Chef Hari Nayak: When Western chefs can drizzle chilly oil on a dish, why should we mask naturally created rogani in Indian dishes?

Chef Hari Nayak (left); his restaurants Sona in New York City (top, right) and Jhol in Bangkok.

Chef Hari Nayak, the founding chef at Priyanka Chopra’s Sona restaurant in New York, says that when it comes to Indian cuisine, it is time to stop changing it to suit Western palates, and to keep things simple, fuss-free and focus on taste.

(Sona was launched in 2021; Chopra has since exited the restaurant.)

Nayak, an Udipi-born chef, culinary consultant, and cookbook author, spoke to Moneycontrol about his food philosophy, why he's looking to regional Indian food for inspiration, why oil floating on top of gravies doesn't bother as many people now, the growing "focus on more vegetarian, vegan, healthier eating, and communal living" in the US and the decline of "fine-dining approach of white tablecloth". Excerpts:

Crab Puri Caviar at Sona Restaurant, New York City.

What inspires you to pick certain dishes on your menu?

Whenever I design the menus, I always get the chef, who is locally involved here and the team to be a part of that process as well. What I have realised as I have matured as a chef is I want to do less: less drama and reduce things like smoke that was very popular a few years back. It has become more relevant for me to do something from India rather than trying to bring something from the West. I want to come back more often and have already started planning for the next menu.

Being from Udupi, how did your Karnataka connection influence the use of hyperlocal aspects in the menu?

Apart from the Iyengar bun, we also have a Mysore Pak cheesecake. We also have done a holige in the past with hazelnut and Nutella and there is Neer Dosa as well. The street corn in Bangalore has also got a modern version. And the Konkan Coast is a dessert that has coconut and jaggery. We want local flavours so that people feel it reminds them of something.

Jackfruit Sukka Appam at Jhol, Bangkok.

You have done much to change the perceptions of Indian food in the global market. Tell us more.

What we used to do before in the Western market was trying to recreate Indian food to match their palate. And in some ways, this is changing our cuisine and, hence, diluting Indian food. Our cuisine has become very different in the West. Nobody has taken a bold step and said that if there is oil floating on top of a qorma, it is what it is. We need to showcase what our cuisine is the way it is meant to be. For instance, when a Western chef can drizzle chilly oil on top, we have a naturally created rogani, so why mask it? I have also fallen into this trap in the past, I have realised that I must serve it the way it should be had, and people have accepted it and that is what is changing. There is nothing we need to do to our cuisine when you present it, especially regional food and I am learning new things.

Do you consciously include a lot of seasonal-based cooking in your menus?

Yes. At Jhol, we have Thai influences, so we use Thai ingredients to make a poriyal. We have ingredients like Morning Glory and vegetables found in the local market which I use in my dishes. That is the key and in our New York restaurant Sona, we have a farmer’s market right there at Union Square market. In the US, they are very hyper seasonal, and I also follow that a lot. So, if tomatoes are in season, I make something with it and highlight that ingredient. It is more difficult to use what is locally available and we should do that more instead of importing an ingredient just because it is in trend. As part of my yearlong partnership with Four Seasons Maldives, this is all about using the freshest, local Maldivian produce with global influences.

Magic Mushroom at Alchemy, his restaurant at The Chancery Pavilion in Bangalore.

Is there a newfound interest in Indian food, especially after Meherwan Irani’s Chai Pani was voted as the best restaurant in America?

There are many critics, but I feel so proud, and I believe that it is only going to help the entire Indian ecosystem of restaurants in the US. It is in Atlanta and people there appreciate what they do, and their food is done in a fun casual way.

Interiors of Sona, New York City.

Is New York popular for destination weddings, and do you see any trends around food in weddings?

New York is not really a place for destination weddings. New Yorkers probably look at upstate New York where there are these cool farms and places around New York where they go for weddings. In general, there is an increased focus on more vegetarian, vegan, healthier eating, and communal living. The fine-dining approach of white tablecloth is diminishing. Young chefs are doing what they want to do, inspired from their heritage.

Chef Hari Nayak at work.

Plant-based, zero waste and sustainable cooking are concepts that are spoken of now, what do you make of it?

I think a lot of people do it for the sake of marketing because it sounds cool, and they will get the attention from Michelin. In India, I am not sure but there are a handful of chefs who are doing it and hopefully they will create that next wave, but there is a long way to go.

Interiors of Jhol, Bangkok.

What are you looking at next?

I am opening a new Jhol in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and a new concept restaurant in Delhi by the end of this year. And while publishing books takes a lot of time and I have a dream to do a book on Udupi cuisine from a professional chef perspective.