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India's super-rich vegetarians want more than paneer. So, high-end chefs now offer exotic mushrooms, creamy cheeses, hardto-find veggies and more. Bless the bounty

- VIR SANGHVI

India may have the world's highest proportion of vegetarians as a percentage of the population. And though all Indian vegetarians are not economically better off than Indian non-vegetarians, a remarkably high proportion of rich people in India are vegetarians.  I reckon that the majority of Indian multi-millionaires and billionaires are vegetarians.

And yet, when we talk about restaurant food in India, few fresh vegetables are involved. Paneer is a favourite. Gobi goes on kebab skewers. Cheap vegetables go into a Navratan korma. But as India gets richer, wealthy vegetarians do not want to feel like second-class diners eating sanitised versions of non-vegetarian dishes.They went an experience that rises above the meals offered to non-vegetarians or at the very least, one that is in the same league.

Chefs have now identified certain ingredients that vegetarians will nearly always like. Cheese is one example. The trick is to avoid any cheese with character. Blue or smelly cheeses are out. Mild parmigiano, cheddar and gruyère usually work as flavours or salad ingredients, as does mozzarella.

But a new favourite has emerged: Burrata. This is not a traditional cheese and was invented in the 1920s as a by-product of mozzarella-making. Now, it is a globally popular fresh cheese and has a creamy taste that Indians love and has no fermented flavour. It has become the favourite cheese for people who don't really like cheese.