Why Micro Cuisines Are Taking Centre Stage In India
Why Micro Cuisines Are Taking Centre Stage In India : The takeover of social media, Reels, and the Explore feed can be blamed for many things, but the bright side of having access to it can be the debunking of certain myths, and an important one is this: There’s no such thing as ‘Indian cuisine’.
While we’re popular with the broader culinary landscapes of different states or even cities, a recent boredom (dare we say saturation?) with the most mainstream idea of food (cannot with chicken tikka masala anymore) has led to smaller regional cuisines finding their way to the average Indian consumer’s plate, so much so that this year’s Godrej Food Trends Report has listed micro cuisines as one of the major food trends to look out for.
NOT SO MICRO: Why Micro Cuisines Are Taking Centre Stage In India
A micro cuisine is essentially the sub-cuisine of a region, terroir, community, or place with distinctive characteristics and practices that are specific to that sub region only. It’s not just local with its ingredients, but it also has its own traditional cooking methods, preservation techniques and more, which give it a unique identity. A quick example: If Maharashtrian cuisine is the cuisine of the state, then Saraswat, Malvani, etc. would be its micro cuisines. Yes, you have, albeit unknowingly, sampled multiple micro cuisines over the years. It’s time to try some more.
The interest in micro cuisines is further validated by the 2023 Godrej Food Trends Report, which says that 64 per cent of the panel has predicted that diners want to try cuisines different than their own. Chefs, restaurateurs, even luxury hotels are doing their bit in bringing these micro cuisines closer to diners who are ready to experiment.
TASTES LIKE HOME
The culture of collaboration in the F&B and hospitality industry has a huge role to play in giving consumers of different cities a taste of regions they are not familiar with, but intrigued to try. Gita opines that the hospitality industry, especially chefs of five-star hotels, realise the need of the hour is wellness food, and are going all out to create awareness about micro-cuisines by hosting food promotions by culinary experts from different regions.
ITC Maratha’s ‘Indigenous Embodiment In Services’ is an example in that direction, as it offers local cuisine immersion through their food program, Local Love. The program showcases delectable curated regional thali experiences from the Pathare Prabhu micro-community of Maharashtra, a migrated community that’s known for its very unique Marathi-Gujarati cuisine style.
Yogen Datta, Executive Chef ITC Maratha and Area Chef West Region ITC Hotels India, has observed an uptake from guests for their Paplet Cha Bhujane, a unique dish made from fresh sea fish, from the Pathare Prabhu Local Love offerings.
Mumbai’s fine-dining restaurant, Ekaa, recently curated a pop up of Nagaland’s gastronomic delights as Ekaa’s chef Niyati Rao and renowned Naga chef Salangyanger Jamir came together after an extensively researched trip to the state to bring its authentic flavours to Mumbai through a pop up. A soup that was a take on Chef Salang’s mother’s Axone recipe was also a part of this curation.
Another example of the fine dining landscape upholding and popularising micro cuisines would be what chef Varun Totlani of Relais & Châteaux member restaurant Masque in Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi serves in their tasting menu. Currently, Masque serves a dish of Jackfruit, Pandi Curry, and Ambemohar Rice that takes inspiration from the Kodava cuisine of Coorg, among other dishes.
In fact, Masque has done various collaborations with online food publication Goya Journal and brought Lakhnawi food by Taiyaba Ali, who is drawing from her own heritage to shift the conversation around Lakhnawi cuisine from opulent and lavish, to restrained, resourceful and delicious, as it is cooked in homes in the region. Author and renowned chronicler of Marathi cooking, Saee Koranne-Khandekar, also took the reins at the Masque Lab to cook an experimental interpretation of Maharashtrian cuisine over seven courses, among others.
NOT JUST A TREND
Micro cuisines and the buzz around them do two things: Either you learn more about your own heritage and where your food comes from, or you are blown away by a dish or a cuisine that, in a million years, wouldn’t have occurred to you to try. From food historians to chefs, the unanimous vote is that finally, the country is lusting after its own offerings like it would after that ‘authentic’ Sicilian pasta in Italy.
This is not going to be a passing trend, but is the stepping stone to a bigger culinary revolution, they say. “Diners interest coupled with chefs and restaurateurs looking inwards to explore India’s vast and endless culinary traditions – that is what has led to the exploration of micro cuisines.
Chefs who come from different regional and distinct communities such as myself have a strong desire to showcase our home cuisines or reimagine it to create a new and desirable offering for our diners,” Chef Regi concludes.
