Traditional Gujarati village cuisine meets fine vegetarian dining at Prashad’s restaurant anniversary event
Thursday, 20th February, 2014
To celebrate our first anniversary in our new restaurant, we held an intimate, exclusive event for a lucky few ticket holders to experience Prashad old and new – traditional Gujarati village cuisine meeting fine vegetarian dining. 
The five course menu was devised and prepared by Prashad’s founder Kaushy Patel along with her daughter in law and now Head Chef Minal. The dishes chosen by Kaushy were reminiscent of the authentic large family/group meals she would make for the village when growing up in Gujarat, India. Minal then gave them a twist from her magical world of Michelin cuisine. One thing is for certain, they were nothing like any of our guests had ever tasted before!
After guests were seated at their tables where they found a name tag attached to a bottle of dried spices for them to take home and toast/blend into a fine powder for a soothing tea massala, we started with an Amuse Bouche of Pearl Tapioca Vada. These fritters are a classic Gujarati snack designed to whet your appetite for a big meal. This was followed by a beautifully presented pre-starter of a Popodum flower with authentic homemade chutneys.
The main starter was a variety of Gujarati snacks including Pathudi (mini chick pea pancake mini rolls made with a special dough that many Indians will remember making with their mums as a child), a twist on our coconut pethis made with purple yams, classic potato puri and paneer spheres.
Main courses that guests were given the chance to sample included Renghan Reveya (a favourite from our cookbook made with aubergine in a peanut sauce), Malai Kofta (a rich, creamy dish often served at family celebrations), Lassania Bataka, beautiful fresh baby spinach puri, classic vegetable Byriani (not like you get in your standard curry house!), Massala dai and Aatheli kakadhi.
Dessert (for those who could fit it in after such a feast!) was Kopra Panna Cota with Jeera infused pineapple. Simply wonderful!
And of course, presentation and service were on the top of the agenda under Minal’s strict Michelin standard regime!
A fantastic evening was had by all and guests loved the opportunity to meet and speak to the author of our best-selling cookbook, Kaushy Patel, to get her tips on cooking authentic village cuisine for big groups.
We’re hoping to run similar exclusive events in the future so if you didn’t manage to get a ticket this time, keep your eyes peeled!