The taste of India

Japanese, Italian, Spanish, or even purified water - what's going to be the cuisine for Indians this year? We spoke to leading chefs of hotels around the country to find out their plans for the upcoming year. Sulekha Nair and Suman Tarafdar whet their appetites

Ananda Solomon
Executive Chef, Taj President, Mumbai

Spanish cuisine is the most popular and will dominate most tables in 2007. The cuisine is not alien to the Indian guest. It is very aromatic, earthy, healthy, colourful and nutritious. Any food is about colour, balance, harmony and taste. Spanish cuisine fulfills these parameters very well. Italian cuisine has been a favourite for some time now. The food is filling, the ingredients crunchy and the flavours appeal to the Indian taste buds. The olive oil used here is a great hit with Indians who have taken to using it in their homes. I think Italian will always be a preferred flavour but Spanish cuisine will be the cuisine this year.

Francis Luzinier
Executive Chef, Intercontinental The Grand, Delhi

Quick, light, fresh, healthy, sexy, eye appealing - that is the magic formula that I believe will hold sway this year. I would think that Asian food will dominate. Japanese, with not just the sushi and sashimi, but also the yakitoris, grills, and more wasabi will attract more people to the cuisine. Chinese will survive too, I am sure, and Thai, a personal favourite with me, will also be successful. Cuisines from Indonesia, Malaysia, and other parts of south east Asia will also be quite popular, as will be sandwich lunches, maybe with focaccia bread, and other such light food that allow people to continue working while providing the right nutrition.

Sujal Mukherjee
Executive Chef, Taj Bengal, Kolkata

The next 10 to 15 years are all about light food. Though it is difficult to pinpoint just one cuisine that will be popular this year, I see two clear choices emerging. Italian, which has been popular for a while, will continue to be so. It is very natural, and is especially suitable for the health-conscious. The cuisine is not overpowered with spices, and the olive oil makes the food lighter, as do salads, while pasta provides the carbohydrates. It is suitable for corporate clients and there is enough diversity within the cuisine for it to satisfy the gourmand. Though there are very few authentic Japanese eateries yet in India, the sushi-sashimi-teppanyaki is again a light option that will become even more popular. Other Asian cuisines like Chinese will also continue to attract palates. Seafood definitely scores over meat, especially red meat. From different fish to prawns, there are lots of options available and the Indian client is getting used to more variety. Even though Kolkata has been slower in adapting to new trends, we are getting full houses even on traditional holidays in Bengal.

Amit Wadhawan
Executive Chef, Goa Marriott Resort

Indian cuisine is the order of the day, but not the fat-rich food that most people are used to. With health and nutrition being the watchword today, courtesy media, slow food and home cooked food instead of fast food is what people will ask for. Earlier, North Indian food represented Indian cuisine. Now people want organic meat, lamb, fresh vegetables and more importantly, small portions so that they can sample a variety of dishes. They ask for a delicate touch of spices. To me, Indian tapas will be the most fashionable food to order in a restaurant. A variety of starters can be offered - one piece of fish can be cooked in so many ways in India, there is an element of surprise to the platter with so many different varieties from across the country to be sampled, experience various textures in every bite and at the same time it is filling and not fattening. Chinese cuisine has been very popular here and its Indianised version can be seen in most places.

Paul Noronha
Executive Chef, Chola Sheraton, Chennai

For the uninitiated Indian diner, Japanese cuisine is almost as alien as Spielberg's ET. But of late, many have in the past two or three years cultivated quite a taste for this food. To the Japanese, food is serious business. The core principles of Japanese cooking are simplicity, nourishment, taste, texture and presentation. Certain styles in Japanese cooking have gained credence such as sashimi, sliced raw seafood, which is an inescapable part of every Japanese table. No seasoning is added and this is an art form in itself with correctness required in shapes and sizes of cutting. Sashimi is presented decoratively and served with dipping sauces like lemon soy, vinegar soy or sesame sauce. Tempura is broiling with a glace.

The grilled meats or vegetables are finished in the pan with pre-made glazes, which add flavour to the ultimate sauce. Yakitori literally means bite-sized morsels of meat or vegetables, skewered or grilled over charcoal. It is eaten with a dipping sauce which is kept over time, gaining in strength and flavour by constant dipping of the half-grilled skewers in the liquid. However, it is now a generic word encompassing most meats or vegetables skewered and grilled in this form over charcoal. Most hotels are including parts of Japanese cuisine in their menus. European cuisine, which used to be popular, has been relegated only because it has been on the culinary scene for long and uses copious amounts of dairy products like butter, cheese and cream. Nowadays people prefer healthy food, where again the Japanese style of cooking scores over the European.

Joy Bhattacharya
Executive Chef, Hilton Towers, Mumbai

Healthy eating is the trend today and looks to continue in the future. So olive oil is used instead of the oft used mediums along with the freshest of ingredients, doing away with traditional methods of cooking and choosing instead to boil, steam and grill food. These are the trends visible in India for some time now, not just in hotels but also at homes.

Since the turn of the millennium, Japanese food has become a preferred cuisine as people prefer to eat sushi and sashimi or a teppanyaki and finish the meal. Japanese cuisine offers small portions, is usually stir-fried, the time consumed to cook them is short and use of oil is to the bare minimum. The nutrition content is high too. To a large extent, Japanese and Korean cuisine allow the playing up of presentation and for the chef to display his creative skills. The cuisine that remains popular is the best of the Oriental and Pacific Rim cuisine. There is a mix of traditional cooking, modern ingredients and an Asian garnish. Today, people have no time to eat 10-course meals. In such a scenario, such a platter is the best try.

Nariyoshi Nakamura
Master Chef, The Metropolitan Nikko, Delhi

Suddenly, Japanese food has become a style statement. The Japanese have taught the world the art of eating raw fish and turned it into a unique cultural experience. But there's more to Japanese food than sushi and sashimi. Delectable dishes like kake udon, tori teriyaki, shake batta yaki, tempura, moriawase, age dashi tofu are just a few of them. The most striking aspect of Japanese cuisine is the remarkable diversity of aromas and flavours - raw to simmered to deep fried.

Japanese cuisine is famous for its meticulous preparation and refinement in presentation. Food is served in small, carefully arranged portions with emphasis on visual appeal - the interplay of colours, textures, shapes and overall design. The basic set-up of a traditional Japanese meal is deceptively simple. It starts with a soup, followed by raw fish, then the entrée (grilled, steamed, simmered, or fried fish, chicken or vegetables) and ends with rice and pickles, with perhaps some fresh fruit and a cup of green tea. The Japanese base their cuisine on all four seasons. They believe that eating the first produce of the season adds 75 days to one's life.

Devraj Halder
Executive Chef, Uppal's Orchid, Delhi

The year 2007 seems to have in store an enormous scope in experimentation. Quality of food, comfortable ambience, entertainment and value for money would be the driving factors for sustainable food and beverage business as before. I would add on proximity, this year as most of us after our demanding work schedules find it a colossal task to wade through the traffic to eat out. Other concepts slated to grow are relatively new entrants - food stylists, taster's menus, organic food, spa cuisine, tea lounges, take-away foods, dial-up foods, power menus, breakfast segment, kid's cuisine, health drinks and global cuisines.

I also see an increase in vegetarians and sparing non-vegetarians. There is also an inclination towards the return of fine dining in the form of smart dining. Marketing of food is taking on a new profile. Passion would drive the food industry and on top of that balance of cuisines and pragmatic innovations would be key factors. The sector in India is sure to get more global reverence and all signs are visible for the emergence of an increasingly elite status for our country, our food and the way we eat.

Andrew Whiffen
Executive Chef, Oberoi, Delhi

I have been in India for a few years, and have seen cuisine choices change very fast. It is impossible to identify one thing as people keep seeking novelty. Yes, people are a lot more open with their experimentation, and the top-end diners generally opt for the best of the global produce, whether it is cheese or meats. At our restaurant, 360°, we have experimented with dishes like Mediterranean fish soup or the salmon tort, which even local clients are having, and coming back to have more.

Japanese cuisine is fairly expensive, but clients, better travelled and aware, are asking for things like sea urchins. Sales are increasing month on month, and cuttlefish, clams and oysters are figuring on the menu more regularly. Cuisines like Vietnamese and Korean too should find greater acceptance. Multi-cuisine eateries will remain popular as people like choice, and larger menus are not necessarily the best. Indian cuisine too has a lot of potential, but there will be a tempering in the use of ghee and butter.

Madhu W Krishnan
Executive Chef, Grand Maratha Sheraton, Mumbai

In my opinion, no one cuisine shall reign this year. Asian kitchens shall be very popular in their traditional and inventive avatars. Classic Japanese shall co-exist with inventive Chinese cuisine as will interactive culinary styles. In the international/western kitchen, no demographic specific kitchen dominates, save for the Italian which still holds its forte, but essentially inventive and ingredient-based signatures/culinary styles shall gain strength and popularity.

Many favourites have held their place last year like the Pan-Asian and Italian cuisines. While in a cuisine it could be the novelty that makes it popular, for another cuisine to work is its familiarity and one's comfort levels with its intrinsic flavours and aromas. For me, a cuisine works if its culinary style and approach allows the ingredients used to be portrayed at their intrinsic best - no unnecessary embellishments with them. For others, you cannot allocate one particular reason to it - gastronomy is more complicated than that.

Rajesh Variyath
Executive Chef, MBD Radisson, Noida

Though India has got varied cuisines within the country, the two cuisines currently on top are Chinese followed by Italian. Every high street has these two cuisines being served. They are still the most popular because of the ease of preparation and the right marketing adopted. I think 2007 will be a good year for Tapas Bars and snacks coupled with drinks. This concept has become very popular in the West and is catching up in India. This food is very easy to produce and can make use of any ingredient one has available at that moment. Tapas food is not low calorie, but is good for a change. Spanish food is also fast becoming popular and there are plenty of wines from Spain to complement it. This food is very attractive and appealing to the eye since the freshness of the ingredients is maintained as they are not put through laborious cooking processes. The medium of cooking is predominantly olive oil so cholesterol is negated to a large extent.

Elton Hurtis
Executive Sous Chef, JW Marriott, Mumbai

The year 2007 will be about new flavours and pedigrees. The focus will be on the purity of the ingredient. Pedigreed waters are totally in. Modern cities have water bars which focus on 'virginality' (the degree the water is protected from its surroundings) and 'minerality'. Don't be shocked if a waiter recommends a specialty water to go with the food! Japanese cuisine has been the most popular for some time now. That it is served in small portions and the modestly priced Japanese hors d'oeuvres washed down with oversized bottles of beer and overfilled glass of sake has been relished shows that people are willing to experiment. In my opinion a cuisine does not necessarily have to be healthy to be famous. On the health front, pro-biotics, which help populate the gut with good bacteria that helps strengthen our ability to fight infection and disease, will be a major buzzword in the nutrition world. Yogurt is the best-known source, but look for cheeses, cereals and drinks.

Rajkamal Chopra
Chef, Maurya Sheraton, Delhi

In today's seamless world, fusion cuisine is the new successful mantra. The overriding flavours that seem to catch everyone's palate are Italian and of course Asian aromas, since all the action is in this part of the world and more and more people are travelling to this region. Lebanese and Tex Mex were the rage for a while. But with the arrival of the convenient food 'pizza and pasta', Italian is making its presence felt. In the same breath is the 'noodle culture' that gives the Asian flavours a heads up.

Various factors make a cuisine popular. The taste should be acceptable to the local palate, or should be adaptable to local conditions. The availability of ingredients is crucial and the present scenario permits import of all kinds of ingredients to make the food as authentic and with as much flavour as possible. The perception of guests and frequent travellers has a say in this. Quality plays a big role too. The best ingredients, supported by good R&D are important factors; and finally today's buzz word - health. Anything imaginatively planned based on this virtue will be a hit.