On a starry evening within the Thar Desert earlier this 12 months, chef Hussain Shahzad of The Bombay Canteen ready a luxurious feast for visitors at Mihir Garh, a boutique resort in Jodhpur, one in all a number of properties owned by House of Rohet. His problem? To showcase the distinctive flavours of local Rajasthani ingredients, particularly gamey meats reminiscent of rabbit and quail, with a recent twist.
“Chefs are successfully leveraging the ecosystem they grew up in,” says Shahzad, whose love of quail was cemented rising up in Chennai, the place the chicken (more durable to come back by within the north of India) is a fixture on local menus. At this particular dinner, a collaboration between The Bombay Canteen and House of Rohet, he gave the chicken a inventive spin — slow-cooked with Mathania chilli, a Rajasthani selection identified for its deep purple color and powerful flavour. “Instead of the usual curry or roast, we tuck it into a taco, making it a fun, flavourful bite, with just a hint of smokiness,” he says.
Chef Hussain Shahzad
Quail tacos
Like many inventive minds, Shahzad finds inspiration near house, aiming to construct a extra sustainable, natural meals tradition. His cooking is rooted in heritage and household traditions — every dish telling a narrative, by its ingredients or the way in which it’s ready. And he’s not the one one; in the present day, cooks throughout India are sourcing lesser-known indigenous meats, grains, herbs and spices to create dishes filled with reminiscence, historical past and provenance. From Kerala’s sprouted coconut to Garhwal’s mandua millet, we observe down a number of of those beloved however exterior the mainstream should trys.
On a flavour hunt
My first cease is Guwahati, the gateway to the Northeast. The meals habits listed below are dramatically totally different from the remainder of India, with pork, pigeon, fish, and seasonal greens cooked in a light-weight broth or fermented to perfection. We are on the hunt for the thekera fruit, indigenous to the evergreen forests in Assam, and used as a souring agent in a lot of its dishes, together with the favored masor tenga, a tangy fish curry.
Thekera
Later, in Uttarakhand, we strive ingredients like bhang (hashish seeds), rhododendron, and nettle grass from the Tehri Garhwal area, that are slowly discovering their manner onto menus throughout India. “Bhang chutney, made from crushed seeds mixed with green chillies and coriander leaves, has no psychoactive effects,” says homestay proprietor and chef Deepa Pathak. “But it delivers a sharp hit to the palette.” In Garhwal, a wide range of grains — bajra (pearl millet), jhangora (barnyard millet), and kadra or mandua (kodo millet) — are creatively utilized in candy and savoury dishes. A local biscuit combines mandua, jowar, and bajra (which provide three to 5 instances the dietary advantages of rice and wheat) with floor flax and chia seeds.
A thali with bhang chutney and nettle saag
Further north, government chef Pankaj Singh Panwar of The Westin Resort & Spa, Himalayas, offers local nettle leaves a contemporary twist with a recent saag preparation. The pure bitterness of the leaves, we study, is eliminated by combining them with tender spinach.
Timur and sprouted coconut
But you don’t should journey far to expertise these local ingredients. They are travelling the size and breadth of the nation, because of cooks and eating places proudly showcasing these lesser-known ingredients. For occasion, timur, a uncommon and prized wild Himalayan pepper, identified for its citrusy aroma, is giving Sichuan peppercorns a run for its cash. “At Loya in Taj West End, Bengaluru, we roast and crush timur peppercorns before marinating fresh prawns, which is served with a pahadi bhang jeera chutney,” says chef Rajesh Wadhawa. “It adds an unexpected depth to traditional seafood dishes.”
Timur peppercorns
In Mumbai, Jérémie Sabbagh, head baker and associate of Suzette Bakery and Kitchen Garden, incorporates Garhwal’s grains in his breads for dietary worth. “We use it for most of our sandwiches at the bakery,” he says.
Coastal treasures are additionally making their mark. Thirty-five minutes away at Ekaa, which prides itself in crafting “culinary narratives shaped by India’s rich diversity”, one in all their current menus options hardly ever seen ingredients reminiscent of sprouted coconut — a delicacy from Kerala that kinds inside mature coconuts, and prized for its sweetness and ethereal texture. Indian sea asparagus is one other star, a wild, salt-tolerant plant that thrives in coastal marshlands. With its naturally briny, mineral-rich flavour, it brings a refined style of the ocean to each dish.
Indian sea asparagus
“Each ingredient is chosen not just for its flavour, but for the narrative it holds — the people who cultivate it, the environment that shapes it, and the traditions that have preserved it over generations,” says chef Niyati Rao of Ekaa. “These often-overlooked ingredients carry stories of resilience, craftsmanship, and the evolving relationship between nature and cuisine.”
Niyati Rao
| Photo Credit:
Nikhil Vaidya
Larder test
East
Northeast:Bilahi (tomato), bogori (Indian jujube), thekera, outenga (elephant apple), and kordoi (starfruit) can be found in contemporary and dry kinds. There’s additionally Naga chillies, bhut jolakhia (ghost peppers), fermented bamboo shoots, khar (produced from the ashes of banana peel), black sesame seeds, and maan dhania (wild coriander).
Odisha: Ambulo (dried mango) and badi (dried lentil).
North and West
Tehri Garhwal and Rajasthan: Cannabis, timur, rhododendron, nettle leaves, mathania chilli, and emmer (wheat).
South
Kerala: kodampulli (Malabar tamarind, a souring agent), sprouted coconut, and Indian sea asparagus.
Adding to cocktails
Indian mixologists are leaping on the bandwagon, too. Souring brokers reminiscent of kokum are getting used so as to add a tart, refreshing twist. In Pune, Kimaya Brewing Company gives a kokum cider. In Guwahati, microbrewery Terra Mayaa has crafted Aamras, a mango ale.
Even homegrown spirit manufacturers are getting inventive with Indian-inspired cocktails. “Hapusa’s Himalayan Negroni features Himalayan Sichuan pepper, a nod to the brand’s Himalayan roots,” says Vikram Achanta, co-founder of 30BestBarsIndia. At Masque in Mumbai, the group repeatedly experiments with uncommon Indian spices. “Terra, our raw turmeric-infused gin, has been a bestseller since day one,” says head mixologist Ankush Gamre. “We’ve also worked with tirphal bitters, jalpai, Bhavnagiri chilli, and apricot oils. Lately, we’re exploring more savoury, vegetal profiles — using local seaweed and leafy greens to create drinks with depth and complexity.”
So, on your subsequent night out, make sure to test the menu for one thing you will have by no means tried earlier than however that holds a particular place in local, indigenous delicacies.
The author relies in Mumbai.
