Ziu in Sangam Courtyard in Delhi’s RK Puram is the place to go if you are looking to try out Thai cuisine. What you definitely need to try out is their superb banana flower salad.
Ziu is run by a very talented young man called Gurmehar Sethi, who set this up after working in Nobu in Dubai, Mayfair in London and Banyan Tree in Thailand.
The name Ziu means ‘cultivated’, and the focus is on presenting food that is different from the usual. So you have Thai dishes here, but cooked innovatively and plated picturesquely.
Thai food is largely flavoured with galangal, kaffir lime, basil, lemon grass and coriander. The flavours are few, but they all have their characteristic essences. Food is often tempered with the hot bird’s eye chilli, and sauces – among them a fish sauce – add to the taste. But everything is simply cooked, and the ingredients are so fresh that the taste lingers.
Ingredients:
2 banana blossoms
1 lemon, juiced
1 piece of ginger, diced
3 spring onions (white parts only), thinly sliced
60g (½ cup) fresh coconut, shredded, lightly toasted
1tbsp roasted peanuts
Dressing
1½tbsp dried shrimp
2tbsp tamarind concentrate
1tbsp lime juice
2tbsp grated palm sugar
2tbsp fish sauce
1tbsp nahm prik pao (Thai chilli paste)
60ml (¼ cup) settled coconut cream
Method: For the dressing, process dried shrimp in a small food processor until finely chopped. Combine with the remaining dressing ingredients. Remove the purplish-red outer bracts from banana blossoms. Discard flower-like clusters and thinly slice inner bracts width-wise on the diagonal. Place in a bowl filled with 2 litres of water, lemon juice and 1tbsp salt, to prevent browning. Halve banana blossom cores, slice on the diagonal and add to acidulated water. Drain the banana blossoms and place in a bowl. Add spring onions, coconut, coriander and dressing, and toss gently with peanuts to combine. Serve.
