May living / Food issue 137

Top Table James Brennan talks to the Indian chef aiming to change the way the world perceives his country’s cuisine

anish Mehrotra is a man I want to tell the world India is a land on a mission. Not content of spices, not chillies. We believe in with opening a New York spice blends and flavours in the dish outpost of his New Delhi rather than numbing your mouth with Mrestaurant Indian Accent last year, the a whole bunch of chillies.” 43-year-old chef now has his sights He has a point. Along with the tomato set on London. The goal: to bring his and potato, the chilli pepper is a relative internationally attuned Indian cuisine to newcomer to the dinner tables of the a global audience and to do it with style. subcontinent. Its introduction to India by Opened in 2009, the original Indian Portuguese traders in the 15th century Accent was recently ranked 78th best had a powerful impact on an already restaurant in the world for its take ancient and complex cuisine, proving that on traditional Indian food. But while globalisation was just as potent a force Mehrotra has his eyes on some prime then as it is today. The story of Indian locations in Mayfair and Knightsbridge food has been shaped by Persian, Arabian, for its latest iteration, the bigger picture British, European and Chinese influences. involves showcasing to the world a Now Mehrotra is reimagining Indian cuisine he feels has been misrepresented food in a modern fine-dining context and outside India. sending it back out into the world. “Everybody thought we were a “You can say it’s modern Indian country of just curry and naan bread, food but it’s more like inventive Indian which is not true,” he says with a food,” he says. “They are the same hint of exasperation. “Even chefs who dishes reinvented in a global manner started cooking ‘real’ Indian food got – that’s international ingredients and confused between India as a land of presentation style without compromising spices and India as a land of chilli. But on traditional flavour or taste.” By the time the New York branch of Indian Accent opened in February last year, there was already a buzz about the place. “People had not seen anything like it before,” says Mehrotra. “Firstly it was a different kind of Indian

London , restaurant. We were the first to do one without biryani, kebabs, chicken tikka masala or saag paneer. It was completely  different. The flavours were traditional LCY but the presentation and ingredients were quite modern. We were the first ones to focus on seasonality.” The moment softshell crabs appeared in New York fish markets, they went 84 85 on the menu. In a break with Indian tradition, beef was used instead of lamb in pathar kebabs with bone marrow nihari. And the kulcha stuffed with Peking duck and hoisin sauce, which ruffled so many feathers May living / Food issue 137

in New Delhi when it first appeared, materialised in New York with pastrami and mustard. Indian Accent had picked up a New York drawl. And so to London. Britain’s long love affair with Indian food produced such delicacies as chicken tikka masala and the balti. Both dishes have become FIVE TO TRY “Indian food is still 1. Campton Place, San Francisco, US considered a cheap, Californian meets Indian at this two-Michelin-starred greasy take-away kind of groundbreaker in San Francisco. Executive chef Srijith Gopinathan’s food combines the restraint and cuisine. There is not that sophistication of European-influenced west coast much respect given” cuisine with the subtle and ingenious flavours of the subcontinent, which makes this Taj Hotel restaurant world famous. But while some purists well worth a detour. shun these Anglo-Indian hybrids for their inauthenticity, Mehrotra isn’t one of them. “When I used to work in London I stayed in Bow, which is 2. Gaggan, 3. Lasan, , UK quite near Brick Lane, so I have tried Bangkok, Thailand Once hailed as the UK’s all those dishes,” he says. “I have never Named Asia’s best best local restaurant by judged them as an Indian or as a chef restaurant for the last , this gem so I didn’t find anything offensive about three years and the of a progressive Indian them,” he says, adding that he has seventh best restaurant in in Birmingham’s historic no plans to incorporate them into his the world, Gaggan takes enlivens London menu. an Indian street food choice British ingredients “When we get going it will be Anand’s experimentation with Indian aesthetic and gives it a with authentic and wonderful to do my take on a chicken street food classics and molecular molecular twist. exciting Indian flavours. madras or a Bombay aloo, which don’t gastronomy are perhaps what’s needed A product of Ferran Chef Aktar Islam has exist in India,” he says. But whatever to propel Indian food into the same Adria’s Barcelona research three other restaurants Indian Accent’s London menu has in culinary stratosphere as Nordic or lab, chef Gaggan Anand in the city, including an store, Mehrotra’s inquisitive nature is modern European food. Gaggan plans to close the Argentine steakhouse sure to shine through. recently clinched seventh spot in the restaurant in 2020 and but still finds the time “What I do is explore more of Indian World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. relocate to Japan so miss for the occasional cuisine,” says Mehrotra. “Even in India, But there remains a problem for chefs out at your peril. TV appearance. we have to explore more [as] a lot of like Anand and Mehrotra. No matter people do not know about their own how ingenious and sophisticated Indian country. So rather than innovating, if we cuisine in all its many forms can be, explore our own different parts of India, it still struggles to shake off its curry 4. Masala Library, 5. Quilon, London, UK we can find thousands of dishes that can house image. Mumbai, India Chef Sriram Aylur’s focus be served in a fine dining restaurant.” “Until now there is still not that much You’re just as likely to may be on the food Indian fine dining is still very much in respect,” admits Mehrotra. “We are still find liquid nitrogen and of India’s southwest its infancy. The likes of Vineet Bhatia and considered [to be] a cheap, greasy, take- lecithin emulsifiers as coast – from Goa to Atul Kochhar raised the bar when they away kind of cuisine. It’s not about the cumin and coriander at Kerala – but his outlook is earned Michelin stars in London in the spices or the complex nature of Indian this Indian in Mumbai. thoroughly international early 2000s. food – it’s because it was not represented While chef Jiggs Kalra at this St James’ Court While they are still active and properly outside India. But things embraces all things Hotel restaurant. Close 86 87 successful, it is a bold new generation of are changing now and in the last two molecular, he retains attention to seafood and chefs such as Gaggan Anand (Gaggan, years Indian cuisine is becoming more a firm a grasp of a combination of classic Bangkok), Srijith Gopinathan (Campton prominent and getting more respect.” the traditions of his dishes and contemporary Place, San Francisco) and Mehrotra who When it comes to changing the way national cuisine, making methodology have are propelling Indian fine dining to the the world sees Indian food, Mehrotra’s membership of Masala earned Quilon a much- next level and new heights. mission has only just begun. Library a must. deserved Michelin star.