We Experienced A Modernist Twist On Indian Classics At The Lore Pop Up Dinner At Tijouri

Modern techniques have inched their way into ‘traditional’ classics at an astonishing rate in the last couple of years. Every other restaurant has a dish with activated charcoal on the menu, or a type of caviar used as a garnish. However, the true test of modernising a dish, isn’t quite just about gimmicks. It’s about recreating the essence of the dish, nostalgic memories attached, and all, in a new, and exciting avatar, and that’s exactly what the Lore pop up dinner at Tijouri accomplished.

We started off the dinner with ‘The 4 Bites’ where Chefs Mythrayie Iyer and Johnson Ebenezer kept mum about the popular dish that had been modernised and left it up our palates to determine the original dish! We don’t want to spoil it too much, but let’s just say that the ‘4 Bites’ accurately represented popular street foods of the East, West, North, and South of India!

Next up on the menu was LFC – Lore Fried Chicken, which was stuffed with prawn and served up with a Stilton cheese sauce along with a chocolate sauce, the sort of cheeky combination that makes your taste-buds explode.

Our next course was definitely the most refined rasam we’ve ever seen. A mushroom-filled extravaganza, infused with a vacuum for more subtle flavours that still left no doubt where the inspiration for the dish came from.

One of our favourite dishes of the night was “Colours of India” a lamb chop served up with a rainbow-coloured plethora of sauces. We especially enjoyed the activated charcoal sauce, which had no remnants of graininess and adopted the flavour of the spices wonderfully.

“Nostalgia” was a take on prawn biryani, complete with all the elements, but showcased in such a unique way. For example instead of a traditional raita, Lore served up a salad of dehydrated yogurt, a lettuce bunch, and a spectacularly poached prawn. Special mention for the crab salad as well which balanced out the spice of the biryani exquisitely.

The two desserts on the menu were Locavore, a chikoo ice cream served with an Amrut infused sauce and banana bread croutons, and Milk, a Palkova dessert with a Horlicks sauce and strawberries which had been made into shards. The perfect finish to an absolutely divine meal, which was arguably one of the best we’ve had this year. The next time a Lore Pop Up dinner comes to the city, you’ll know where to find us!