Spice Up Your Life With A Visit To Vaasu
How can something so simple taste so good? The jaggery chutney surrounding three tandoori charred broccoli heads was the pièce de résistance on a plate packed with pure gastronomic pleasure.
Vaasu, one of two Atul Kochhar venues in Marlow, takes the biscuit (should that be poppadum?) when it comes to quality, class and atmosphere. Service is second-to-none and we couldn’t find fault with any element of any of our eight (yes eight) tasting menu dishes.
We were greeted and seated by manager Nipun who offered an overview of the the ethos of Vaasu – a more contemporary take on Indian food than Kochhar’s Buckinghamshire neighbour Riwaz, that offers a journey through northern India – as rich with history as it is flavour.
With a menu inspired by Kochhar’s native land, from the Punjab to Rajasthan, we embarked upon our culinary journey with a light gram flour canapé and a glass of Kochhar’s own house champagne.
The broccoli starter – grilled, topped with a cool yoghurt, and accompanied by the aforementioned tomato jaggery chutney, belied its simplicity with a surprising richness of flavour.
Having opted for the vegetarian menu there’s always a risk that bland may prevail, but no fear here – the flavour kept on coming through the incredibly earthy and fragrant smoky mushroom ki galawati, and a warm star fruit salad which changed the way we think of salads forever.
Dishes at Vaasu are innovative and original, but manage to maintain the authenticity of traditional Indian food.
Following a palette cleansing elderflower sorbet we enjoyed Rajashani gatta, another deliciously light gram flour cake served with onion, tomato, and coriander sauce, and then baby spinach and ricotta kofta topped with lotus seeds, both with sides of freshly baked naan, pilaf rice, and the most intensely flavoured and tasty black lentil daal you could imagine. If this dish ever enters the international daal awards – it is winning hands down.
If I could choose one meal to eat for the rest of my life – Vaasu’s signature black lentils would be it.
Dessert on the tasting menu is a fine chocolate fondant and salted caramel ice cream. Light enough to enjoy after an indulging evening, and a fitting end to a delicious dinner.
It’s rare you leave a restaurant with no tiny hope for as little more here, or a little less there, but from the knowledgeable Nipun who not only put us at ease but offered fascinating insight into the origin of our dishes, to the world-class daal and magically smoky mushrooms, this was as close to perfection as we could get.
For those living locally – Vaasu now offers takeaways too. But if you’re a little further afield, Marlow is easily reachable from London in less than an hour, and finds itself accessible from several motorways. It’s a beautiful town with plenty of attractions, and a great destination for a weekend getaway.
But even if you’re short on time, visiting purely for Vaasu will be a decision you won’t regret.
