Food gets a native twist

Several cafes now serve millet pizzas and heirloom rice bowls, village cooking is a YouTube sensation – there is a rise in the use of hyper local food and cooking techniques. Bengaluru Chronicle explores this trend.

“Do you know what makes that Dindigul biryani so special? Its Kalpasi or dagad phool, which literally translates to flowers that grow on stone — a species of edible lichen which exudes a mysterious aroma both woodsy and earthy.  It is used in meat dishes in the south, Goda masala in Maharashtra and elevates the dish to beyond ordinary,”says Shweta Kapur, a mother of two who spotted this on her trips to Ooty and Kodai.

Being a perfectionist she researched on lichens and now uses it in her misal paav and kolumb.  Did you know the terroir that your salt is made at, lends itself to the flavour and mineral value of the salt. Take for instance the Sanikatta salt from Uttar Karnataka which has medicinal value too as the river passes through these medicinal plants in the Western Ghats before it reaches the salt basin.

Locavores – people who consume food cultivated within a certain radius are on the rise and hence the businesses, be it cereals, breads or pizzas are looking to appease consumers. Rasika Prashant, CMO of a food company says, “Consumers prefer products that complement their changing lifestyle. They are now exploring the power of our ancient Indian grains such as millets which are a power house of nutrition and energy for on-the-go lifestyles. These grains not only benefit the consumers but also the farmers and environment as they consume less natural resources and thus we bring healthy and tasty offerings like millet flakes, muesli and smoothies to the table.”

Wellness enthusiast Vidushi Singhania adds, “Millets have a variety of applications and don’t have to be limited to Indian preparations”. Infact she only uses the richly perfumed gandharaj lebu (a local variety of lemon) which has an incredible flavour profile and thick skin perfect for zesting in her lemon pasta.

Srinivas V, partner at a mindfullness cafe in town believes in slow cooking just like in olden days. He mentions, “We cut vegetables after we get an order and use simple cooking techniques just like homes. Our regular customers now keep their phones away and eat mindfully.” Their smoothies use native ingredients like moringa, ashwagandha instead of Kale and their desserts have puffed amaranth instead of quinoa.

Priyanka Ramaswamy and her mother started small, home baking millet breads for their friends and family twice a week. But the growing interest in heritage grains got them more requests from consumers, stores and electronic platforms as much as, they now have a commercial set up and partnered with most stores and e-commerce platforms in the city. She says, “Everyone eats bread, but a millet bread keeps you satiated for three to four hours since it has more fibre. It also packs a punch in terms of taste.”

Blame it on lifestyle diseases or the love  for traditional there is certainly an appreciation of old world recipes and going back to our flavour roots.  Foraging, native ingredients and indegenius cusine with a new spin on it is certainly good for the health of the planet.