Do you want to have Chinese tonight, or Italian?” If one could have a penny every time someone made this statement, then… you know the gist. But when this came up in a recent dinner conversation with friends, it struck me how there are such limited regions that we speak of when it comes to food that we order. Have you ever heard someone ask you to choose between, say, a Sri Lankan curry and a German schnitzel?
Of course, the argument to this is that cuisines such as Sri Lankan are what you’d largely deem exotic in metropolitan circles. While I do agree, I realised at the same time that it wasn’t impossible to find food from less-explored places—all from the comfort of your home in Delhi.
For instance, the weekend after I moved to a new home, East Delhi-based home chef and friend, Kartikeya Sinha, sent me a parcel of comfort for all things Indonesian. Interestingly though, it wasn’t Nasi Goreng or Satay that one would expect—this one was inspired from food that Sinha himself experienced during his five years in Indonesia.
Sinha’s package featured Gulai Ayam (boneless chicken in a spicy coconut milk-based curry), Tumis Kangkung (morning glory stir-fried with garlic and chillies), Tempeh Kecap Manis (crispy tempeh with garlic, chillies and sweet soy sauce), Urap (a salad with steamed vegetables tossed with kaffir lime leaves, galangal and coconut), Nasi (steamed rice), and Sambal (spicy Indonesian chutney). For dessert, there was Kolak Pisang or sliced bananas simmered in coconut milk.
It was a lovely change, and made me think of what other cuisines I could try in Delhi. This took me back to the time when Ruchira Hoon, who runs an eponymous home food venture from her South Delhi residence, offered a Sri Lankan meal as one of her specials about a year ago. The latter has close links to food from the southern states of India, as well as from the South-East Asian countries—and is yet different in its spices, textures, and taste.
Another similar offering is from Nitika Kuthiala, who also runs Pahadi Pattal, Noida. Kuthiala serves authentic Himachali cuisine, which offers a peek into her childhood and food that you would largely not find in restaurants in Himachal Pradesh itself.
Darjeeling-born mother-daughter duo, Kusuma and Nicole Juneja, serve homemade Northeastern cuisine through their venture, Mood. While you’d find the familiar momos and thukpa in their regular menus, you’d also find influences of Bhutan—as well as the colonial impact that the quaint North Bengal hill-town had—in their food.
What they serve highlights the feeling of niche, regional, home-served food. As Nicole aptly sums up, “What we cook is always about what my mother is in the mood to cook!”
Vernika Awal
is a food writer who is known for her research-based articles through her blog ‘Delectable Reveries’