Bite-sized Meals

Legend has it that the tapas tradition began when King Alfonso X of Castile recovered from an illness by drinking wine with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health,the king ordered that taverns would not be allowed to serve wine to customers unless it was accompanied by snacks or tapa. Most restaurants in Mumbai have stuck to small portions part while introducing a wider variety.

When Valhalla,Churchgate,introduced their Tapas menu,they offered a variety of Spanish items like beet and goat cheese bite and batter-fried prawns. “The problem was most customers started looking at us as a Spanish restaurant. We did not want to be typecast. Hence,we introduced a wider variety of finger foods like chicken wings,asparagus shots and lamb skewers,” says Shantanu Gupte,executive chef,Valhalla.

The tapas menus are often very strongly flavoured with garlic,chillies or paprika,cumin,salt,pepper,saffron and sometimes in lots of olive oil. Reason: Tapas is mostly teamed with cocktails. For instance,at Atrium Lounge,Taj Lands End,the cajun-spiced prawns is accompanied by a Mango Salsa. The lamb skewers,which are deeply-spiced in Indian flavours,too are a favourite with the customers there. “I was thrilled with the Asian-marinated Tofu on a bed of Soba noodles. I also like their sandwich meal,which is the Tofu and Cheese Sandwich,with a shot of Gazpacho (a cold soup) and an unusual Watermelon Steak with figs and goat cheese,” says Sudhanshu Sharma,a regular there. Although the menu here is only tapas-inspired,Sharma doesn’t seem to mind as long as he likes the snacks. The tapas menu here has been further evolved to accommodate various kinds of clients. The health-conscious ones can opt for a light and healthy salad tapas. To add Spanish element to it,they can opt for a Margarita or the fresh Kiwi variant.

In select bars in Spain as well as in North America and the UK,tapas has graduated to a complete,and sometimes sophisticated,gourmet experience. “We have tried to adapt this concept at our bar Aer,where we provide tapas as wholesome meal along with drinks,” says Mridul Bhatt,sous chef,Four Seasons.

In Europe,most people prefer to finish their dinner early and then head to the bar. “But in India,people enjoy eating and drinking together as an activity. A Tapas platter best suits them since meals are served in tiny portions and they can try out a wider variety,” says Wagh. He has experimented with a variety of dishes like Sticky rice with wasabi peas and sweet chilly dip,Bhavnagri chilly poppers with peanut tarter and Tofu and bean sprout wontons with scallion garlic and plum dip for vegetarians while non- vegetarians can savour Crab Wontons,Seared scallops,Prawns stir-fry,Beef tikka,Dal Gosht and Parma ham spring rolls.

With their favourite cocktails or drinks on their table,most diners don’t mind such experiments as long as the spirit of tapas rules.