|
All was well with my world until I settled with a cup of tea to leisurely read the newspaper. The lead on the day's pullout was about fitness eating right, healthy body and healthy mind blared the headlines. Poof! My warm glow was gone. After two iced doughnuts for dessert the night before and four deep-fried pooris (Indian bread) for breakfast redemption seemed remote.
This was when a visit to a restaurant offering pure and fresh vegetarian food prepared without onion and garlic and less oil began to look appealing. I would wash away my dietary sins. It was with this frame of mind that I ended up in Sai Dham. This vegetarian restaurant is one of a few restaurants that serve Satvik food.
For the uninitiated, this means the ingredients used are pure, natural and healthy to help achieve a balance in both mind and body. There's a wide selection on this menu ranging from starters and soups to mains and sweets.
According to yoga philosophy, you are what you eat. Yoga emphasises eating the right food in the right quantity and at the right time for maintaining inner harmony and promoting spiritual growth. Satvik diet is essentially foods that are pure, fresh, organic and wholesome, that are easily digested, giving maximum energy to the body and mind.
Satvik foods are cereals, legumes, pulses, fresh fruits and vegetables, green leafy vegetables, dry fruits, milk, butter, ghee, cheese, curd, nuts, natural sugars such as jaggery, honey, green leaf tea and herbal teas, besides plant based oils such as sesame, olive, sunflower and coconut oil.
Walking into the restaurant your chakra is instantly lifted. Care has been taken to maintain the traditional decoration with antique furniture to provide an authentic Rajasthani experience.
The muted colours on the walls and soft lighting were soothing. As it was lunch time, I opted for Sai Bhog thali. It was not a mere experience, it was an education — an enjoyable one at that.
I began with Jaljeera similar to lemonade and generally served as an appetiser. It is intended to startle the taste buds. The jeera (cumin) is a medicinal ingredient, which aids digestion. Then for a starter I had Paneer Tikka — chargrilled soft cottage cheese marinated in yoghurt and sprinkled with some chaat masala and Aloo Achari Tikka grilled spiced potato. Both the dishes were grilled to perfection, then baked with veggies and drizzled with sweet, tangy and spicy dressing.
Healthy
The order of both serving and eating food is important. Remember, here they are not merely feeding you, they also offer “to make you healthy and give you immense joy and satisfaction”. And it's for this reason Sai Dham scores well in the area of service. You are briefed on what to expect and gently instructed on how to eat and the nutritional value of the each dish.
Worth dying for
The thali comprised of Raita (a liquid salad of yogurt, cucumber and some spices), Vegetable Kofta, Vegetable Cutlets, Paneer Butter Masala, Aloo Gobi Subzi (sautéed cauliflower and potato), Kaali Ma Ki Dal (the aroma of the 12-hours of simmering of black lentils is worth dying for) served with steamed rice, chappati and Palak Khichdi (basmati rice cooked in ground spinach).
The food is made with little salt, less spices and oil, no onion and garlic and yet still manages to taste good. If that isn't impressive enough, the food is served within hours of preparation. In other words, cooked food never sees the inside of a refrigerator. I also digged into biryani – a tempting union of Indian spices and herbs with basmati rice and vegetables in green masala – and Tawa Subzi – diced French beans, potato, tomatoes, baby corn and ladyfingers. The authentic biryani is delicious but note the portion sizes are really generous .
By the time the payasam (dessert) came, I was in a satvik-food-induced-elevated-state. I can bet that the meagre bill will expand your serenity. How can you resist this comprehensive feel-good package?
|
