From street food to eating from home. Fine dining, casual dining to fast food on the go.
Indian food has got it all. Spicy, saucy or elegant, regal and feasting.
This year, Indian food has hit big in America with the James Beard Award for the ‘Best Restaurant’ going to Indian casual dining restaurant ‘CHAI PANI’, in Asheville, North Carolina.
A year ago, it was listed on the New York Times “50 Best Restaurants we are most excited about right now.”
A glance at the clientele in Chai Pani on a weekend will give you a glimpse of the potpourri of society. Mostly the younger set, casually sipping a beer and digging into fried okra ( a Signature Chai Pani favourite.) Chai Pani is more of an experience with touches of ‘Indian Lorry/Truck art and posters’, quaint, colourful Tees and a vibrant menu that speaks, smells and tastes ‘Indian’. Real Indian.
What award winning chef and owner of Chai Pani Meherwan Irani has done to Indian food in America is what many Indian chefs are out to do all over the world.
’Give everyone a taste of the real Indian flavours’ seems to be the buzzword on their lips, and they mean it as they get around business.
This year has all the signs of mostly everyone recognizing a Happy Belly. You don’t have to be a foodie to be one. A satisfying meal at anytime during the day or night that brings on that feeling of satisfaction is what a Happy Belly is all about. Your family, colleagues and friends will
Shoot first, eat later, seems to be the code of conduct for trigger happy Instagrammers, Facebookers and Tweeters.
With a growing focus on eating and drinking produce with original and fresh ingredients, restaurants and kitchens (in the cloud on terra firma) are taking the sourcing of ingredients very, very seriously.
Healthier alternatives as well as dishes with traditional heritage and legacy are finding their way to more restaurant tables. Stories on social media are swaying towards home recipes cooked in Mom’s kitchen. Recipes carried on within the family through generations.
The true Indian palate is coming to the fore. Equally comfortable with trying out a slice of Kerala cooking, Awadhi, Lucknowi, Kashmiri or Hyderabadi, not to forget the courage to try global cuisine too. With or without a twist, fusion of East, Far East, Middle East or the West who’s followers are growing. All this food demands the best of presentation as everyone is now clicking them and sharing pics of food more than ever before. Even home cooked food from your kitchen looks Instagrammable and flavorsome.
