Food for thought is a philosophical exercise-thought for food, the new philosophy. The modern Indian culinary universe is a galaxy of new tastes, aromas and visual feasts; the supernovae are a glittering array of gadgetry, from Kitchenaid food processors to non-stick silicone bakeware. The world has got smaller, making the Indian a curious gourmet in the cusp of the traditional and the nouveau. Other shores have come to our tables—Khow Suey is as common as khichri, pâté is made at home just like another chutney. The New Indian Kitchen is the gleaming novel terrain of Indian middle class scrumptiousness.
In Kolkata, housewife Bishnupriya Mandal is particularly proud of her latest acquisition—a milk frother. “My daughter loves to top up her desserts with whipped cream. For long, I worried about how to make her eat healthy, without taking away the fun in her eating, and my cooking. Then I asked a friend in the US to get the frother. Now I whip up skim milk to resemble whipped cream, and my daughter doesn’t know the difference.” In her modular kitchen, which has a Samsung Smart Cook built-in oven, Kitchenaid food processor and a Kohler pull-out spray faucet among eye-catching gadgets, her favourite is the relatively down-to-earth cast iron Dutch oven. “I got attracted by slow food while in the US—so when I returned, I paid extra duty to lug back this heavy beast, in which I cook bœuf bourguignon and onion soup.”
Her self-designed kitchen is a perfect balance of smart looks and functionality. “Most modular vendors provide complete solutions based on European needs. I needed a kitchen that fit my needs. So I bought modular fittings from Häfele and appliances I needed, and got a carpenter to fashion the kitchen the way I wanted,” she says.
THE KITCHEN CABINET
What then epitomises the new Indian kitchen? Clearly, modular design is the order of the day, allowing better utilisation and allocation of space, easy reach and orderly placement of items. With every international kitchen brand making a beeline for India, and local brands mushrooming to bridge the price gap, the basic kitchen—a small linear, 6-foot long affair with cabinetry, cooktop, chimney and sink—costs around Rs 1 lakh. It all depends on the size, design, fittings, appliances and finish you desire. While the basic Veneta Cucine kitchen may cost Rs 1,25,000, adding a Kaff chimney and 4-burner glass cooktop will cost Rs 30,000 more; a double sink Rs 12,000 and a built-in oven between Rs 30,000 and Rs 2,00,000.
Kitchens from Häcker, the high-tech German brand, cost up to a staggering Rs 80 lakh and includes all appliances by Miele; from refrigerator to dishwasher and ovens. At their Kochi store, dealer Thomas Tharakan says, people are ready to spend Rs 50 lakh plus on customised kitchens. As academic and food critic Pushpesh Pant put it, “For rich Indians, their new kitchen is something to show off, like an Audi or BMW in their porch, or a 3D TV in the drawing room.” Häcker stocks premium appliances by German brands Miele and Siemens that make refrigerators, dishwashers, microwave and built-in ovens, cooking ranges, hobs and chimneys. “When people build 30,000 to 40,000 sq ft houses costing crores of rupees, why not spend a couple of lakhs more on a kitchen?” asks Thomas.
Pallavi Vivek, manager of Kochi’s Veneta Cucine, an Italian kitchen brand, says apart from the cupboards and fittings, they also offer a selection of customised accessories like warmer drawers, combi-ovens, wine coolers, coffee makers, dish washers and more. “People who organise parties at home ask for more than one warmer draws, in which temperatures can be set to their needs, so that food can be served warm, anytime,” says Thomas.
MENUS AT WORK
It’s not just the Indian table that has grown out of Chinjabi and club sandwiches by way of international flavours. Authentic flavours and textures of global cuisine are attempted at home by international travellers. Everyday home cooking is upped a notch with fresh whole spices—kokum from Kochi or saffron from Srinagar. For home-made freshly baked Kaiser rolls or Danish pastries, a convection oven, preferably built into the kitchen wall does the trick. Siemens and Kaff lead the international brands of ovens and cooking ranges, with a pan-Indian presence. Faber and IFB offer the local, affordable challenge.
Bangalore-based dentist Shraddha Bahirwani loves to bake. “My Kaff oven is the most-used object in my kitchen,” she says. Her kitchen has a central island with a cooktop. “It’s important to have space around while cooking and my kitchen island tailored to my needs,” she notes. Her dates-and-walnut cakes are a hit with all. “My family loves steaks and grilled food, too. I’ll be buying a Weber grill soon,” she says.
Bahirwani feels the demand for refrigerators has also changed. Most available new foods being perishable, today’s amateur chef needs a cavernous (“Like Nigella’s”) chamber, with multiple doors and temperature settings, that can hold not only the week’s rations, but also exotic foreign condiments, used maybe once a year. LG, the South Korean white goods giant, globally popularised the side-by-side concept now also made by Samsung, Sharp, Hitachi, and Siemens; the units range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2-3 lakh.
Ekta Malhotra-Bhattacharya, Delhi-based educator feels multiple fridges are necessary in a modern home. “I have an all-purpose double door fridge for the week’s rations, leftovers and condiments. Our wine cooler has a built-in bar to hold my husband’s collection of imported wines, and a ice-cream freezer to chill beer for parties.”
THE NEW GOURMAND
Kolkata-born Aaloknanda Das’s terrace-linked bachelor pad in Bangalore plays host to several parties a year, where pastas, steaks, canapés, salami, French bread, crudités and cocktails are a must. Twenty-eight-year-old Aalok whips up these international favourites himself.
He is thinking of writing a cookbook, “Cooking came naturally to me. I grew up in a family that’s very particular about food.” His tryst with the ladle and pan began when he went to abroad as a student. “I learnt how to cook during my two years in Australia.” Youngsters are not satisfied with simply travelling abroad—to study or on work—and stay cocooned in desi ghettos and pine for rajma-chawl. They love to experiment, first at restaurants, and eventually, at home. As Aalok put it, “I do a bit of research before trying a new dish, and try to keep my version close to the original.”
His kitchen is stocked with pork and beef bouillion, Kikkoman (Japanese soy sauce) and other ingredients he has sourced from friends and family abroad. The first ones to buy his cookbook may be newlyweds Manasa and Kishore Reddy of Hyderabad. They might be complete culinary novices, but the wedded state has encouraged them to experiment. “She Googles recipes on her iPad, and starts cooking,” says Kishore appreciatively. Not for him the regular sambar and rice. “I’ve tried Japanese, Thai, Italian and Mexican,” says Kishore, who, like his wife, is a software engineer. “I love pasta—that is, if it’s cooked right.” With the zeal of the neo-convert, he continues, “Indians tend to overcook pasta.” As for Manasa, she’s just happy to see Kishore glow with pride about her cooking skills. “I’ve started on Italian dishes, and thin-crust pizza is on top of my priority list. I would also love to cook Lebanese food—it’s so delicious.”
When it comes to get-togethers, this couple prefers to keep things simple. “But we also make bite-sized pizzas—they’re easy and popular,” says Kishore.
EXPERIMENTS GALORE
A year after returning from Doha to Bhubaneswar, Sushri Subi admits daal-bhat and parathas in her kitchen are fast being replaced by Chinese and Italian dishes. “My husband and son love noodles, pastas and pizzas. Sausages, baked beans and pastas are regular breakfast and dinner fare,” she says. Her modular kitchen holds rows of sauces, condiments, cheeses and herbs.
The availability of previously hard-to-find ingredients and proliferation of TV shows, are creating a whole new culinary mosaic, she feels. Bhubaneswar today has a lot more of speciality stores stocking world cuisine ingredients, spices and assortments.
At a party hosted by her husband last month, Sushri tried cooking up a strom of Burmese, Thai and Singaporean dishes. She made Singaporean Laksa with Burmese Khow Suey. For starters, she had mushroom dumplings and Trio vegetables in Thai herbs. In salads, she put Gado Gado (Indonesian salad with peanut sauce), Som Tum (raw papaya salad) with a shrimp paste dressing, and Oriental chicken salad. Despite exotic names, these are not always that complicated to make—what matters is that there is something new and delectable each day.
In India—where travellers and invaders have, for millennia, brought in various gastronomic ingredients and styles—the new food revolution is also led by the entrepreneurial skills of some who have lived and dined overseas. New restaurants offer exciting and exotic cuisines made in operatic modern kitchens, spreading the gospel even as you munch on your felafel sandwich while reading this article.
Pushpesh Pant sees the new kitcheners as arrivistes. “In several surveys I’ve conducted, many Indians buy fancy kitchens and gadgets to keep up with the Joneses. With so much disposable incomes so early in life, as social upstarts, they want to mark their social arrival by claiming familiarity with good food.”
Nevertheless, it’s not just upper classes and nouveau riche who are indulging in new equipment and ingredients. Chef Murtaza Saifee, sous chef at The Park, New Delhi, differs says, “New gadgets are a welcome change in domestic Indian cooking, because they save a lot of time. Our mothers had the time to cook for hours on end, but with today’s fast paced life, one can’t afford that any more. Besides, many of the appliances are not cuisine specific; so if creatively used, they can perform wonders.”
According to chef, restaurateur and author Marut Sikka, in European cooking, such appliances are often a necessity. “In India, labour is cheap; so people can afford labour intensive cooking. Mostly though, these gadgets assure consistency, very important in the restaurant business, besides increasing productivity. No wonder then that they were first adopted by 5-star hotels, before filtering down through standalone restaurants to individual households.”
Across the kitchens of urban India, amateur chefs are experimenting with new and high tech equipment and exotic ingredients to transform the way we eat, cook, and live. All are invited to the party.
With inputs from: Ayesha Singh (Delhi), Diana Sahu (Bhubaneswar), Manu Vipin (Kochi), Kruthi Gonwar (Hyderabad) and Preeti Arasu (Chennai)