PUTTING AN INDIAN SPIN ON CEVICHE

With its sweet, sour and spicy notes, Peruvian ceviche has made its way into restaurants as chaat and salad

- Jahnabee Borah

Last week, Peruvian ceviche received the Unesco's Intangible Heritage status, a prestigious honour that recognises a dish as a cultural emblem. In Peru, ceviche connects different regions-the west is marked by the long coastline of the Pacific Ocean, and the east is fenced by the Andes, which is the starting point of the mighty Amazon river. The terroir is reflected in the Peruvian diet in the form of fresh water fish and seafood the hero ingredient of ceviche. The other equally important ingredient is fresh lime juice.

"There are about 2,000 varieties of lemons and limes in Peru; and I can guarantee that you won't find such diversity anywhere else in the world," says Peruvian chef Kinyo Rodas Tristan, who heads the kitchen at the Nikkei restaurant Koishii in Mumbai.

To prepare ceviche, fresh fish is cured in a mouth-puckering lime dressing leche de tigre spiced with chillies and red onions. This is mixed with boiled sweet potato to balance the acidity, says Tristan, and topped with toasted corn named chullpi. The blend of soft and crispy textures combined with the triad of Bat sour, sweet and spicy flavours comes close to chaat a ready template for the Indian palate.

About a decade ago, chef Manish Mehrotra introduced a tuna bhel ceviche at Indian Accent in Delhi. In 2021, chef Hussain Shahzad created a sea bass sev puri at The Bombay Canteen. In 2022, Koishii opened in Mumbai with five different ceviches, including vegetarian options like corn ceviche with spicy mayo, eggplant ceviche and the crowd-favourite, mango ceviche.