Mumbai Food: Restaurants now offer dishes that cater to keto diet

Crispy Salmon with Crispy kaleSix months ago when chef Paul Kinny of 212 All Good introduced tender coconut pad Thai with crushed peanuts tofu and bean sprouts and cauliflower risotto with cashewmushroom sauce little did he know that it would soon become one of the most popular keto items on the menu Frankly we did not even label it as keto because we werent expecting patrons to follow certain diets when they drop by at a restaurant he says The realisation dawned when customers began requesting for more diet compliant dishes Now Kinny has ensured that his waiters are well versed in the diet lexicon We have more dishes on the menu that fall into this category because the restaurant is all about healthy eating Moreover seeing the rising demand for keto dishes in the past one year we have trained our staff to make recommendations So now they can easily tell a keto from a paleo or a vegan he says proudlyBaked cheesecake with chocoalmond crust at Food Darzee PicNimesh DaveThe reason for the newly imparted lessons are not hard to guess The ketogenic diet which goes against conventional wisdom on healthy eating mdash here fat is good mdash is fast gaining popularity in the city In fact just last week Meghnesh Narayan Salian founder and chef of 3 Wise Monkeys launched a new keto menu after being on the diet for two months I managed to knock off 10 kg in 50 days And this by eating fatrich food says Salian who embarked on a diet to be in shape for his November wedding The keto menu at the Khar outpost now boasts of a range of appetisers main course and desserts Theres grilled cucumber bruschetta paneer tikka broccoli and cheese fritters chicken and cheese croquettes and seafood bruschetta Since fatty food is tasty the notion that healthy food is bland and boring doesnt apply here he saysCauliflower risotto at 212 All GoodFat is the way forwardKeto is the new low carb and high fat diet to hit the active scene Each day keto followers have a cap on their daily carb intake of not more than 20 to 40 gm It works on the mechanism that when the body is deprived of carbs the primary source of energy it will dig into the fat reserves and burn them This results in the accumulation of byproducts known as ketones which can be flushed through the urine so long as the body receives enough fiber and water For this your calorie intake should be 80 to 90 percent fat with the rest coming from protein and carbs says Dr Siddhant Bhargava cofounder of Food Darzee a startup that delivers ketogenic meals at your doorstepTiramisuStarted by four health enthusiasts Anirudh Ganeriwal Devaj Jhunjhunwala Anik Bhandari and Bhargava in June this year the service is one of the first to tap into the growing market of those on the keto diet which interestingly originated in the 1920s Dr Russell Wilder at the Mayo Clinic a nonprofit medical practice and medical research group based in Rochester Minnesota developed it to treat epilepsy among children The diet however fizzled out after the birth of antiseizure medications in the 1940s But its back with a bang because of its strong weight loss credentials and is gaining momentum globally During my last trip to the States I met many who have adopted it as a lifestyle says Siddhanth son of nutritionist Shalini Bhargava The 23yearold was compelled to take to the diet after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease characterised by the production of unusual antibodies in the blood in early 2015 I was on steroids for a year and half and had piled on 95 kg Thats when I came across keto he says adding that the idea of introducing keto meals was also to help people battling medical conditions It can tackle Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome PCOS an inactive thyroid and even diabetes he says According to Bhargava it takes about six days for the body to understand the transformation thats taking place At the time your body kind of pauses and says Okay I dont have any sugar What am I supposed to head to Once it starts tapping into the fat reserves the benefits become evident including significant weight loss and insulin resistance he saysThe vegetarian keto fried rice at Khars 3 Wise Monkeys PicsDatta KumbharAt the Food Darzees Santacruz kitchen everything that is cooked is first lab tested and measured to the T You have to be absolutely precise in your intake of carbs proteins and fats For instance 50 gm of paneer cannot be 60 gm which is why many keto followers prefer to cook their food at home says cofounder Aniruddh GaneriwalMutton hyderabadi biryaniIn fact its for this reason that Salian of 3Wise Monkeys introduced the keto menu at the restaurant Its a strict diet where you have to follow the rules And if a restaurant is willing to go that extra mile to provide it I feel there will be takers says SalianHowever what makes the job challenging is the restrictions on ingredients As part of the diet no sugar honey jaggery or anything that is sweet or starchy can be used Neither does it accommodate roti rice or breads Here lowcarb veggies make great substitutes for highercarb foods So we use cauliflower to mimic rice or mashed potatoes and noodles are created from zucchini he says Salian feels the diet is tailored more for nonvegetarians because meat seafood and poultry are considered staple foods on a ketogenic dietChoco MilkshakeBut thats where the ability of a chef to make the food tasty come into the picture Theres only so much paneer and cheese that a vegetarian can have So we have tried to add a lot more leafy vegetables to the diet and work around the ingredients to bring in innovation says Ganeriwal who now has tandoori stuffed mushrooms pav bhaji and eggplant pizza for vegetarians While initially there were a lot more continental items on the menu the owners realised the Indian dishes were moving fasterThe subscriptions here are restricted to threemonths We dont encourage more than that because people here arent ready to adopt it as a lifestyle unless you are prepared to eat no grains bread cereals starchy vegetables or sugars for long periods of time he addsChef Clyde Comello prepares crispy salmon with crispy kale at Theory Kamala Mills PicTanvi PhondekarTesting waters Like the men behind Food Darzee many chefs in the city are still testing the waters before taking the plunge Chef Clyde Comello of Lower Parels Theory introduced a keto popup menu last weekend The response has been phenomenal but Im not yet prepared to put it on the menu because the food is restricted and I dont want them to get bored seeing the same dishes Moreover its a diet thats usually restricted to a few months so the sustainability is a concern he says However Comello says hes open to the idea of keto items off the menu if people approach him for itFrom left Siddhant Bhargava Anirudh Ganeriwal Devaj Jhunjhunwala and Anik BhandariIndependent food consultant Nachiket Shetye however welcomes the trend For people who are on keto its always a challenge to dine at restaurants so chefs providing keto dishes is a great move But you have to be sure that all the elements used are keto friendly he saysMeghnesh SalianWhile chefs and keto practitioners might hail the trend nutritionists offer a word of caution When your body is in a state of ketosis your carb levels are as low as 20 gm which in nutrition ethics is an imbalanced state You need 100 gm per day to prevent ketosis mdash the buildup of ketones in the body which results in ketoacidosis a medical emergency Id recommend a keto only as a push at the end of your weight loss plan but not as a lifestyle says Mumbaibased nutritionist Karishma Chawla of of Eat Rite 24x7 According to her the diet also cannot be recommended to diabetic patients because the chances of the person entering into a hypoglycemia mode when blood glucose levels fall below 4 mm are high While she concurs that weight loss happens seamlessly on some individuals its important to phase out slowly