Food courts are usually feeding places where one goes to fulfill a biological need – nourishment. Optional extras like presentation and taste are usually relegated to the back burner and while most vendors do try and present their food in a tempting manner, good taste is normally serendipitous.

Enter Eatopia, a food court in the India Habitat Centre. With fairly open spaces, well arranged food counters and an overall pleasant ambiance, Eatopia is a mini food court with a difference – they actually try to improve their offerings regularly, thanks to Chef Rajiv Malhotra, the Executive Chef – Commissaire & Indian Restaurants for Old World Hospitality.

This time, their innovation is… Parathas. Before I get hit by incredulous expressions of disbelief and a stunned silence, let me tell you a little more about these parathas. True, the humble paratha has been around for a while, however, you have to see what Chef Malhotra  and his team have been up to with this ubiquitous Punjabi staple.

For starters they have this concept paratha called the Healthy Paratha. If you ask me, there’s no such thing, but then that’s me. The chaps at Eatopia have done a fair bit of looking into the various types of parathas and their constituent elements, and have come up with four parathas, that they consider far healthier than normal. Utilizing dough made using a special flour they produce in house and stuffed with Paneer (cottage cheese) & Methi (fenugreek leaves), Nutrela (soya granules) & Matar (peas), Mooli (horseradish) and Palak (spinach leaves), I’m sure there’s one in there you’ll like. I’ve seen this, so you have to believe it, the paratha is about a foot in diameter and doesn’t use a drop of oil. Yes, you heard that right, there isn’t a drop of oil in there and it’s served with skimmed milk yogurt – so go on and stuff yourself all you want. Me, I’ll settle for a large chunk of butter on it, thank you.

The paratha first seen in ancient Punjab, but has now spread to diverse regions all over, thanks to  Indian immigrants. The ‘porotta’ is what it’s known as in Kerala, ‘barota’ in Tamil Nadu, ‘palata’ in Burma, ‘farata’ in Malaysia and Mauritius, ‘roti canai’ and ‘roti prata’ (variations) in Singapore and ‘buss up shut’ (“Burst up shirt”) in Trinidad & Tobago

In case you’re thinking that’s all there is, wait. We tried their Jodhpuri, Chur Chur and Meetha Parathas too, in addition to the evergreen paneer, mooli and gobhi (cauliflower) parathas. The Jodhpuri and Chur Chur parathas are b-i-g. More than a foot in diameter and served scrunched into a delicious mass, they’re accompanied by Burhani Raita, Methi Chutney, Dal Makhani and Butter. The Burhani Raita is a delicate mixture of ginger, garlic, yogurt and chaat masala, which goes quite well with the parathas. The dal and other accompaniments were good too.

It must be mentioned however, the Chicken Pocket Paratha was below average, in concept, taste and appearance.

I’m not much of a dessert person, but I finished my entire serving of Meetha Paratha, which is burfi stuffed into a paratha and served with a dollop of rabri. It was seriously good and simply must be tried!

These parathas are only available till the end of the month – so go visit, quick!

- Sid

Eatopia – Food Court & More
At Habitat World, IHC
Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Parathas available from 12:00noon – 11:00pm