After visiting a host of restaurants experimenting with global cuisines by giving it an Indian touch, it is amazing to see the city's best kitchens having fun with our own food for a change. Modern-Indian, as it's often called, is an exciting window into the sheer versatility of Indian flavours and cooking techniques. Monsoon {just like its older sibling Cafe Lota at the Crafts Museum} embraces simple Indian food and presents it in a way that is familiarly old yet fascinatingly new. Veggies like bottlegourd, pumpkin, beetroot and green peas, that otherwise struggle to find any space on restaurant menus finally get a chance to shine, thanks to Monsoon's signature dishes.

As you flip through the menu, you'll realize that it doesn't favour any particular region but borrows the best from various parts of the country and presents them in offbeat pairings. For instance, you'll find a somewhat-Gujarati Maize flour Thepla on the side of a Malabar-style coconut-based pumpkin curry and it will BLOW YOUR MIND. Even while maintaining novelty, each dish at Monsoon ranks pretty great on the 'healthiness' front too. Case in point: a special kheer on the dessert menu that features a much more nutritious Barnyard millet instead of rice with a rich salted caramel sauce on top, or even take the Jackfruit stir-fry with Ragi Appams or simply, 'Odd-Veg Kebabs' made out of bottlegourd!

Some other dishes that will remain hard to forget include the Vegetarian Scotch egg {hard boiled egg coated with a spicy cauliflower and beetroot mix, crumb-fried to perfecttion}, Broccoli Makhani with Pudina Parantha {a malai-marinated whole broccoli cooked in tandoor sits on a bed of butter-chicken style tomato gravy--what's not to love?} and home-style Podi Idli {featuring a crackling flax seed podi chutney}. If you're looking for a single combo meal that will fill you up, go for the special Monsoon Kulchas complete with a hearty stuffing, white butter and a delicious mustard raita.

Another USP of the place is the wide variety of wines and international beers, along with a couple of wine and beer cocktails too. Try the refreshing 'Bul', a Cuban classic with beer, ginger ale, lemon and mint. If you'd like something wine-based, go for  'The Bishop', Cabernet with a citrusy twist.

Liked what you saw? Discover another great cafe in Aerocity here!