Baingan bharta and saag are my muse: Chef Chintan Pandya of New York’s Unapologetic Foods

(Clockwise from left) Chef Chintan Pandya (Photo courtesy of Unapologetic Foods); Dhamaka restaurant's exterior (Photo: Will Ellis); food spread at Dhamaka (Photo: Adam Friedlander)

Overseas, butter chicken and saag paneer may be the "stars" of Indian cuisine, but they’re perceived to be heavy and rich, particularly by a global audience. Challenging this misconception are chef Chintan Pandya and restaurateur Roni Mazumdar of New York’s Unapologetic Foods, a group that’s behind restaurants like Adda, Semma, Masalawala, and Dhamaka in the US.

The self-proclaimed "crazy" duo set out to serve unpretentious, homestyle Indian food in a foreign land, and ended up being celebrated for the "big risk". What makes them different? For one, they don’t serve rock-hard paneer (something that’s pretty common in the US) that will break their guest’s teeth. Jokes aside, the two wanted to bring the rarely talked-about regions of India to the forefront through their culinary creations.

Pandya (left) and Mazumdar at Dhamaka, New York City. (Photo: Clay Williams, courtesy Unapologetic Foods)

Dhamaka was adjudged the No.1 restaurant on the New York Times New Restaurants List 2021, and chef Pandya also bagged the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for best chef — New York in 2022. What’s more, they are the only Indian restaurateurs to be a part of the New York State Restaurant Association.

Pandya and Mazumdar are in India for the first time to recreate the Dhamaka experience for diners in JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity on February 24-25, 2023, and JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu on March 3-4, 2023 (the Dhamaka India tour includes four dinners). Jointly organised by Masters of Marriott Bonvoy and Culinary Culture (co-founded by Vir Sanghvi and Sameer Sain), the dinner menu will include Madrasi Egg Roast, Makke di Roti and Saag, Maach Paturi, Lasooni Jhinga, and Methi Gosht, among other dishes.

Edited excerpts from aa conversation with Chef Pandya:

So, Dhamaka translates to ‘explosion’. What dhamaka did you want to create when you thought of this concept?

I think Dhamaka is more about jumbled up pieces coming together. When we opened our first restaurant, I had suggested Dhamaka as the name, but Roni thought it was horrible. We had only met a few months ago and it was the first time we were working together. Plus, Roni had been living in New York far longer than me and I believed he knew better.

After Adda’s success, we decided to open Dhamaka in May 2020, but at that time, we hadn’t thought of a name. The restaurant was 70 percent done but COVID-19 happened and we didn’t know anything about the future.

The interiors of Dhamaka restaurant, New York City. (Photo: Will Ellis)

After the restrictions were relaxed, we resumed construction and by the end of November 2020, our space was ready. But indoor dining was still not permitted, so we had to wait until February 14, 2021 (there was a cap of 25 percent on indoor dining).

It was the same time that Roni’s wife was pregnant with her second child and could go into labour at any point. In hindsight, it was quite funny, Dhamaka opened up on February 14 and Arjun was born on February 15. It was quite a dhamaka!

Dhamaka food spread. (Photo: Adam Friedlander).

Your restaurants have names like Adda and Dhamaka. Is there a particular reason behind this?

For me, Dhamaka is a ‘perfectly imperfect’ restaurant; there’s really no sense to it. Except for Semma, I think most of our concepts are completely the opposite of what you find in textbooks.

Coming to Dhamaka, I believe we are all about fun-dining. I want people to come here and enjoy the food they eat. In fact, our service is also similar. We don’t have polished people working for us, but these are folks you can connect with. They are literally like your neighbours or say someone you meet in a bus or a train.

I recall a restaurateur from London dining with us, who was so impressed with one of our servers from Bangladesh. I remember having a chat with our server, when he mentioned his struggle of being hired elsewhere for the lack of a personality. We’ve never felt that, for us all that matters is his pleasant demeanour, and how great he is with guests.

You use the word crazy often, like every time you mention Dhamaka...

I think crazy is a cool word (laughs). But let’s say, we are also conscious of the market, even if we don’t do normal things. Of course, we are heavy on risk-taking, but we aren’t erratic. We won’t just say something is great, simply because we’ve done it. At the end of the day, a customer should accept us because we are at their mercy. I don’t believe in changing everything for them, but if they don’t enjoy something in particular, there’s always a reason behind it.

Dhamaka's Doh Khleh, a Khasi pork dish. (Photo: Adam Friedlander)

Why did you become a chef?

I come from a middle-class Gujarati family; a boy who has always loved eating food. When we went out to restaurants, the only thought that would cross my mind was that I’d get free food and never have to pay for it if I became a chef. This was around the time when I was 15-16 years old – my mother and other family members would poke fun at me.

Let me tell you something hilarious. Every time we would head to a restaurant, I wouldn’t order something I liked. Instead, I’d take a look at the prices and order the most expensive dish on the menu. That’s when I realised I wanted to become a chef because I could eat anything I liked, without having to shell out any money. I didn’t cook much at this point; little things here and there but no serious cooking.

What’s the one thing that’s insane, but you are unapologetic about doing it?

Bargaining (laughs). It’s in my blood and I do it in the US too!

Where do your recipes come from?

When I was working in India, I would travel a lot. Sometimes, you gain all the knowledge but don’t know where to apply it. Let’s take Champaran meat, for example. No one had heard of this dish about five years ago being served in restaurants. It’s a rustic dish that’s eaten in households in Bihar; it was not meant for a restaurant. Dishes like these have always excited me, and during my travels, I wrote down the recipe. Dhamaka gave me an opportunity to go back to these regional stars.

Dhamaka's Champaran Meat, a mutton dish from Bihar. (Photo: Paul McDonough)

You normally present Indian food to a global audience. What is it like to showcase your creations to Indian diners during this tour?

You know a lot of Indians have mentioned to us that they don’t get this food anywhere, even in cities like Delhi. We believe that people don’t want it, but they really enjoy it. Dhamaka has been a big learning for us. For instance, we serve the food in the same dish in which it is cooked. Have you eaten piping hot rice served in a pressure cooker on your table? The rice remains hot for 20 minutes, even after opening it. It may sound little, but these are things that make a huge difference.

What are some of your favourite things that will be served on the menu in India?

Baingan bharta and saag, both will be a part of the menu. I call them my muse.

Street food is integral to the menus you curate. What’s your favourite chaat?

Being a Bombay boy, I love bhel puri and sev puri. I also enjoy seekh kebabs as street food.