New Age Fusion Food: The latest trend to hit Mumbai

Phorum Dalal speaks to culinary experts to get a whiff of this lipsmacking food trend As Vandana Verma enters Indian Accent a restaurant in New Delhirsquos Hotel Manor pungent aromas of red yellow and green spices greet her The menu too is full of her favourite shorbas kebabs bread baskets and biryanis But when the kulcha is served as a mini version of the traditional size topped with treacle bacon and a bite of the galouti kebab frees the burst of French Foie de Gras at the centre the food critic raises her eyebrows in happy surprise Finally free of customers demanding every cuisine be lsquoIndianisedrsquo to suit their taste buds chefs and restaurateurs across India are letting loose their creative side The result a brand new culture of fusion cuisine that is delightfully international in nature Take the example of Zorawar Kalrarsquos upcoming restaurant at Mumbairsquos Bandra Kurla Complex BKC Masala Library which opened yesterday It hopes to change the way we perceive eat and relish Indian food ldquoIndian food has come to a dead end and there is nowhere else to go with the traditional recipes That is why itrsquos time to pave way for version 20 of progressive Indian foodrdquo laughs Kalra Chef Nilesh Limaye cooks the Griddle Top Vegetable Pizza at Auriga Restaurant in Mahalaxmi Pics Sayed Sameer Abedi Indeed a handful of topend finedining restaurants have already introduced dishes that have a global influence in the menu along with their classic recipes ldquoIndians have been globetrotters for many years but it is only now that they have finally opened up to global foods The days of demanding international food in desi flavours such as IndianChinese or Chicken Tikka Pizza are overrdquo explains Kalra who is happy that matured tastes only mean patrons are giving chefs complete freedom to churn out dishes that show their knowledge and understanding of food ldquoDiners are happy to try something created by chefs who have more knowledge of food than them At Masala Library for example we are serving Pesto Kebabs with Parmesan Papad Quinoa Biryani Rissoto Khichdi and Poha Paella the last one an Indian take on the Spanish Valencian rice dish with Calamari clams and sea food Would such a dish have found any takers 10 years agordquo says Kalra hastening to add that the look and taste of all these dishes will still be Indian The mintchocolate samosas are Chef Limayersquos version of the molten lava at Auriga The new cuisine To explain the evolution of what is also being called Mashup cuisine Chef Nilesh Limaye from Auriga a monthold South East Asian restaurant at Mahalaxmi goes back to 1999 when the city saw a first burst of restaurants serving Chinese Italian and Mexican cuisine ldquoThis was the time restaurants such as Olive Mainland China and Indigo brought authentic delicacies from all over the world on a platter A decade later the way people eat has changed as many more citizens having travelled the world and watched culinary shows on TV have developed a palate that is curious enough to go beyond the ordinaryrdquo says Limaye An interesting factor that has further developed the new trend is the relatively sudden rise in the number of convertedvegetarians vegans and those who want organic or glutenfree foods ldquoIndian cuisine is vast with its regional flavours textures and ingredients People understand that an ingredient such as coriander can do wonders to a dish but an overdose could play spoilsport The newage chef only takes inspiration from cuisines and creates a dish which is measured for taste and texture The Indian Chinese was a byproduct of rigid taste buds This is a lsquomash uprsquo the result of matured palates wanting something newrdquo says Limaye Masala Library at BKC servcesu00a0Pesto Kebabs with Parmesan Papad PicAmit Jadhav A return to roots The fun part though is that even as the Indian palate gravitates towards uncharted flavours there is a renewed reverence for desi veggies and ingredients till recently considered poor cousins of their exotic Latin or European counterparts So be it pumpkin pointed gourd parwal or bitter gourd karela chefs say customers do not question what an item available in the kitchen garden is doing in an exotic dish They trust the chef to create something tasty At Auriga for example the chef has designed an allvegetarian live bar almost a sacrilege when it comes to Southeast Asian cuisine usually dominated by sea food and meats ldquoThe brinjal resembles the texture of a squid and the jack fruit is like fish Even a gourmand would not mind a Pizza with South east Asian herbs such as lemon grass and sagerdquo says Limaye who serves a Basil Mushroom puff stuffed with goat cheese Asian herbs soy and ginger ldquoIt maybe a baked lsquoAmericanrsquo puff but the aftertaste will give you a pure South East Asian experiencerdquo claims Limaye His dessert menu in fact pushes home the point The humble Samosa is transformed here into a chocolate and mint molten lava ldquoI have taken the samosa and created my version of the gooey molten lava The filling is soft chocolateminty and devoid of cake and eggrdquo he says Global village Indeed the mashup trend seems to have gone viral helped along the way by each chef or restaurateurrsquos personal background Chef Dharmesh Karmokar for instance is half Gujarati half Bengali and this influences his cooking style at Nom Nom where he is employed ldquoFusion food often has a negative connotation but if you leave it to a chef he will create something a lot more sensible At Nom Nom I serve my version of the popular Parsi dish Patra Ni Machi It is basically steamed fish stuffed with South East Asian herbs topped with Prawn Crackers in Honey Chilli sauce I call it newage cuisine where I only use a particular cuisine as a roadmap to create something more independent or globalrdquo says Karmokar adding ldquoThis is only the beginning People marrying outside their culture is going to result in evolution of such foods Kids are going to grow up eating sushi and butter chicken and this will influence their cooking habitsrdquo Fusion confusion ldquoWhat is fusion foodrdquo asks food writer Rushina Munshaw Ghildyal rather rhetorically before answering the question herself ldquoBecause of the past it has got a negative connotation but it literally means to infuse distinct flavours or techniques from more than one cuisine in a measured manner into a new dish Years ago the mighty Italians did not have access to spices But after some of their explorers travelled to India and China they embraced spices into their ageold recipes without recognising the act of fusionrdquo she adds explaining that however scary or vague the term the results of fusion can bring landmark changes in food history The ldquobad namerdquo that the term fusion got was chiefly due to the demand of inwardlooking palates of Indian diners in the past who forced chefs to play it safe as they wanted their patrons to return to their restaurants As a result they infused every cuisine with a hint of ldquoIndiannessrdquo Today much like the Indian tourist even the chefs are well travelled and many of them have degrees from Europe and the US They take the time out to recce regions across the world to update their knowledgeu00a0Some in fact argue that the term lsquofusionrsquo needs to die a natural death now ldquoFusion doesnrsquot mean anythingrdquo argues Rahul Akerkar celebrity chef and restaurateur ldquoIt is all part of good evolution as with time different ingredients are coming into local markets people are open to exploring their palate preferences and the chefs are confident to follow their culinary passionsrdquo Here and now Mumbai Delhi and Bangalore are predictably the first cities to have stepped up to the plate ldquoThere will always be patrons who swear by the authentic kebab tikka or burrah kabobs but therersquos an openmindedness and willingness to try new flavours that one didnrsquot see as much before Itrsquos superb because it means that eating out has become interesting againrdquo says Vermau00a0ldquoAt places such as Le Bistro du Parc in New Delhi the new menu is thoroughly French and yet itrsquos light fresh and modern a world away from the souffleacutes and Escoffier recipes that so many associate with Gallic food They reference classic French techniques and preparations but like Indian Accent the ideas and flavours are from everywhere To me this is the future of menusrdquo he saysu00a0The final word perhaps came from Gary Mehigan the celebrated chef and judge of Masterchef Australia who told this correspondent during a master class in the city last month ldquoA recipe is only a roadmap to your own individual food journey Follow your instinctsrdquo Thatrsquos exactly what the newage chefs are up to