‘White’ gravy delicacies may be off menu as eateries try to optimise costs

Nagpur: If malai kofta, navratan kofta or shahi chicken korma are your favourites, then it is probably time to tame the taste buds, as some restaurants plan to knock them off the menu because their ‘base' gravy is "not worth wasting the remaining LPG stock on".These dishes are almost always cooked in a ‘white' base gravy, the least used of the three base gravies on which the foundation of Indian curry-based dishes stand. Yellow gravy, whose main base is onion, is the most popular, with dishes like chicken/mutton curry, paneer mutter masala, etc. Red gravy, where tomato is used more, forms the base for popular dishes like butter chicken and paneer butter masala, among others.Celebrity chef Vishnu Manohar, who has restaurants in both India and the US, said for businesses that are totally dependent on LPG, this is the best strategy. "During such times, the focus shifts to what makes commercial sense without compromising on quality. Every restaurant knows what their top-selling items are, and in curry base, the white gravy accounts for the least number of dishes that are popular with clients," said Manohar, who used traditional coal/wood along with commercial induction cooktops for the last many years at his Nagpur restaurant. "Only for Indian breads and deep frying we use LPG, so there will be optimisation there too," he added.Focusing on yellow base gravy gives restaurants the ability to serve a variety of veg and non-veg dishes while ensuring that the limited stock of commercial cylinders is used effectively.Vinod Madra, a veteran hotel industry executive with almost 40 years of experience, said standalone restaurants will need to trim the menu to tide over this crisis. "Give the customers what they want by optimising resources, and if this means knocking off items, then so be it," said Madra.