Leafing out authenticity

The first thing that draws one to a restaurant is its ambience. The menu comes later. The New Prashanth Hotel in J P Nagar doesn’t let down those who go there drawn by its ambience. 

The owner, Harsha V, has  got a mini-encyclopedia of food painted on the walls. It brings alive images of food  cooked in the countryside before the advent of  modern methods of cooking. “We wanted the interiors to be very attractive. Every painting on the wall tells a story. These are Tanjore paintings and we brought artists specialised in this art form to  make a few  for us,” explains Harsha. 

“One of the paintings show a lady in a village cooking over firewood,” he adds.  “Our dishes are made using firewood. This takes a long time to cook but it enhances the taste. This painting depicts our style of cooking,” adds Harsha. The menu has authentic vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes from Mandya and Mysuru regions. They are known for their ‘ragi mudde’, chicken and mutton specialities. 

The joint was started with the idea of dishing out home-made food. “It’s quite like what one would eat at home. In fact, our cooks have been brought in from Mandya, Mysuru and the surrounding areas to make sure that the authenticity is not compromised. As children, we used to eat home-cooked food and this is the taste we serve the people who come here,” says Harsha. Among the items, the mutton and chicken ‘biryani’ are a ‘must try’ given that they have the right blend of spices. There’s ‘Naati chicken masala’ that’s cooked in the traditional style. 
Another fast-moving dish is ‘Garlic chicken’. The primary ingredient in this dish is pepper. “We add finely chopped garlic and ginger in this dish. This not only enhances the flavour but helps digestion as well. You won’t feel heavy after  eating this dish,” he adds. 

The other highlights of the menu are ‘chicken pepper fry’; ‘chicken kebabs’, ‘chicken fry’, ‘mutton chops’ and ‘mutton keema balls’. “Another popular item is the ‘Benne Mudde’ which is ‘mudde’ cooked in butter. It’s rich and smooth texture is a perfect contrast to the spicy gravy. All the dishes are slow-cooked and this deepens the taste,” says Harsha.  
 New Prashanth Hotel is located in J P Nagar, Puttanahalli Main Road, RBI Layout. For details, contact 9980194424.