GOT SAUCE?

From dribbling processed additions - ketchups and mayo and 'southwest' included - Indians are looking inwards at local ingredients, and their potential to create our own condiments

- SAMREEN TUNGEKAR

Controversial opinion: When fast food chains took over our senses in the 90s, and ketchup with everything was the norm, our own condiments took a backseat. As a 90s kid, this writer remembers the craze that Subway's sauces brought in 2001 - we sweet-onioned and mint-mayyoed our sandwiches, and gave their competitor - the chutney - a hard pass because the homegrown retail game in this case, harsh as it may sound, was not so strong.

However, the last few years have been about going local in all walks of life, but especially in the food sphere, the change has been significant. This change, while being driven by consumers and their quest to appreciate their ingredients, was also fuelled by the surge of an entire market that decided to offer the country its finest ingredients in the form of condiments. Suddenly, chicken poppers didn't need a bottled, sweetened sauce to dip into.

SOME LIKE IT HOT

The pandemic has been a game changer for artisanal sauces, especially the hot ones. Just in time for 2020, Naagin Sauce started its journey towards being India's first truly Indian hot sauce brand in 2019 and eventually ventured into becoming a pantry essential with their spice mixes. Making small-batch hot sauces, Naagin's focus is bringing to the forefront India's premium chillies. Each sauce is a different grade of hot, with chillies from different states. The brand's The Original uses Sankeshwari chillies from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, and their hottest number 10 sauce - the Smoky Bhoot - uses Bhut Jolokia from the Northeast, the hottest chili pepper in the world.