How about a Regional Cuisine treat?

Indian food industry has a successful history when compared to other parts of the world. From discovering its regional menus and cuisines which comprises more than a thousand recipes from each region and the inclusion of changes with each demography to adoption and acceptation of global cuisine, which India has adapted to be in tune with the global trends.

Year 2014 saw lots of global cuisine and brands entering India that tweaked and reinvented their menu and cuisine to suit the Indian palate. But what is awaiting us this year is totally amazing, as experts and experienced chefs in the industry are working on ‘Bringing back the Regional Indian Cuisine’ in its original form.

Reinventing Regional cuisine

Earlier in 2015, it was predicted that modern Indian cuisine will rise with passing time, later this year, but what we are seeing is that chefs are working on locally sourced ingredients and are trying to introduce the regional and the authentic cuisine to the global masses. Celebrity chefs like Michael Swamy, Manish Mehrotra, Sanjeev Kapoor, Harpal Singh Sokhi and Chef Sabyasachi Gorai amongst others are working on local and regional Indian cuisine and have picked products like ‘Sattu’ from Bihar, grated coconut from Kerala, ragi and akki roti from Karnataka, dhokla from Gujarat, and a variety of rice, chicken and sea foods from Konkani region in their menu.

“Regional cuisines need to be promoted because till now food in India is seen as the typical Punjabi food which has dominated the Indian food menus. Everybody in India and outside India thinks that it is the only Indian cuisine, but that is not true. We have different types of foods which are delicious. There is a vast range of food from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bengal, Gujarat, and Kashmir, but people don’t know about it. So, this is the reason we as a chef want to promote regional food and regional cuisine,” says Chef Manish Mehrotra, Executive Chef, Indian Accent.

Meanwhile, experts also believe that today, Indians are much more attracted to the foods which are well advertised as today they are no more restricted to eating out but they want to know what all things have been used in designing the menu. And they want to consume a healthy or a balanced product without affecting their health.

Sharing his view on the same lines, Chef Jatinder Uppal, Lead Auditor- Passion Foods, believes, “I think Indian cuisine has to be more advertised and displayed so that people start understanding what Indian food is. Besides, it has got a huge variety of cuisines and everybody has to learn a lot from regions.”

Meanwhile, Chef Michael Swamy is working with the JJR (Jem’s Jungle Retreat) to bring back the regional cuisine to the global masses at Corbet National Park, which is the top most destinations in India for the global tourists.

“Today, it is very important to involve the senses and deliver new experiences to people. You need to take them out of restaurants to understand the culture and cuisine of this country. Chefs like me are now moving from traditional restaurants. In this regard, we have associated with Jungle Retreat, where we are taking people to the cuisine and not cuisine to people,” shares Swamy.

And at the same time food critic and writer, Osama Jalali, who is so much involved with the regional 'Rampur Cuisine' is working with Oberoi Hotel Gurgaon to bring back the lost food or the cuisines.

"I want to promote the cuisines which was cooked by our great grandmothers in home, I am on revival of the lost cuisines," says Jalali.

Thus, we can say that Indian cuisine has its own charm despite global cuisine entering the Indian F&B race. And Indian cuisine is here to stay for long.