The Stirring Pot
Forbes India|September 13, 2019

With the rise—and fall—of gimmickry and imitation in modern Indian cuisine, chefs are digging deeper into India’s hinterland to innovate and survive diner fatigue.

- Kathakali Chanda & Pankti Mehta Kadakia
The Stirring Pot

At Indian Accent, the modern Indian restaurant he helms in Delhi, New York and London, chef Manish Mehrotra gives the humble Indian flatbread a nifty makeover. By stuffing pillowy quarter-sized naans with molten blue cheese and pairing kulchas with oddball ingredients— smoked bacon, wild mushroom, among others—the 45-year-old reinvents stuffed parathas that are a staple of North Indian kitchens.

As open as he is to experimenting, Mehrotra was left bristling at a Delhi restaurant that served him bacon and blue cheese kulcha—a cross between two signature bread varieties at his own restaurant. “The chef doesn’t realise that blue cheese and bacon don’t get along well; both have strong flavours that clash when put together. It’s experiments like these that give modern twists a bad name,” says the chef, whose restaurant is the highest-ranked (60) Indian eatery in Best Restaurants list of 2019.

Mehrotra—widely recognised as the torchbearer of the progressive Indian movement—is not alone in his anguish over copycats and wannabes. Saransh Goila, founder of Goila Butter Chicken, recalls that before he launched his venture three years ago, he was approached by a number of restaurateurs looking to do modern Indian—“whatever Gaggan Anand does”. “They understood only the theatrics of Gaggan, but not his food philosophy,” says Goila. That the Bangkok-based Anand’s ‘yogurt explosion’ is in essence a flavour-packed dahi chaat was lost in fancy claptraps over his molecular techniques. Instead, F&B entrepreneurs became busy putting together dishes that were hashtag-worthy not in their flavours but in form—foams, spheres, smoke, what have you.

この蚘事は Forbes India の September 13, 2019 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Forbes India の September 13, 2019 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

FORBES INDIAのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
Forbes India

Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued

The pandemic has also brought with it an improved focus on hygiene, use of technology in dining, rise of cloud kitchens and resurgence in popularity of Indian ingredients

time-read
8 分  |
May 21, 2021
Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
Forbes India

Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years

As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years

time-read
10+ 分  |
June 4, 2021
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Forbes India

THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN

Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse

time-read
8 分  |
May 21, 2021
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Forbes India

LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE

Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment

time-read
7 分  |
May 21, 2021
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Forbes India

PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST

Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground

time-read
9 分  |
May 21, 2021
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
Forbes India

INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR

While clinical research will get a boost, having a skilled workforce and public spending on health care will be challenges in the near term

time-read
8 分  |
May 21, 2021
DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
Forbes India

DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION

As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India

time-read
8 分  |
May 21, 2021
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Forbes India

Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?

Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent

time-read
10 分  |
June 4, 2021
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Forbes India

EV Dream Still Miles Away

Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure

time-read
6 分  |
June 4, 2021
Living Waters
Forbes India

Living Waters

A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet

time-read
4 分  |
June 4, 2021