Let's go Dutch

Are you in for a Dutch treat? Yes? We'll soon get there. But don't ask this innocent-seeming question in Holland – it may just be mistaken for an insult. Apparently, 'Dutch treat' (also known as 'going Dutch') was used derisively by the English (post the 17th century Anglo-Dutch wars) to mean 'stingy', because the Dutch paid for their individual share when eating out. Split your bill the way you wish, but let's first gorge on some Dutch delicacies!

Walk to Cross Maidan near Churchgate and join in the festive spirit of Holland Village, set up by the Dutch Consulate as part of their now-concluding initiative, 'Holland Meets Mumbai'. It's hard to miss the orange cheer and easy to get distracted by various stalls, styled like Dutch houses, offering everything from live demos of clogs (Dutch wooden shoes) to hockey master classes. But we'll head straight to the poffertjes stall to watch Klooster pour the wheat-based pancake batter into a cast-iron pan, flip the tiny, idli look-alikes once they turn brown, and wait till he generously sprinkles castor sugar over them and pokes in a butter-full fork. Klooster has flown from Holland just for this festival, as has Harminder Kaur – a Dutch citizen of Indian origin, who's busy baking sinful stroopwafels. Very different from Belgian waffles, these Dutch ones are round, and their biscuit-like crust sandwiches a sweet syrup of brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and vanilla. Hers are perfect, just like the ones in Amsterdam. She has takeaway packs, but you MUST have them hot! A little ahead, Renaissance's stall offers a decadent Dutch chocolate cake and apple flappen, a popular Dutch puff pastry. Its salty, flaky outer covering encloses a pulpy apple and cinnamon filling. The best part? It's topped with vanilla ice cream. They also serve fries the Dutch way: sans ketchup, with mayo. The additional peanut-based sauce is in keeping with the Indonesian influence on Dutch cuisine (owing to colonial times). Their chicken burger comes with pickled veggies, and is also spiced with Indonesian flavours.

At White Owl, in Lower Parel, chef Dinesh Bherwani is offering Indonesia-inspired spicy chicken sate, lamb kroketten and kibbeling. "Kroketten (croquettes) are generally cylindrical, can be made with any meat (or vegetables) and are usually eaten with mustard sauce, a white sauce and soft bun. And kibbeling, another Dutch street food, is batter-fried fish served with mayo-based aioli. Cheeks are typically preferred for their saltiness, but due to unavailability, they've used rawas and red snapper," he says. His dishes are delicately-flavoured, yet interesting. For drinks, there are two orange cocktails: Van Gogh (a refreshing watermelon and rum concoction) and Klompen (a lovely mix of vodka, pineapple and orange). But no Dutch bites for vegetarians!

Wait, don't lose heart. You can feast at our final stop, Foodhall, in Palladium. Here, chef Rohan Koppikar's live kitchen has the thick pea soup – Snert (without meat); rye bread with heksenkaas (cream cheese and dill spread) adapted to the Indian palette with garlic and leek; white asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and stamppot (mashed potatoes with chopped kale and carrots). Dessert is stroopwafels, not-so-sweet Dutch apple tarts and bread-butter puddings. For your own Dutch cooking experiment, you can buy a variety of Dutch cheeses: Gouda (simple or flavoured with chilli/pesto/red pepper), Maasdam and Edam; vegetables: yellow (and red) pear tomato, tomato on vine, red currant; and bottled or canned foods. Smakeljik (Bon appetit)!

Today: Foodhall's live Dutch food counter (10.30 am-10pm), White Owl (all day), Holland Village (4pm onwards)