Rare and expensive ingredients are no longer necessarily exotic. Instead, local and seasonal produce is being used by chefs to create magic on plates
By MINI RIBEIRO
Innovation by chefs is on the rise, but not necessarily with exotic ingredients like kale, chia seeds, quinoa, goji berries, edible flowers, et al. Chefs are gladly embracing ingredients closer home, to craft unusual and exotic preparations, complete with flamboyant presentations, to reduce the carbon footprint and preserve the environment.
Amit Wadhawan, executive chef, The Oberoi, Bengaluru, opines, “Personally, I am not a huge believer of the fact that exotic ingredients make a dish an art. It is the play of flavours, the freshness of ingredients used and the textures, which brings a dish together in harmony. Use of exotic ingredients can only add a little drama, perhaps.”
He further adds, “Exotic is a very subjective term and very geo-specific. To an Indian diner a morel or a truffle is an exotic ingredient, but not to the Europeans or French. To a diner from Bengaluru khaad khargosh is exotic, to a Rajasthani it is not such a novelty. Thus, the nature of exotic ingredients is influenced by both rarity of the same in a region or the sheer quality of the ingredient which makes it exotic.”
Manav Koul, executive chef, Hyatt Regency Pune, concurs. “Today, most guests are well-informed and well-travelled. This creates a need for innovation and cross exposure of cuisines and ingredients. What might be a very exotic item in one cuisine, might be a staple in another.”
Bhaskar Sankhari, executive chef, ITC Grand Central, reiterates, “The definition of exotic ingredients has changed over the last decade, from imported and farfetched, it is now more of artisanal, handmade, locally sourced. People today are more concerned about the environmental impact of the food that they are eating.”
Chefs are thus celebrating local produce and turning to their backyards to see what is available. They have taken it upon themselves to revive traditional ingredients, re-acquaint guests with popular dishes of home-style cooking and yet, wow their palates. Many chefs believe, one merely needs to be resourceful and creative and a lot can be done with simple ingredients too. Sankhari declares, “I prefer to use unique ingredients like forgotten Indian grains, locally grown imported breed of mushrooms, and by far the best being Avocado, which remains my favourite ingredient,
knowing its health benefits.”
Chef Wadhawan concurs, “I love cooking with fresh ingredients like a basket full of fresh garden plucked herbs and a nice plump lamb. Some wonderful fresh fish with local coriander, Thai red chilli and soy and Indian cooking is close to my heart. I love techniques of slow cooking, fermentation, much more than just ingredients, but love working with elements like saffron, different roots and spices which can bring in unique flavours in food.”
Chef Koul is a great fan of mushrooms. He says, “I love mushrooms, as they are versatile, can be paired with different ingredients, can act as the protagonist or just enhance the flavour of a dish. Fillet of venison with wild mushrooms and bitter chocolate jus is one such signature dish of mine.”
And it’s not as if chefs have to scour the globe for rare vegetables any more. Most of these need not even be imported and are locally grown and procured. Nisarg Nirman, a pioneer and leading grower of exotic fruits and vegetables, has developed a range of exotic fruits and vegetables in India and supplies extensively to the hospitality industry.
If vegetables are now easily accessible, local grains of course are even easier to procure. These have always been around but health-conscious Indians have now taken to grains and millets once again and chefs are complying with this demand. Ragi has resurfaced in home and hotel kitchens alike and chefs are creating wondrous dishes. From risotto to gnocchi, pancake to kheer, ragi is being liberally touted as versatile. Jowar and bajra have been rediscovered with a vengeance and are making their way into both Indian, as well as global dishes.
A clever chef blends local ingredients and unique flavours to concoct bold new tastes. Chef Wadhawan explains, “Yes, a chef’s ability to innovate, use concepts like farm to fork, molecular gastronomy, using local produce in novel ways, are all his strengths to prove that he is a talented chef. Diners now are keener on tasting fresh food than canned or frozen products which may be even imported but do not offer the same taste as fresh ingredients. A lot of chefs are thinking local and acting global in their food.” It is all very well to experiment, but chefs unanimously agree that knowledge of matching flavour profiles and classical combinations is a must if spectacular signature dishes have to be created. Chef Sankhari plays around with several ingredients, blending the exotic with the familiar, often combining Indian and global flavours, albeit skilfully.
Combining elements of different culinary traditions also results in the genesis of exciting dishes, according to many chefs. Indian chefs often use the popular fruit mango to brighten up a flash fried seared steak by paring it with a zesty mango salad, or use good ol’ saffron in an exciting manner by infusing a baked fish with the robust saffron flavour and pairing it with herb rice.
Today, when creating unique dishes and plating them to offer a universal appeal, chefs need to be artistic and yet have an open-minded approach. Guest preferences, availability of ingredients, presentation, occasion, all cumulatively contribute to a dish with the oomph factor.
Chef Koul believes innovation is always the key to stay ahead in the game. “It need not necessarily only be unique, but can also be a new found perspective. A lot depends upon availability of the ingredients and who I am cooking for and their personal preference,” he quips.
Chef Wadhawan adds, “We recently did a Rajasthani Food Festival, for which we not only flew down chefs from our hotel in Jaipur but got a whole bunch of spices, roots, dried vegetables and even preserves from there to lend the most authentic rendering of the food. That, in many ways, was exotic for our diners. Currently, we are trying to pair chocolate with olives and fresh herbs like rosemary and tarragon.”
Chef Sankhari adds, “The best method to select batch of ingredients, is to use the “trial and error” method and different permutation and combination.”
Exotic need not always be expensive and that’s where a chef’s planning and budgeting skills come in. Chef Wadhawan elaborates, “I can do a wonderful
Kashmiri Wazwan food festival in Bengaluru which is exotic to the diners, without burning a hole in our costs. But, if I attempt to do a truffle festival or a grills promotion where I need to use imported meat like New Zealand lamb, Australian Pork or Norwegian Salmon, then yes, it will shoot my cost up extensively”.
Chef Koul cautions, “Budgets could go awry if a chef gets carried away. One needs to be level-headed while using exotic ingredients.” Obviously, locally sourced seasonal produce is preferred.
With evolved palates and matured taste buds, guests might seek the exotic, but they are also ready to allow chefs to let loose their creative side and churn out dishes that are unusual or exciting. And these could, in reality, be rustled up with ingredients grown locally and dressed up with a contemporary presentation. Small wonder then, that water chestnuts, makhanas, nachni and the like, are finding their way back into hotel kitchen shelves.
Clearly, in creating unusual dishes, exotic has been redefined by chefs in the hospitality industry.
