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Taste of
Togetherness
Thai-Lebanese,
Indo-French--Indian chefs allow their imaginations to run wild as fusion
cuisine catches on in the metros
By Natasha Israni and
Leher Kala
A
lobster marinated in white wine sauce then steamed with a dash of olive
oil. A mango marinated in chutney, lemon juice and crushed coriander --
and voila, an Indo-European lobster is born. Sounds weird? Try it and
you'll find that the latest trend to hit Indian cities is fusion cuisine.
Says Abhijit Saha, the chef at the designer hotel The Manor in Delhi and
creator of the surprisingly delectable lobster: "Italian and French
food is heavy and today's generation is health conscious. Fusion cuisine
offers the ideal option -- blended flavours and light food." But are
Indians adventurous enough to appreciate a completely new taste? "If
Yan can cook so can you," says Roopa Gulati, who hosts a cooking show
on Star TV. "Media exposure and travel have changed Indians' tastes.
Fusion food is a great opportunity for a chef to experiment, innovate and
bring out his personality in his cooking."
Sidewok, the Taj's new restaurant in
Mumbai, serves tandoori salmon and mango margaritas. Says chef Hemant
Oberoi: "Our nachos are made with Indian flavouring so we call them
machos. M for Mumbai." At Sidewok, guests select their own meats and
vegetables and choose their own combinations. An action-packed open
kitchen shows the chef at work. Says Oberoi: "We have dishes like
Thai Felafals and Crispy Pomfret with Lemon Grass." Similarly
Mumbai's Fountain Catering receives regular calls for fusion food. Says
owner Amrish Arora: "For a party recently we served Cajun Caribbean
Chicken with Sugarcane Spears."
Even Pondicherry boasts of a unique cuisine -- Creole food. Restaurant
Carte Blanche in Hotel De L'Orient blends French sauces with native
Pondicherry masalas. Says chef Pradeep Barik: "The French influence
in Pondicherry reflects in our food. We've dug out long-forgotten family
recipes and put them on the menu." These include a vindaloo dish
(mincemeat-potato balls in tomato sauce and coconut milk) and pineapple
and chicken rasam.
In neighbouring Chennai, Nannu Bedi's
two-month-old restaurant La Princesse is doing splendidly. Says Bedi:
"Chefs are market driven. We have to innovate to sustain a customers'
interest." Bedi has an original French-Italian dish: the Fish
Ambassador, a seer fish with a mushroom gravy and onion sauce. usion food
is slowly finding its way into cookbooks. Tarla Dalal's Easy Gourmet
Cooking has a collection of fusion recipes. Dalal created recipes like
Mango Rabdi Gateau (Indo-Mediterranean) and Thandai Souffle
(Indo-Californian). The Indian-continental version of fusion food is the
most popular in India where rich Indian cuisine combines with subtle,
delicate European flavours.
However, it'll be a while before Indians start cooking fusion food at
home. Says Saha: "Fusion involves creativity and imagination. For
example, contrasting sauces like Thai and Italian go better
together." Antoine Lewis, a Mumbai-based food writer says fusion
cooking also happens at more plebeian levels like dum aloo sprinkled with
mozzarella cheese.
Master chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who hosts Khana Khazana on Zee TV, has also
had a tryst with fusion. Some of his favourite dishes are Steamed Chicken
Dim Sums with Alphonso Salsa and Malpua with Strawberry Kiwi Rabdi. But
Kapoor says the trend to improvise was always there. "My father used
to cook angoor pakora in pre-1947 Peshawar. How about Chilli Fried Black
Grape Fritters with Star Fruit Chutney?"
The question is how many people relish this taste? Gulati provides another
insight: "Fusion right now is a fad. A lot of times exotic names
cover up bad cooking. It remains to be seen whether it's here to
stay." Farzana Contractor, the lady behind Upper Crust, India's
food, wine and style magazine believes this trend will take time to settle
down. So if you're feeling adventurous and Butter Chicken fails to excite
you, tickle your palate with some new-world
fusion food.
-with
Methil Renuka
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