dining

‘Bluebonnet Mist,’ Fantastical Fake Avocados Highlight Resto’s Wild Spring Menu

‘Bluebonnet Mist,’ Fantastical Fake Avocados Highlight Resto’s Wild Spring Menu

There's more than meets the eyes with Musaafer's new avocado appetizer.

ONE OF HOUSTON'S most celebrated new-ish restaurants, the upscale Indian outfit Musaafer in the Galleria, has a new spring menu that's said to blend two cuisines — including authentic Indian recipes, of course, and also Mexican — all highlighting local ingredients, with the fantastical modern techniques and gastronomy Musaafer is noted for.

Indian-born Chef Mayank Istwal previously worked in Mexico at the renowned Quintonil, where he learned about Mexican flavors. He was also said to be particularly inspired by salsas, as his native cuisine leans on the use of tomatoes in many of its dishes.

"Fast-forward to today," says a rep for the restaurant, "Mayank applies his Quintonil learnings in his new Mexican-inspired interpretation of butter chicken using tomatillos which are caramelized in custom tandoors with wild honey, cashew, cilantro and fenugreek. Other menu highlights incorporate the use of wild Texas bluebonnets … and a cocktail uses a custom root-to-stem tea blend."

The new mango and turmeric salad

Blackwood Farm in nearby Hempstead is a new partner of the restaurant and will contribute fresh produce to all the new dishes. One of them is features morels stuffed with the farm's Malabar spinach — an ingredient native to India's Himalayan region — with house-made malai cream, mushroom soil, spiced creamed cheese and garnishes of "yogurt stones" and granny smith compote.

New starters also include avocado chaat with corn crisps and tamarind and mint chutneys in a dish painstakingly crafted to look like a very real avocado. This kind of edible trompe l'oeil is one of the restaurant's favorite tricks; it also turns up in a now famous dessert from the original menu with yogurt, raspberry and pomegranate gussied up to looks like mushrooms.

A new salad of mango and turmeric incorporates "green mango carpaccio," burnt chili flakes and jicama. The Rizala entrée is a lamb chop, or you can substitute paneer, with rose petals, brown onion, serrano, cilantro and house-made roomali roti.

Pastry Chef Ruchit Harnej will introduce three memorable desserts, as well, including the Phirni, which is rice pudding with fresh black pepper, rose cremeux, spiced apple compote, prune cereal bar and a Texas bluebonnet mist. "Guests are invited to spritz the bluebonnet mist on their dominant hand," explains the restaurant rep, "filling the senses with the aromas of a lush floral field in each bite."

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Food
music

With New Concept Album, Jacob Hilton Processes Mental-Health Struggles

Dakota Garrett

Jacob Hilton, a.k.a. Travid Halton, at home in his kitchen, where he enjoys cooking as a form of therapy.

PINK FLOYD'S THE Wall. Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours. Beyonce’s Lemonade. Three divergent examples of the album as a cathartic, psychological, conceptual work, meant to be experienced in a single sitting. Houston singer-songwriter Jacob Hilton, 37, who records as Travid Halton, a portmanteau of his mother and father’s names, might balk at being mentioned in such company. (This is a thoroughly unpretentious man, who describes himself as an “archaeologist turned singer-songwriter.”)

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment
promoted

Leadership in Action: ‘Family, Community and Spiritual Connection’ Drives Success for Henry Richardson

Al Torres

How did you get to where you are today? The present moment is a combined history of my family, my time as an athlete, my passion for learning, and my desire to see the world be better. I grew up as a successful springboard and platform diver, however, an injury caused me to seek alternative treatments to heal my body. In that process, I discovered the power of yoga, exercise, meditation, mindset, and nutrition. This holistic approach eventually led me to open a Pilates and cycling studio called DEFINE body & mind. I opened studios around the nation, and after selling most of my business between 2017-2019, I was ready to explore how I could make an even greater impact on the wellbeing of our community. In 2023, I started actively working on a brand new multi-family/apartment concept called, Define Living. The idea focused on offering health and wellness services within a beautiful apartment setting to increase the wellbeing of our residents. Having a strong sense of community is the number one factor in living a happy life, so why not build a community where daily fitness, cooking classes, and social connection are the norm? We opened Define Living in March of 2024, and we couldn’t be happier with how things are being received. We are already looking at building more concepts like this in the Houston area and beyond.

Keep Reading Show less