This Bengaluru restaurant will change its menu every quarter

The cuisines of India’s Northeast are woefully under-represented in contemporary dining — quite surprising given the sophisticated and au courant techniques like fermentation and smoking used in everyday cooking in the region. For Nila, the new modern Indian restaurant in Bengaluru, founder and chef Rahul Sharma decided to focus on ingredients from Nagaland. Interestingly, the menu will change every three months.

The 12-course tasting menu (INR 4,550 + per person) does not attempt to recreate classics. Instead, it interprets the cultural fabric that shapes them, from the rhythms of jhum (shifting cultivation) fields to the elemental interplay of land, fire, smoke, and fermentation that define Naga cuisine. Ingredients such as smoked meats, tapioca, yam, foraged greens, bamboo and traditional rice are presented in subtle ways.

The focus on crockery and cutlery inspired by the stoneware and black pottery of Nagaland is distinct. The first course — the Black Rice Momo arrives on a heavy dark stone slab, while a few courses down the line, a dish is served on a platter made of woven bamboo edged with cowrie shells. There is something almost Japanese in the way dishes are often finished at the table, with a ceremonial pouring of broth from handmade jugs or charring a dish with a blowtorch.

Sharma interned at Noma in Copenhagen, and led the kitchen at Araku in Bengaluru known for its experimental take on café food. Given his training and experience, reinvention is central to his practice. Therefore, starting a chef-led restaurant as the next step in his career doesn't come as a surprise.

Each of the dishes makes for a memorable experience. The Black Rice Momo comes wrapped in tapioca and served with a tart chutney. The Tree Tomato Custard is essentially a cheese custard with roasted tree tomato, perilla seed salsa and a confit of wild garlic. There is a dish of Pickled Persimmon Kebabs — skewers made of 30-day pickled persimmons layered with smoked coconut malai, chilli and onion pickle. A ‘soup’ course follows with Yam Milk and Bamboo Broth. The Smoked Michinga Leaves is served with house bread and some interesting condiments, especially a chutney with bhut jolokia chillies.

For mains, Roasted Chicken is a dish of squash that is cooked with anishi, charred mustard leaves and slow-cooked chicken terrine. The Smoked Naga Pork — while we love the unctuous Naga pork curry with bamboo shoots served at Naga restaurants in Bengaluru — the version seems refined and hits the same notes. Sharma also serves Black Wheat Noodles & Bamboo — house-made black wheat noodles in a bamboo broth with fermented bamboo “XO” sauce. Dessert is a Sichuan Pepper Ice Cream with a complex texture from the puffed millet.

The space is minimalistic and features arches, curves and adobe walls, with a soothing and neutral colour palette. The design, executed by Prachi Joshi of Designworx, is inspired by the phases of the moon (‘Nila’ means moon in Tamil). The open kitchen is positioned centrally, and guests can walk over and see the chefs at work.

At a time when tasting menus attempt to capture the diverse flavours of India, the focus on one state, that too from the Northeast, signals a new chapter in gourmet dining.