Modern Indian cuisine carries varying interpretations. In the 1980s, the word “modern” was used to present food in elegant and refined ways to match the ambience of iconic restaurants, such as Bukhara and Dum Pukht in New Delhi. The next wave came in the mid-1990s when dishes such as flambéed gulab jamun and grilled meat with brown sauce were seen in hotel restaurants. However, this concept didn’t receive much appreciation in India as people were still looking for food that was served at home and weren’t adventurous to new food ideas. In the early 2000s, with more Indian chefs returning from overseas, they brought back western influences and experiences to change India’s food scene. With influences from French and Italian cuisines, flavours have become less intense and pungent, and dishes took new forms in pizzas, burgers and tacos in casual eateries. The Modernist Movement Traditional Indian food had taken on various influences from the French fine dining world that involved individual plating and using French-style sauces to tapas-style small plates from Spain. Here influences of the were infused with Indian cuisine and traditional Indian dishes were reinvented in terms of both technique and presentation. Thick curries became French-style sauces and separate courses became a norm. London and New York woke up to Indian menus that served individual-plated portions of food. Then came Gaggan Anand and Manish Mehrotra who added creativity and a fun twist to dishes. Anand broke the rules and created the greatest Indian restaurant in the world — Gaggan— in the unlikeliest of places, Bangkok. Manish Mehrotra, on the contrary, redefined Indian food while living in India with the cult restaurant Indian Accent and gave birth to a new era of Indian food. Today, the scene is flourishing with successful restaurants across the globe. The chefs who started the modernist movement used techniques to enhance the visual and sensorial aspects of the dishes they served. Never did they want to take away from the traditional essence of what that dish meant, but simply make it more theatrical. Soon, the fancy presentations became more important than the flavour. “This is perhaps specific to restaurants that offer only a tasting menu where the entire concept is focused on an experience or a journey. Tasting menus reflect a chef’s personality, creativity, vision and own expression of food. As chefs, there’s so much we would like to offer our diners that can enhance their experience and open their minds to a certain cuisine or certain flavours and that can only be achieved when you move out of the standard dining patterns,” shared Chef Himanshu Saini, Corporate Chef, Trèsind. On the flip side, Saran “As an Indian chef I find it sad to see what people think of as food in India right now. Fine dining is a word that has casual and superficial meanings. Few invest time to question what chefs are serving, and when, and how. That appalling disconnect has fed and bred terrible trends like fusion. Hopefully, as people go away from food served in mini pressure-cookers and gol gappas in shot glasses, they will finally appreciate a cuisine that is modern and connected to its roots while also being progressive, inventive and comforting.” Small plates The last wave is a move away from seated multiple-course meals to a night out. Spanish tapas-style small plates don’t seek to impress with gimmicky theatrics, but still root to make you happy. In an interview Manjunath Mural had said that “Modernising Indian food is about using ingredients and cooking techniques from other cuisines, but still retaining a touch of Indian flavours.” Shahzad draws Jamavar Mount Street The Mango Kulfi Falooda Chicken Chettinad Green Pea Tokri Chaat, The Bombay Canteen Chef Himanshu Saini, Corporate Chef, Trèsind Chef Manish Mehrotra, Indian Accent, New Delhi 26|LUXEBOOK|MARCH 2023 MARCH 2023 |LUXEBOOK|27
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