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At Vana they discourage use of salt, there is no salt cellar at the table, just the pepper mill, and we rediscovered the taste of this mélange relishing each bite that explosively registered its distinct identity on our palate — be it broccoli, sweet bell peppers or baby corn or juicy tomatoes. One didn’t miss the sachets of chilly flakes, seasoning or mustard either. The challenge was Kuntal told us in rolling out a thin crust with a heavy pin. We enjoyed it so much that couldn’t wait to try it out at home. As luck would have it electricity failed us and we ended up pan-grilling the base — more a parantha than a pizza. But then as they say, what is in a name. A rose remains a rose called by any other name! We don’t claim that we could replicate Kuntal’s perfection but are more than content with Parantha Sartaj. Parantha Sartaj Ingredients Button mushrooms
(sliced thin after wipingclean with moist cloth) — 50g Sweet bell pepper (yellow/red
cut into bite sized pieces) — Ľ Broccoli florets (blanched in
boiling water than refreshed in ice cold water) — 50g Tomato (desi quartered,
then halved) — 1 small Baby corns (sliced in rounds
not too thick) — 2 Spinach (washed and shredded)
— 2 to 3 leaves Olive oil 1 tsp Method:
Line a non-stick frying pan with olive oil and lightly sauté the vegetables. Avoid using salt if you can! Keep aside when done to taste. Pan-grill the parantha and crown it with the veggies. Enjoy seconds- or increase the size of the serving without guilt.
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WELL, to tell you the truth this is a pizza in parantha skin. But fear not, it’s no dangerous wolf. It is one of the healthiest meals you can treat yourself to. Our friend Kuntal Kumar, one of the most gifted chefs we have come across created this for his guests at Vana a forest retreat cum spa in the lap of Shivalik mountains in Dehradun. He used locally available coarse grains and garden-fresh vegetables — colourful, refreshing and wonderfully nutritious at the same time. He uses a wood-fired oven to bring out this burnished beauty and reassures us that this is the way the Italians enjoy their pizza most — not oozing with cheese or blanketed with tomato sauce. 
Multigrain pizza base or
parantha disc rolled out at home using ragi/madua — 1 thin crust