Yes Chef!

A mound of Indrayani rice, carefully boiled in a stock of fish bones to lightly embrace flavour, covered by translucent slivers of gently poached, deboned-with-precision Bombay duck, crowned by a generous and deliberate smear of freshly ground garlic thecha, with droplets of hand-churned ghee to finish the presentation. This is Maharashtra on a plate. This is Niyati Rao. No fuss, simple ingredients, inspired by her colourful upbringing, and yet a near-perfect marriage of taste, texture and timelessness.

I describe this dish vividly as it is the very reason why, despite a very shaky start, Chef Niyati’s Ekaa in Mumbai remained on my list of restaurants to frequent.

The shaky start is, in itself, a masterclass in tenacity. Two college sweethearts nurse a dream to have their own restaurant. Many summers and winters spent between restaurants in Dubai, at sea, and finally through the hallowed walls of Noma, they find their way back home, bravely raise money to launch their chef-led restaurant titled Ekaa, only to find themselves stumped by the pandemic.

Midway through stop-start renovations, they run out of money as investors back out, try everything from handing out flyers soliciting investors to the rare drivers that plied the deserted roads of Mumbai during those COVID months, to DM-ing reality web series stars soliciting investments...

Somewhere, luck took a chance, and Niyati Rao and Sagar Neve found themselves in business. Their roles were well demarcated. Niyati would be the chef, and Sagar the business partner. Five years on, Ekaa has birthed the KMC Bar & Bistros in Mumbai, Nonna Mei in Shillong, and most recently, the bakery to fulfil all buttery dreams— Ringo, also in Mumbai.

While I admire their partnership, this piece focuses on the chef.

My first impressions of Niyati during the opening days of Ekaa were mixed. She raced between an overworked open kitchen and an impressively large, functional dining hall that was heaving from the heat generated by the kitchen, air-conditioning that wasn’t enough for the high ceilings. All expected teething problems, which were unfortunately underlined by a frowning young chef-owner. The front office experience left a lot to be desired. However, my scepticism was put to rest by that incredible dish I described at the start.

Bombay duck, till then, was a deep-fried delicacy whose popularity demanded it not be eaten any other way. Chef Niyati Rao had masterfully defied the norm. And that stood out for me far more than the chaos.

Unfortunately, the creases of those early days and mixed reviews kept me away for an entire year. It was in 2022 when Niyati messaged me to wish me for a web series I had produced. We struck up a conversation—and the start of a friendship I have come to count on.

When we next met, rather than returning the favour of compliments, I offloaded my first impressions and, to my surprise, found a very receptive Niyati. She soaked up the critique and confessed how the front office was a new dimension to her role as chef—one that she did not intend to take lightly. I was delighted and gladdened to learn that she had started working on herself and the personality she projected. That confidence radiated from her, and I could see she had already started working on a new and improved version.

My next meal at Ekaa was an absolute hit. The organic bonhomie flowed between the front office and the back office. The kitchen hummed rhythmically, and the food and drinks flowed seamlessly. Chef Niyati was in control, and she was playing off cues from each table. But so was her food.

A fatiguing over-emphasis on deep-fried fare had made way for locally sourced ingredients that were being served in every form—ferment, stew, soak, sweet, savoury and more. The proteins were diverse, and there was respect accorded to each one in treatment. What I loved was that Niyati reflected in each dish—her aji, her mum, her mother-in-law, her father, her travels.

And that is Chef Niyati—the sum of all parts, experiences that take shape and gain life in her kitchen.

Since then, I have an annual date at Ekaa on Christmas Eve. If you are in Mumbai and find yourself with an evening to celebrate, there cannot be a better place to do so.

The theatrics and themes change with each year, making the experience interactive. But it is the food that shines through. Carefully thought-out courses that weave you through some magical Christmas tale. The future stands bright before this young chef. She shrugs off her exclusion from annual popular restaurant lists, gratefully appreciates the ones that care to notice. She is well aware of the fact that she is swimming against the tide in an industry dominated largely by men—and women who don’t challenge the men. My respect for her comes in abundance as I see her take it all in her stride.

Every now and then, I catch a glimpse of a little girl with big eyes who takes every opportunity to run to the market with her grandmother and mother to shop for the day’s catch. And that innocence is what endears her—and the food she serves.

To Niyati Rao, I say, YES CHEF!