. This recipe comes from the home cooks of Meghalaya. People were very kind to show the chefs their ancestor’s pork recipe which has the extensive use of black sesame, garlic, onion and turmeric. Chefs take on this classic dish where they made a pork stock flavored rice conjee and to use the local pork element from texas, we picked chicharron which has its roots from Mexico.
GOA, INDIA
Bebik, also known as bebinca is a very famous Indo-Portuguese dessert, usually found on the western coast of India. It is a traditional sweet of Goa. During the chefs journey to Goa, He visited a lot of old bakeries, cafés and also interacted with a few home cooks who are doing in house bebinca since ages.
KERALA, INDIA
The making of Kerala Beef fry at the toddy shop. A toddy is a drinking establishment seen in some parts of India (particularly Kerala) where palm toddy, a mildly alcoholic beverage made from the sap of palm trees, is served along with food.
TELANGANA, INDIA
Qubani ka meetha is a traditional Hyderabadi dessert. Qubani is an Urdu word of apricot. During the journey to Hyderabad, thought was given to remodel this dish while keeping its flavors intact. Betel chewing culture is also very prominant as a mouth freshener after their meal. The chefs at Musaafer have created a gorgeous avatar combining these all-time favorites.
WEST BENGAL, INDIA
Where local farmers come to maximize sales. While selling vegetables, fresh and locally produced, they stretch back as far as the railroad tracks. But time is limited (not just in sales) for every hour, a train passes and the entire market (all people, all produce) is quickly picked up and moved off the tracks. Only for a few minutes, all returns back to the tracks to maximize space and sales.
AMRITSAR, INDIA
Straight out of the heart of Punjab, Pindi chana is a popular variation of the versatile ‘cholley’ ( traditional chick peas).It is different from the regular preparation in terms of color as well as texture. Pindi chana is a dry preparation which is dark in color because of addition of black tea leaves while cooking. The chefs grabbed these age-old recipes from the famous eateries, and constructed their version keeping the authentic taste alive.
TAMIL NADU, INDIA
Coconut is always very closely associated with this state in south India. Hence it is a major component in their cuisine and is widely used in all sorts of preparations. It is known for its versatility because it supplies with a lot of by products like coconut water, oil, milk, heart of the palm, toddy, nectar and coconut sprout. Payasam is a coconut based dessert which revolves around typical south Indian flavors. The chefs created a very interesting pastry using Payasam and the Indian superfood ‘moringa’. Profound south Indian flavors are celebrated in this dessert.
ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA
Pesarattu is a type of dosa prepared with whole green gram lentils, rice, green chillies and ginger. The batter is fermented in controlled temperature which gives a soft & fluffy texture, and slightly sour taste. This dish is very specific to Andhra Pradesh. During his journey in south India, the chef experienced this pancake with different fillings like semolina, cashew and chana dal. He worked on a much healthier option to make the dish more interesting and refreshing.
ODISHA, INDIA
Malpua is one of the most popular dishes in the streets of Puri (Odisha). During the chefs’ journey to these streets, they observed that in some areas the batter is made by crushing ripe bananas and adding it to flour and milk. Keeping this all-time favorite dessert in mind, with the new age fermentation technique of bananas, freeze drying of bananas and crushing it into a powder, a modernist dish got developed.
CHANDIGARH, INDIA
Every north Indian has grown up eating Rajma (a kidney bean preparation), and so have our chefs, as they come from North India. Rajma is their all-time favorite and there is always a craving for it. When the chef went to culinary school, he got to know that kidney beans were never grown in India. It was brought by the Portuguese. Later when he travelled to Mexico, He saw another very interesting preparation of beans with pork. Taking inspiration from this, he thought of doing his very own north Indian Rajma with flavors of ham hock in it.
KARNATAKA, INDIA
Mangalore is part of the coastal region of Karnataka and their delicious chicken curry with kori roti is very common in every household. The origin of Kori roti has been lost in culinary history with some claiming that it was a corruption of the spiced Kundapur chicken. Others claim that it originated in a hotel in the town of Udupi. Whatever the history of the dish, the essence of it is very coastal and south Indian with its light, flavorful notes of coconut, fresh cilantro and fragrant spices. The chefs decided to involve modernist cooking techniques and have elevated this dish on their menu.
UTTARAKHAND, INDIA
located at one of the villages in the great Himalayas in the state of Uttrakhand. Seen teaching us how to create tomato and sesame chutney on a "sil-batta" (which in Hindi means ,' sil ' referring to flat stone and batta referring to a cylindrical grinding stone). It is traditionally used to grind chutneys, spices and lentil mixtures sometimes.
UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA
No Indian meal is complete without a chaat, and it originates from one of the oldest cities of India called Benares. The word ‘chaat’ literally means to lick, hence involving all the taste buds which in turn creates umami on the palate as it is a combination of all different taste buds.