Recipe for success

(Image courtesy Reuters)

By Rinky Kumar, Team iDiva
Food has been a constant fixture in restaurateur Deepa Awchat's life. As a child she enjoyed savouring various delicacies. And when she was not tucking into an exotic dish she was busy rustling up one in the kitchen with her mother. In fact, at the age of nine, she could detect if any ingredient was lacking in a cuisine. As destiny would have it, she even got married to an avid foodie, Dr Suhas Awchat.

The first step
The Awchats' love for food saw them exploring various restaurants. But they missed tucking into fiery pork vindaloos and tangy fish curries. "Those days, Mumbai had many restaurants serving various specialities, but there was no eatery offering Goan gourmet. I really missed it in this city. That's when we decided to have our own restaurant offering authentic Goan cuisine," says Deepa.

With some quick brain storming, the duo outsourced cooks from five-star hotels in Goa, sought financial assistance from their in-laws and launched Goa Portuguesa in 1988. It was an instant hit.

Second time lucky
After its phenomenal success, the Awchats decided to launch Culture Curry, a restobar that offered delicacies from southern Indian peninsula. "People think South Indian cuisine is only about idli, dosa and vada sambar. But it's vast with an eclectic range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare."

But Deepa confesses, setting up Diva Maharashtracha was the biggest challenge. "We did research for two years and travelled to regions like Vidarbha, Marathwada, Khandesh and Konkan." Today, the restaurant is doing quite well.

The perfect ambience
Deepa believes in offering patrons a complete package of good food, melodious music, perfect ambience and personalised service. While Goa Portuguesa is designed as a small cottage with stained glass and arched windows and the music is replete with sweet Goan melodies, Diva Maharashtracha is set against a Peshwai wada.

Customised service
As a master chef in all the three restaurants, she experiments and creates her own delicacies. "Nowadays every one has become health conscious, so we have customised various recipes. Traditionally modaks are made of refined flour which is quite fattening. So I introduced dimsum modaks which are steamed."

Similarly thalipeeth (a multi-grained mildly spicy pancake) is served with loni (clarified butter). But in Diva Maharashtracha it is offered with a tomato and coriander chutney. Even tomato rasam, a typical South Indian speciality (spicy yet tasty), is made less pungent and served as a soup, adds Deepa.

The secret of success
Deepa says that in order to be a successful restaurateur, it's important to know the pulse of the people. "Their tastes keep changing. You have to experiment and innovate. But constant change can be harmful. We introduce new recipes gradually. We offer them as complementary dishes to our patrons, seek their comments and make changes accordingly." They are incorporated in the regular menus only after they have been liked and accepted by people.

Foodie at heart
After a long, hard day, the restaurateur and mother-of-two, likes to tuck into home-made dal chawal and prawn curry with rice and papad. Though she indulges in all kinds of cuisines, her favourite restaurants are Mainland China, Shatranj Napoli and Pritam da Dhaba. "I love these places and admire chefs like Anjan Chatterjee and Sanjeev Kapoor, as they have customised foreign recipes according to people's tastes."

Idiva.com, January 19, 2009