This new restaurant at NCPA brings flavours of Awadhi cuisine to Mumbai

We come bearing good news If there was one thing missing on the Mumbai food scene it would be a restaurant by Mukhtar Qureshi and Rahul Akerkar Now after 14 years the duo opens Waarsa an Awadhi restaurant under Aditya Birla New Age ABNAH Hospitality at NCPA We met them at the venue a few days before its scheduled opening A turquoise blue door with a floralmotif doorknob welcomes us into the 56seater The walls wear a washedout salmon blush inspired by surkhi mdash a material used in historic buildings Restoration architect Abha Narain Lambah has done up the space in modern renditions of the old Intricate floral embossed patterns on the ceiling and the antique mirrors across the room offer depth and grandeurMukhtar Qureshi left and Rahul Akerkar at Waarsa NCPA PicsAtul KambleMukhtar Qureshi MasterChef at Waarsa has donned a crisp white chefrsquos coat that reads QMan and in contrast Rahul Akerkar is in all black casuals The two go way back when Akerkar opened Neel mdash Tote on the Turf with Qureshi at Mahalaxmi Racecourse in 2009 Akerkar calls his first encounter with Qureshi a happenstance ldquoHe was working in the Indian section in our catering company Moveable Feast At the time it was on my mind to never do a restaurant where I was not intimately familiar with the cuisine But it happened with Mukhtarrdquo he admitsAwadhi nalli ka shorba and Daal qmanWhen Akerkar bowed out the two remained in touch Over the past decadeandahalf they charted different trajectories mdash Qureshi led the royal Awadhi cuisine restaurant Ummrao at Courtyard by Marriott while Akerkar had opened Qualia In the lockdown Qureshi took the catering route and Akerkar moved to Goa In 2023 he joined ABNAH as culinary director ldquoWhen we were toying with the idea for an Indian restaurant I dialled Mukhtar and asked him lsquoShould we open a restaurant againrsquoHaq lasooni chaman and Khoobani ka meethaWaarsa the duo tells us means inheritance and the food takes inspiration from Awadhi cuisinersquos footprint across Kolkata to Hyderabad Lucknow Kashmir and Varanasi Akerkar finds comparisons with Creole food ldquoThe Creole cuisine has its backbone in Latin America and West Africa and is a fusion of French Spanish African and Native American flavours Awadhi food is a bit like thatrdquo Waarsa puts the spotlight on khansamas and women chefs mdash the lsquoaapasrsquo in the bawarchi khana ldquoSurely what they ate at home was a far cry from how they cooked for nawabsrdquo explains AkerkarKashmiri seb ka kormaWhen Qureshi began to plan the menu there were several dilemmas ldquoAwaam ko kya chahiye What does the public want Log mere paas wapas kyu ayenge Why will people come back to eat my food ldquoWe created a menu jo ghar bhi lage sheher bhi lage aur galiyan bhi lage flavours of homes cities as well as streetsrsquordquoHe hit the road touring Benaras Lucknow and Kolkata He gorged on chaats served on pattas and puri aloo with its humble watery gravy in Benaras ldquoIn Lucknow I visited a 200yearold tunday kebabi joint Ram Bhandar for dahi jalebi and samosa to relive my childhood and the famous Sharmajirsquos chai stall ldquoThe art of any cooking is to know when to put what ingredient I noticed the food had earned a lightness without losing its original flavours I had found my inspirationrdquo he recallsIntricate floral and antique patterns adorn its interiorsIn the trial kitchen Qureshi was busy working with baigan brinjal kadu pumpkin tendli ivy gourd parwal pointed gourd seb apples and ratalu sweet potato ldquoBeing a Qureshi I have not given enough attention to vegetarian farerdquo he laughs adding ldquoIt is corrected in this menurdquoWe begin the meal with two shorbas The santre ka shorba Rs 450 exudes a tangy sweetness of oranges in a broth with hints of pine nuts Ginger holds all the flavours under its reign It manages to open our palates and prepares it to welcome the Awadhi nalli ka shorba Rs 490 which is a surprisingly light smoked marrow soup Portions from the mutton shank make for tender morselsOf the 30 kebabs on offer we try kamal jad ki shaami Rs 585 lotus root It is tucked between fried lotus root stem chips that add a sweet crunch to the minced texture of the kebab Jaituni dingri R585 or olive rubbed mushrooms are slathered in a slippery tapenade that leaves a tinge of tartness in the aftertaste The finely minced Kakori kebab Rs 875 is vintage excellence We fold a mouthful into a bite of malai paratha The Awadhi sunehri jhinga Rs 150 is charcoal firegrilled in yellow chilli and saffron giving a spicy hit and a fragrant finishMukhtar QureshiQureshirsquos attention to vegetarian dishes includes the standout Kashmiri seb ka korma Rs 685 The gravy is made of the fruit paired with tomatoes Haq lasooni chaman Rs 685 is a paneer dish in Kashmiri spinach thatrsquos packed with garlic The khada masala ke murg Rs 785 is local at its best Made with whole garam masala including cinnamon cloves pepper and spice The signature dal QMan Rs 585 kid goat slow cooked in black masoor dal base finished with dill bathua and white butter is a community dish made during MuharramThe tarkari dum biryani Rs 685 is a steamed vegetable biryani is too dry and falters but the kareli ka dum dudhiya biryani Rs 1250 is a Hyderabadi rendition of mutton shank mutton kofta boiled egg with gosht yakhni salan that is impressive Qureshi has way too many versions of his signature khoobani ka meetha Here it comes with a purdah baked apricot halwa cooked in its own sweet juiceldquoAwadhi food is known for its delicate use of spices fragrance and a subtle nazakat Qureshirsquos cooking is all of that My inputs were purely subjective rather than telling him how to cook it He doesnrsquot need that It is his gift not minerdquo Akerkar signs offWaarsaOPENS September 21AT NCPA Nariman PointTime 12 pm to 4 pm 7 pm to 1 amCall 9594943555Also Read EXCLUSIVE From British influences to kaanch pudding Princess Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil on how the royal kitchen of Bhavnagar has embraced cultural diversity in Gujarat