2025 South Asian Spotlight

This five-course menu reimagines Indian childhood favourites using Canadian seasonal produce. Think of it as an adult kid’s menu, filled with all things green.

Haem’s Table is named after Niharika’s maternal grandmother, Hemlata—lovingly called Haem. Through Haem’s Table, Niharika explores her immigrant experience and her evolving relationship with food. Having lived in seven cities – currently in Toronto – her life has been shaped by a constantly changing backdrop of people, places, and stories. What has remained constant is her connection to food—an anchor to her heritage and a guide through her personal growth.

*The meal will also be hosted by Jo (Jayeeta) Sharma, Associate Professor of Food Studies, History, and Environmental Humanities at University of Toronto. She will help to bring context to the foods and will be available to answer any of your questions! 

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Masala Focaccia & Chutney Compound Butter
Makhan, butter in Hindi, is found in two ways in India: the stereotypical salted yellow butter—a staple in Indian households—and the “white” butter: fresh, homemade, and made from cultured cream. This is the butter you spread on a simple slice of white bread or warm flatbread to feed your picky child.

Masala Focaccia is inspired by a simple snack—a warm flatbread with butter—that my mother would roll up for me when I was a kid, cutting school, pretending to be sick. The focaccia is indented with onions, roasted garlic, and a tempering of ghee, whole spices, and curry leaves. It’s served with homemade “white” butter infused with cilantro and green chilies.

Chard Patta Chaat
Chaat, a typical South Asian snack eaten year-round, often on sidewalks and served by street vendors. It comes in many forms: some include a potato patty topped with chickpea curry; others, a fried semolina ball filled with tangy cilantro water. What ties all of them together is an explosion of flavours and textures in each bite.

Chard Chaat is inspired by the traditional street-side winter staple Palak Patta (Spinach Leaf) Chaat. This version promises to be a crunchy, spicy, sweet, and tangy dish like nothing you’ve tasted before. Swiss chard leaves are coated in a chickpea flour batter and fried until golden. They’re served with mint chutney, cumin-spiced yogurt, tamarind-maple chutney, chopped radishes, chopped onions, and chopped coriander. The kind of dish that’ll have you asking, “Why don’t I eat chaat every day?”

Spring Veg Stuffed Ramp Besan Chilla
Chilla an Indian crepe made from a batter of peas or lentils. They’re a typical brunch item across the subcontinent. The kind of batter used depends entirely on the region you’re from—and the whims of your mother. My mother’s specialty is crepes made from besan (chickpea flour). On Sundays, she would stuff them with paneer (Indian cottage cheese) and seasonal vegetables, and serve them with fresh cilantro chutney.

Ramp Chilla uses a batter made with ramps and chickpea flour, and is stuffed with hung yogurt, asparagus, and fiddleheads. It’s what I imagine my mom would make on a Sunday morning if she too lived in Ontario in the spring. The crepes are served with her fresh cilantro chutney. (Both ramps and fiddleheads are weather-dependent since they are foraged produce. In the event of their unavailability, spinach and mushrooms will be used as a substitution.)

Lamb or Mushroom Green Keema with Brioche Pav
Keema, minced meat in Urdu, is often prepared in a lightly sauced curry made with tomatoes and onions. At late-night eateries in Mumbai, you’ll find this spicy curry served with pav—a soft bread roll that traces its roots to Portuguese-Goan bakeries. One of the few yeasty breads in India, pav gained popularity across western Indian states starting in the ’60s. Since then, it has remained a staple for mopping up curry across Mumbai.

This keema is inspired by the abundance of greens that begin appearing at Ontario farmers’ markets. The curry uses cilantro, sorrel, chives, and pumpkin seeds to create an herby green base. It’s served with brioche pav, toasted with butter, chilli powder, and cilantro leaves. The vegetarian keema is made with a mix of shiitake, chanterelle, and cremini mushrooms—their deep umami complements the herby curry beautifully.

Chai Crème Brûlée with Parle G
Chai, milky black tea steeped with spices like cardamom, clove, and ginger—is more than just a drink. In the Indian subcontinent, every morning begins with a piping hot cup. Each household makes its chai differently, so no two recipes are alike. In my house, chai is gingery, heavily perfumed with cardamom, and always sugar-free. It’s always served with Parle G, an English-style sweet biscuit made in India since the 1930s. Factories produce more than 400 million of these treats daily—making them one of India’s most beloved snacks.

Chai Crème Brûlée reimagines this iconic pairing as a creamy custard, spiced with ginger, cloves, cardamom, and a blend of Darjeeling and Assam black tea. The cardamom sugar crust is made to crack under the back of your spoon. To complete your “cup” of chai, it’s served with Parle G on the side.
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Niharika Gupta is a self-taught cook, passionate about locally sourced seasonal ingredients.  Named after her grandmother, Haemlata, she runs “Haem’s Table“, a micro-kitchen hosting pop ups around the city. Drawing from her Indian heritage and immigrant experience she aims to reintroduce old favourites and create new ones. When not cooking or working at her corporate 9-5, she enjoys reading food history and watching birds. @haemstable

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Jo (Jayeeta) Sharma (Cantab 2002) is an Associate Professor of Food Studies, History, and Environmental Humanities, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and with Professor Marney Isaac, (co)Director of the Sustainable Food & Farming Cluster at the University of Toronto. She  leads the Feeding City interdisciplinary lab which conducts local-global food sovereignty and community-engaged sustainability research. She is a co-editor of the journal Global Food History (Routledge). She is also co-editor of the Culinaria food book series at the University of Toronto Press, and editor of the Empires in Perspective book series (Routledge). She is a founding member of the Culinaria Research Centre at the University of Toronto and an elected Board Member of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS). She is part of the Scarborough Food Network, a network that brings together local community organizations that work on food security and food advocacy issues. She is also a member of the Commonwealth Scholarship Alumni Association.

Jo’s historical and contemporary research ranges across interdisciplinary themes and transnational spaces connected to food and foodways, empires, post-colonial and global Asia diasporas, mountain ecologies and societies, food systems and plantation labour, street vendors, commodity capitalism, and historical soundscapes of city food. She is the author of Empire’s Garden (Duke/Permanent Black 2011/OEAP Library 2017). She is currently working on two books: the first is Mountains of Empire, and the second is The Sonic Streets: A Global History of Street Food Sounds and Culinary Infrastructure.  She is PI and co-PI for several global research projects, including a SSHRC Partnership Development Grant, a SSHRC Connections Outreach Grant, and a SSHRC Insight Development Grant. Projects’ details can be found here: https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/feedingcity/toward-food-sovereignty/

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Every weekend The Depanneur invites a guest chef to host a fun, family-style dinner party.