1911 at The Imperial lays out global varieties with an elaborate brunch buffet, making a fun Sunday for you. Unnati Joshi checks in
Food plays a definitive role in shaping our culture and tradition and Easter is one such festival. Be it the egg-hunting or painting sessions or egg-shaped trophies and baubles, the key protein is a source of creative inspiration. On Easter day, a hearty brunch is as much a part of the celebration as going to church. And it is this spirit that The Imperial’s 1911 has captured.
The table is set beautifully with kitschy toy rickshaws full of goodies and tiny bunnies. It’s interesting how chef Prem K Pogakula has designed the menu, picking favourites that represent different Easter traditions, with different flavours and styles, and then brought them together in a way that fits so well.
They give us a glass of watermelon juice as we settle down with the chef. “I didn’t want to do the urban dishes and hence have kept all the countryside dishes with minimal cooking techniques. That’s the key for the brunch today,” chef Pogakula tells us.
We start with salads. Eggplant mille feuille wins us over with its light flavours. “I wanted to keep to the original. So I have put minimal herbs and, of course, good seasoning and that’s it,” Pogakula says.
We move on to the mains and find our plate heaped with dishes. There’s a lot to take in but we begin with baked rigatoni. Pasta always works and this one can be broadly categorised as a grown-up version of macaroni and cheese. The tomato sauce, judiciously spiced with hot red-pepper flakes and embellished with diced yellow bell pepper and pungent black olives, is easy and straightforward. “I have made the pasta stand so that it looks like a cake,” the chef tells us.
We then try minced lamb pie, which is rich in texture and flavour. The meat is cooked and spiced perfectly, the crust is thick but is light and flaky on the tongue. “The lamb is minced and mixed with red wine, garlic and onion. We have added seasonings and have baked it with puff sheet on top,” the chef shares, making it sound all simple.
What we enjoy the most though is the stuffed chicken roulade. This comprises chicken rolls stuffed with sun-dried tomato, basil, chilli and a few other herbs, making for a lip-smacking dish. The roulade is skillfully wrapped so that we get the mouth-watering chicken to cling to in every bite. “It is technically a countryside chicken which is rolled with the skin on. It is roasted and served with chicken juice,” says Pogakula.
We are waiting eagerly for the dessert as we were promised a great dessert and soaked in rum, flambeed baba au rum comes. This is not too sweet, allowing the flavours to come through beautifully. The hint of cloves along with the strong rum makes it a flavour bomb. “This dessert is traditionally supposed to be a yeast cake only. I have given it a little twist adding a bit more alcohol,” the chef reveals.