Is fusion really the best way to exalt the status of Indian cuisine on a global platform or is it blasphemous to tamper with centuries old recipes and styles of cooking? This was the course of discussion as stalwarts in food industry came together at the book launch of Come Into My Kitchen, authored celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar, on Saturday.
Is fusion really the best way to exalt the status of Indian cuisine on a global platform or is it blasphemous to tamper with centuries old recipes and styles of cooking? This was the course of discussion as stalwarts in food industry came together at the book launch of Come Into My Kitchen, authored celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar, on Saturday.
The discussion which was moderated by famous food writer Sourish Bhattacharya, was a school of two different thoughts-one that advocated modern Indian cuisine and another that vouched for the authenticity of taste and presentation of food. Emphasising that Indian food has been on a constant journey of evolution, eminent food researcher and writer Pushpesh Pant said that traditional does not mean fossilising.
"Our food has shades of Persian and Mughal influence and everything that we cook is not a stand alone entity in itself but an amalgamation of different regions and cuisines. That is the beauty of food that it is not static."
Putting his weight behind traditional Indian food, Atul Sikand, founder of Asian Hawkers Market, however, voted for authenticity of a dish. "Maintaining the integrity of any dish is very important. It is demeaning for our rich cuisine to say that Indian food cannot hold on its own. Fusion food is good but it should be done within a certain limit." His views were shared by Brar who said that an extensive research into Indian food would open one to the wonders and mysteries it carries. "If we delve deep, we would find that we are the pioneers of fusion and international. Not a lot of people know that our humble kitchens to produce dishes that are akin to foreign cuisines. For instance, a prasad offered in temples in Tamil Nadu is, in fact, sweet risotto."
Meanwhile, Come Into My Kitchen traces Brar's relationship with food and his journey from a boy who rebelled against his family to pursue his passion for cooking. "This is not a book but a conversation which I will having with my readers. It is also about my personal connect with food, which I feel is like marriage as it needs to be built on trust and honesty and then nurtured. The idea behind writing this books is to instigate creative food thought through conversation," he said.
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