They went. They learnt. They changed Indian food!
Five Indian chefs settled in different countries have changed the way our cuisines are perceived abroad
I“NO ONE HUNGRY WAS A MOVEMENT INSPIRED BY THE BENGAL FAMINE IN WHICH OVER FOUR MILLION PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES.” –DEEPANKAR KHOSLA
f worldwide appreciation for Indian gastronomy is growing, it’s perhaps because of at least five Indian chefs who have settled in cities abroad. Not only are these chefs well-versed in the flavours and cooking techniques of their homeland, but they have also spent years studying the food, ingredients, antiquity and ethos of the international cities they live in.
Now, having finally understood the people they cater to, they have been marrying Indian flavours and cooking techniques with local ingredients to completely change the way that Indian cuisines are perceived.
How did they do this? Well, meet five chef owners who do very unique things with Indian cuisines.
INTERPRETING INDIA Deepankar Khosla Chef Owner, Haoma, Bangkok, Thailand
Deepankar Khosla’s pledge to the environment is strict. So are his vitality and passion for Indian cuisine.
Khosla cooks dishes based on his memories of India and interprets them in the wackiest ways possible. For example, his mattar ki lucchi is inspired by his memories of eating outside Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place.
Revolution is on Khosla’s mind, and not just when it comes to overturning the rules of Epicureanism. He started a movement called No One Hungry, for which his team not only made free meals for the destitute, but taught them to attain food for themselves as well.
Haoma recently received a three-star endorsement by the sustainability body Food Made Good.
“No One Hungry was inspired by the Bengal famine in which over four million people lost their lives,” says Khosla.
Chef Owner, Pickle, Dublin, Ireland
“WHY IS INDIAN FOOD SO GOOD? BECAUSE THESE FLAVOURS ARE REFINED BY EPOCHS OF HISTORY”
Pickle is inspired by maps of Northern India
and Ireland, and chef Sunil Ghai aims to serve authentic North Indian food cooked with the best Irish produce.
“Why is Indian food so good?” he asks. “Because these flavours are refined by epochs of history.”
In his menus, Ghai returns again and again to the street food of North India, modifying the techniques of grandmothers. With signature dishes like the aloo tikki inspired from a street food vendor in Gwalior and the goat keema pao (yes, not lamb), his cooking is both a love letter to India and a conquest of the stringency that can hold Indian cuisine back.
Ghai’s map of India has rough markings to show the regions of India that show up in his food. The map also reflects his journey as a chef. As a teenager in Gwalior, he cooked with his mom. In Delhi, he worked in formal kitchens.
Today, he explores the tastes and techniques of other regions whenever he visits India.
The other map is of Ireland, the home of the produce Ghai loves. “We have a great fan following with plenty of regulars, including Irish rugby players, actors and musicians,” says Ghai. “Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao loved it,” he adds.
All in all, Pickle is an ingredient-driven restaurant with a story behind every dish.