At Mint Progressive Indian in downtown Seattle, executive chef Abhijit Sarkar puts the finishing touches on a plate of beef short rib mappas, arranging fresh micro-turnips atop artfully arranged carrots and purple potatoes seared in butter. He adds dots of local blueberry chutney on a steaming short rib and gently pours creamy coconut milk sauce over everything.

Sarkar said he’d gone to Pike Place Market earlier to purchase the produce, which was grown on farms here in Washington.

“In Washington especially, the berries are very famous,” he said.

The restaurant focuses on combining traditional Indian flavors with Pacific Northwest ingredients to create food and drinks that are original and yet familiar.

One customer summed it up well: “They take traditional dishes, and they kind of add their own twist to it.”

A recent menu’s offerings included tandoori lobster benedict, Dungeness crab kulcha flatbread, and paneer rosettes with blueberry chutney and microgreens. Many of the ingredients come directly from Washington.

“We use a lot of local ingredients like purple potatoes, apples, berries,” said Goldy Singh, Mint’s CEO. “It’s a very big aspect of our food here, where we try to incorporate all those local ingredients into our menu.”

Including local ingredients is a large focus of progressive Indian cooking in general, according to Sarkar. And Singh said the progressive Indian cooking style is about creating food that is approachable and appealing to a wider audience, even those who are not familiar with Indian food.

“We try to showcase that in more modern and inclusive ways to bring new people to this sort of cuisine,” Singh said. “Food is art.”

One customer in the dining room said that while the food feels very Indian, it’s not the same as the food you’d eat in India.

“It has all the flavors you would have in India, just combined together,” she said.

The restaurant also features an innovative craft cocktail menu that incorporates Indian spices and ingredients in its recipes. A few of the drinks on a recent menu included a smoked old fashioned with black walnut bitters and chai; a cardamom-infused gin cocktail; and a martini with white tea and jasmine.

“Our bar team works very closely with the kitchen team,” said Singh. “So all those cocktails pair really well with everything that’s on our menu.”

Before becoming the executive chef at Mint, Sarkar worked in New Delhi, where the movement of progressive Indian cooking began, said Singh, adding that Sarkar’s experience contributes to the art he makes in the kitchen.

“We’re excited to have him, and he’s great,” Singh said.

The customers cannot seem to get enough of Mint’s beautiful, innovative and delicious food.

“I would never have thought of this,” said one diner, pointing at his plate. “It’s not style over substance — it’s all here.”