July 16,2016

Mille’t sur mera tumhara … and clichéd as this word play may sound, it is a fact that millets are so greatly in resonance with my food philosophy. So when I was invited to tread The Green Path to ‘Meet the Millet’ by partaking of their completely organic and millet based buffet, I accepted with a song in my heart and went on to experience a melody on my palate at one of the best meals that I have had. The Organic State as it is called, is the brainchild of Mr Jayaram, who is the epitome of humility, as he modestly refuses to don the title of Owner but prefers rather to be referred to as a Custodian of the planet and urges us to likewise assume the role of caretakers of mother earth. Humility, a non negotiable virtue in people who have undertaken such a responsibility, is also the hallmark of his numerous employees who make sure that the guests are made comfortable and well attended to.

The décor is rustic and all natural and there is ample use of wood and greenery. Traditional farming implements decorate the walls and the furniture and fittings are made from recycled wood. The food is partially sourced from their own organic farms and the kitchen uses biogas, the slurry from which is used to feed the plants along with harvested rain water. A part of the electricity is also obtained from solar and wind power. The most interesting and educative part of the display are the various millets, labeled and exhibited up close and personal in glass jars on the walls, so that they don’t remain the mysterious grains that people seem to only hear about and hardly get to view.

The place is set on four levels, with the well stocked Era organic store, the Detox café and the children’s play area on the ground floor. A conference room called Confluence or Kudala Sangama is on the first floor and the main restaurant called Forgotten Foods is above that. The topmost level is the organic terrace garden which is a veritable paradise, packed with plants right from herbs to sugarcane to passion fruit to huge pumpkins and plenty in between. While the café serves a la carte snacks, of which their multi grain pizzas are their pride, the main restaurant currently has only buffet meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner. However they do have plans of shortly introducing individual dishes. We were there for the buffet but we also sampled their fresh pizzas and being a fan of multigrain, I naturally approved greatly.

The meal that was specially curated only for us, consisted of over 40 items and we began with some beetroot juice shots, fresh and intense and very pleasing to the conscience 😛 A light millet soup continued the guiltless experience and the salads and starters followed suit. Sundals with their boiled and seasoned gram, Roasted spiced veggies, Nuchinunde which are steamed dumplings of rice and dal and Breads and buns made from millets, were tasted before going on to the main meal.

The mains had millet bisibele baath which was in itself a complete meal with its lentils and vegetables, utterly fluffy red rice dosas, robust looking steamed red rice, a Vegetable biryani, Akki roti with some tongue tingling chutneys, a Brinjal curry to die for, vibrant greens and many more healthy and appealing items.

At the risk of sounding terribly clichéd again, I do have to say that the Desserts literally took the Cake. An amazing array of the most exotic sweets made without refined flours and using only jaggery or raw sugar, that included a lemon grass panna cotta, colored green with spinach extract and Ragi (finger millet) eggless brownies made from raw cocoa, which was so perfect in taste and texture that it would make eggs feel pretty redundant 😀 Laddoos laced with coriander seeds, raw cake from dry fruits, tender coconut phirni which transported me to heaven and delectable holiges were also on the table along with the show stopper, the Ragi ice cream !!! Made by thickening ragi milk, this vegan product was a real delight.

In addition to savoring the food, we also had the honor of Mr Jayaram’s presence, as he stayed with us during the meal and spoke with fervor of his vision to propagate his ideas.
Their generosity did not end at the food, as Mr Jayaram bestowed us with a goodie bag filled with the most thoughtful gifts. A book on millets, a sapling of the medicinal karpuravalli (coleus aromaticus) and a pack of millets and gorgeous red rice … and I just cannot wait to play with these toys 😀

Many people are still of the opinion that healthy, wholegrain foods are not as fascinating or palatable as refined foods but this place serves to break that myth. No doubt such foods are an acquired taste and an inexperienced palate might take its time to appreciate the goodness but I must say that the folk at The Green Path have performed a commendable feat by not only matching the flavors and textures but also in some cases surpassing those of regular foods. A couple of items like their buns and steamed starters might seem dense and dry to those unused to them but I must say that I personally prefer the texture of these, over the finer ones … you may call me biased but that is my genuine opinion. So try them out for your good and the good of the earth.

Forgotten foods is an experience you will not Forget !!!

They have a daily buffet at lunch and dinner and are also planning an a la carte menu soon.

Jul 16th, 2016

For more pictures please see My Facebook – The Green Path-Organic State