Vinotherapy for Indian cuisine

Imagine yourself tilting a glass of red wine as you sink your teeth into a portion of tangy Chicken Tikka This would be tough to visualise in the heads of several foodies particularly those who have enjoyed wines only with French Italian or Mediterranean cuisine Itrsquos a myth and a false belief that wine and Indian food cannot make for a combination Now Indian sommeliers and food experts have come up with several options and theories to disprove the naysayers Eat Indian drink wine ldquoOf all the different aspects of wine and food matching that I have experienced wine and Indian food is the most controversial What type of wine works best and whether you should drink wine at all with Indian food is the subject of endless debate From all the flavours and styles to choose from mdash surely there are wines that go with different styles of Indian cuisinerdquo says Nikhil Agarwal sommelier and director All Things Nice a company that educates consumers about the food and drinks sector Chicken on rice with white sparkling wine The most important aspect while in selecting wine is to pair with a particular cuisine would be the flavour of both Itrsquos all about balance and contrast in flavours ldquoItrsquos a misconception that Indian food doesnrsquot pair with wine What doesnrsquot pair with wine is chilly spice Indian food is very flavoured so if you can avoid the chilly spice there is no problem pairing it with winerdquo reveals Rahul Akerkar director cuisine at deGustibus Hospitality Pvt Ltd Adding to this Agarwal reveals that India has diverse flavours from North to the South Hence there is always the kind of wine that you can pair well with a certain Indian cuisine ldquoA few changes can be introduced to the preparation of Indian food when wanted to be paired with wine For example it can be made less spicy Otherwise no other major change is requiredrdquo he adds Experiment the key Although pairing Indian food with wine is no rocket science and can be done by anyone by experimenting more and more most Indians are hesitant to do it because they are still not very comfortable with wine drinking experts feelu00a0ldquoWine is not ingrained in our society There are certain sections who are opening up to it but thatrsquos a section of the society who are willing to trying out new things Thatrsquos still not the majority Wine is still a bit of an acquired taste itrsquos not fundamentally ingrained in our culture There is a certain complexity in the aura around wine Itrsquos all about the right thing to say and the right way to drink It can be a very fussy topic of debate Thatrsquos why most people still donrsquot consider it a comfort drink here and hence are not even aware that Indian food can go with itrdquo reveals Kalyan Karmakar a hugely followed food bloggeru00a0However Agarwal is quick to suggest that itrsquos just a matter of time when wine will enjoy the same attention as other drinks in the cityu00a0 For more information regarding Indian food and wine pairing head to Neel the Awadhi cuisine restaurant on June 22