Pop up goes India's food culture on the global plate

Goan amsol with pork and clams at Goan chef Gracian De Souza's Gastronomy of Goa pop-up at The Table, London.

It’s the oldest thing on the menu and definitely the most flavourful. The 10-year-aged miso, dark and almost peanut butter like in texture, coats a perfectly cooked prawn. It’s a dish that has us in raptures.

I am at the Noon x Cenci pop up in Mumbai, in September, and this is but one of the dishes on a fabulous ten-course menu. The meal is a collaboration with Chef Ken Sakamoto of the Michelin-starred Cenci, and Mumbai’s fermentation queen, Chef Vanika Choudhury. The first part of this collaboration happened earlier this year, when Choudhury went to Japan and wowed diners with her food. “It was a cultural exchange and a great way of showcasing India and its micro-cuisines, through its ingredients,” she says.

Marina Balakrishnan's pop up in Milan.

Indian food is certainly making waves globally. There are Indian restaurants opening in major cities and tourist destinations. Indian food, and restaurants, are finding their way onto ‘Best of’ lists. Indian products and foodstuff are winning awards. And most excitingly, we have Indian chefs taking their cooking to international shores, feeding a different set of diners.

Earlier this year, Godrej Foods Trends Report 2023 had 71 per cent of people predicting that travelling chefs, mixologists, and restaurants would visit India and Indian chefs and bartenders will travel abroad for collaboration. This year, as predicted, has seen many such collaborations. Indian Accent and chef Manish Mehrotra made an appearance at Singapore’s Mandala Club for 17 days. Chef Hussain Shahzad of The Bombay Canteen took his cooking to Spain, and, most recently, New York. Last month, Prateek Sadhu showed off his modern cooking at a four hand dinner at Marguerite, as part of the Kita Food Festival.

Chef Prateek Sadhu's Unicorn pani puri.

“The international community has realised there is greater potential in India today. Everybody is looking at SEA as the next destination where food trends will be cultivated. This gives us a great opportunity to showcase our heritage,” says Shahzad, executive chef, Hunger Inc Hospitality.

The bounty of Indian food

Vanika Choudhary started Noon with the aim of celebrating the indigenous produce across the country, and showcasing the culinary wealth — techniques, processes and ingredients — of India’s tribal communities, and bringing these into mainstream dining. This year, she took her story, and her fermentation and ingredient-driven menu global — to Cenci in Japan, COMO Uma Paro in Bhutan, and 180 Corner on the Strand in London. “I want to share stories about communities and cultures in different countries, and show people how these rural, and oft-forgotten ingredients and knowledge can be brought to life with contemporary flair.”

Arroz di Marisco by Gracian D'Souza.

Also in London, Goan chef Gracian De Souza did a Gastronomy of Goa pop-up at The Table London, serving Portuguese-style mackerel escabeche, duck leg vindalho, Goan amsol with pork and clams and chourico ragout.

By Shriya Shetty at Jhol, Bangkok.

At a recent collaboration at Jhol in Bangkok, chef Shriya Shetty crafted a six-course Regions Menu to showcase Karnataka’s culinary diversity. Dishes included lavancha smoked mutton with ragi and onion bread, slow-cooked pork belly with kachampuli, and banana halwa laddoo with cacao nibs. “We felt it was important that people know the different regions in Karnataka and their food. We found that people were interested in the stories and philosophies behind the dishes,” says Shetty, partner, Pupkins Hospitality.

Oottupura's Marina Balakrishnan with Chef Garima Arora (right).

It was during the pandemic that Marina Balakrishnan founded her Oottupura, to spread awareness about the bounty of Keralite vegetarian food. This year, she achieved her dream of taking the food global — teaming up with chef Ritu Dalmia in Milan, with chef Garima Arora in Bangkok, chef Sujan Sarkar at Baar Baar in New York, and cooking in Mexico and Dallas. On her menus were dishes like Kerala cutlets, parippu vada (lentil fritters), roasted eggplant coconut gravy with parotta, and beetroot thoran. “It was my intention from the start…to take my home-style, vegetarian Keralite food global,” she says.

Chef Hussain Shahzad prepping for the dinner at Eleven Madison Park, New York.

In India, perhaps, one of the most prolific chefs working towards popularising the diversity of her cuisine is chef Shahzad. Most recently, he cooked a plant-based menu — carrot podi tartare, Kashmiri grilled aubergine, apple jalebi — at Eleven Madison Park, in New York City, for its Alumni Dinner Series. In Spain, he used Basque ingredients in Indian dishes — Parma ham masala papad, achari anchovy, and short rib nihari — at a four hand dinner. “Our food is drenched in tradition and at par with any other global cuisine. People are more aware of that now.” ​

Reaping the benefits

There are numerous benefits to pop-ups for the chefs and diners, which explains their tremendous popularity over the years. From a diner’s perspective, it is the opportunity to eat a chef’s food they may not otherwise have access to. Similarly, for a chef, it is the chance to share their food philosophy with a new set of diners.

“It gives you the opportunity to spread the gospel of what you are doing back home. It opens doors for you, and introduces many other people to your food,” says Shahzad. “For us chefs, it is the ability to gauge a different market, and culturally, learn how to cook for another country. You get to interact with a different community of chefs and build friendships.”

Chef Vanika Choudhury (right) foraging Bhutan.

Choudhary concurs. She went foraging for rosehip and Sichuan pepper and bamboo shoots in Bhutan, which was “enriching”, and in Japan, visited the oldest rice vinegar master in the country. “Immersing yourself in another culture is how you grow, personally and professionally.”

Then there’s the feedback from customers, many of whom are eating this food for the first time.

Balakrishnan receives the most heartwarming reactions to her food. There is the Italian man in Milan who waxed nostalgic about how his grandmother’s cooking. Or the Tamilian man in New York who said, ‘thank you for bringing my paati alive today’. “If someone tells me my food reminds them of something their grandmother used to make, it is the highest compliment my cooking can receive,” she says, “People are looking to feel connected through food and want some sense of familiarity.”

Chef Vanika Choudhury foraging Bhutan.

Choudhary had diners who had eaten her food at Cenci in Japan, who flew to Mumbai for the Cenci pop-up at Noon. At her pop up, Shetty saw diners engage with the food in a wholesome way: “they understood textures and flavours and the subtlety of this Indian food, which is far removed from its stereotypes.” Hussain talks about getting a standing ovation in Spain. “They haven’t seen Indian food cooked like this,” he says.

Chef takeaways

Chef Gracian D'Souza.

For De Souza, doing these events is a chance for him to reinforce the idea of modern Goan food. “The whole world is moving to progressive Indian food and such an event opens the mind to the possibility that Goan food can reach there too,” he says. “Everyone relates to Goa as a party place, so, this is my way of exposing them to our cuisine and how distinctive it is from Indian food.”

The biggest takeaway for Shetty was “the world is ready to see regional Indian food on a larger scale. Once upon a time, it was chefs pushing the narrative. Now, the diners want to know more about micro-cuisines and other aspects of Indian food.”

Hussain Shahzad, executive chef at Hunger Inc Hospitality with Daniel Humm, Chef & Owner of Eleven Madison Park.

Shahzad believes that the reason there are more pop-ups and collaborations taking place is because chefs have become more open about their kitchens. “This generation of chefs is more open to sharing and collaborating. We take pride in our culture and food, and when we talk about it with that pride and conviction, others take notice.”

Michael Wilson and Chef Prateek Sadhu.

If these pop-ups are any indication, the world certainly is taking notice.