Spring veggie feasts

Jikoni is the restaurant of the minute – fresh, pretty, with rave reviews. We asked its chef, Ravinder Bhogal, to serve up some exclusive veggie recipes

These exclusive veggie recipes from the hottest new restauarant will please even the biggest meat eaters

Occasionally a new restaurant doesn’t just open, it bursts like a rosebud, revealed as perfect and pretty. Jikoni, the first kitchen from chef Ravinder Bhogal, did just that in London’s Marylebone in late 2016, with stellar reviews, heavenly dishes and design inspiration, from the paisley textiles to the pastel-pink tableware. Why so wonderful? Because of Bhogal herself. “I wanted to do an ‘un-restaurant’,” she says. “A kitchen, a few chairs – simply an extension of my home.” The result is a cosy enclave (“I want to live here,” said Red’s editor Sarah Bailey on her first visit), a neighbourhood restaurant with friendliness woven into its patterned fabric. Bhogal was born in Kenya to Sikh Indian parents, and moved to the UK with her family when she was seven years old. The importance of community is rooted in her upbringing: “One of the central Sikh tenets is about service to those around you, and I’ve seen what feeding people can do; the sense of calm and joy and belonging it can bring.”

Drawing on her heritage, she has created a menu inspired by the flavours of

Kenya, India and the

UK: scented and sensual, lightly spiced and enticingly exotic.

These six recipes, styled by the Red team using Jikoni tableware and fabrics, are introduced by Bhogal and created with ingredients from her store cupboard at home. “By now my body craves a lighter cuisine – steamed, raw and stir-fried,” she says, “with just a little comforting crumble sneaking in.” Be inspired by her layering of tastes, ingredients, and definitely try the broccoli. It’s a special place, Jikoni, and these recipes are special, too. PIP MCCORMAC