Mumbai-based Ekaa lands at The Raintree in Chennai, with an eight course popup menu

At Mumbai’s famed edifice Ekaa, the squad follows 1 rule: creating thing new. That is however they enactment existent to their sanction which means unique, matchless oregon one. “If I spot a tomato, I’ll deliberation of 100 ways of making thing with it which has not been done before,” says Chef Niyati Rao, spouse and caput cook of Ekaa.

The edifice which opened its doors successful Mumbai successful 2021 is bringing its ingredient-centric flavours to Chennai this week. This is Ekaa’s archetypal ever popup present and the venue is The Raintree St Mary’s Road.

The meal features an eight-course menu. “At Ekaa (Mumbai) this is our sixth tasting menu. We are bringing our favourites from our six menus. It has a batch of storytelling and emotions, and that makes it truthful special,” she says, adding, “It was important to marque definite our favourites paired good with each other. They had to spell good and not clash.” But finalising the paper took clip — sifting done six menus and picking retired lone 8 meant arguments, a batch of discussions and upset chefs (including herself, she says) arsenic immoderate of the dishes did not marque it. “We volition bring them adjacent time,” she smiles.

The paper is cuisine-agnostic which means you volition find divers flavours that are not restricted to 1 country, civilization etc. “We person go masters astatine procuring ingredients, beryllium it oversea urchin, and Indian durian from the South of India, oregon trout eggs from Kashmir,” says Niyati, adding that a batch of the times her guests are unaware of these being disposable successful India.

Niyati wants to support the courses nether wraps, truthful the diner gets to acquisition the astonishment and play that comes with each people astatine Ekaa. But she gives a small teaser: Butter beer... food brew that you tin eat, to beryllium precise. Each wound brings retired a whisky-caramel-like flavour. “There’s an illusion of whisky without adding any. This is dedicated to each the big Harry Potter fans, laughs Niyati.

Another dish, from their Indian milestones and icons menu, comes successful a vallam kali boat and stars curry leafage pastry with caper leaves and a clump of different ingredients which we volition not divulge. The edifice is besides bringing its beverage menu, Dwadash which means 12 successful Sanskrit — a motion to Ekaa’s 12-course cocktail tasting paper based connected 12 botanicals. Four of these volition beryllium disposable present during the two-day popup.

Ekaa is not caller to popups. It did its archetypal 1 arsenic a fledgling, 4 months aft launching. What is interesting, Niyati says, is the information that edifice popups are not constricted to metropolitan cities anymore. “We precocious did 1 successful Bhopal and 1 successful Madurai.”

She believes, each popup helps make caller relationships and learnings arsenic you enactment with antithetic kitchens and accommodate their benignant of moving and vice versa. Adds Niyati, “We spell to places wherever radical are unfastened and accepting of thing caller and adventurous.”

The Ekaa X Raintree popup volition instrumentality spot connected November 14 and 15, from 7.30pm onwards. The repast is priced astatine ₹5,999 positive taxes. For reservations, telephone 7824000171.