Kaiseki comes Calling

But it would take another five or six years before Japanese food gained a wider following in India,fuelled by the global boom in sushi bars and Japanese cuisine.

Sakura distinguished itself early on by adhering strictly to Japanese tradition and by making Kaiseki Ryori a 16th century cuisine originally created by Buddhist monks its signature cuisine,with prices to match as well. Tetsu Akihara,Sakuras new chef and a purist,believes theres been too much adulteration in Japanese food lately,including in Kaiseki cuisine. Using the best seasonal ingredients,taking that extra step to prepare the dishes properly,and serving the food fresh out of the kitchen in elegant,exquisite dinnerware are the essence of this cuisine, says Akihara,a veteran chef with over thirty years of experience.

In Japan,a distinguishing feature of the cuisine is that you eat with your eyes. Eating a proper,eight or 10-course Kaiseki meal can take more than two hours as you slowly enjoy the colours and delicate texture of each dish. This slow grace is reminiscent of a Zen meditative session,a gentle reminder of its Buddhist roots.

For the cuisine,there are strict rules as to which dishes are to be served first. At Sakura,for a Kaiseki Fu course,youll be first served a sakizuke,a bite-size starter to whet your appetite. This will be followed by tsukuri,usually sashimi,or a thinly sliced raw fish served without rice. Nimono,a delicately simmered vegetable dish,is next,followed by tobayaki,a mini seafood hotpot dish. Tempura is next,to be followed by an assorted pickled dish,then chawanmushi,a savory egg-custard dish,followed by a sushi platter,then miso soup and dessert. Each of the dishes is served gracefully by kimono-clad waitresses,who encourage you to linger in the tranquil setting of the restaurant. Sakuras demand for Kaiseki remains high,says Akihara,partly because over 90 per cent of its customers are Japanese expats or Japanese tourists staying at the hotel,and this is a cuisine often used to entertain and impress business partners or guests in the Japanese settai,or hosting tradition.

Remaining true to its roots has allowed Sakura to expand steadily. Last summer,the restaurant opened a new branch in Gurgaon,followed last fall by a makeover at its Metropolitan Hotel outlet.

Less famous and more family-style,although in its own mind no less authentic,is Tamura. According to manager Biswas Sujit,its owner Takayuki Tamura came to India 13 years ago and started the business with an Indian partner (with support from Nihonjikai a Japanese community group). Recently,the restaurant moved to Green Park after nine years in Vasant Vihar.

In the early days,before Japanese food became this popular,Tamura received unorthodox requests from some Indian customers,Sujit says. People would ask that their sushi be served without rice in it,or with rice on the side. Or they wanted their stir-fried karaage chicken spiced up,which the chef did using Chinese hot and sour sauce rather unthinkable to Japanese. At times,Sujit says,he would refuse,in an attempt to teach local customers that good Japanese food is meant to taste natural,with little or no spice other than soy sauce,ginger and wasabi. So we try our best to persuade our customers to eat the dishes as they are served, he says.

In the last four or five years,India has started seeing a surge in a new Japanese restaurants. These include Taj Hotels Wasabi by Morimoto,Tetsuma and Shiro,which opened in Mumbai between 2004 and 2006,and Ai,Izakaya and the Aman Hotels Naoki Counter,which started in Delhi in 2008. Mumbais Shiro and Tetsuma,and Delhis Ai ,interestingly,are all posh stand-alone lounge-bar restaurants set outside of hotels.

Since most of these newcomers lack a reputation or the established Japanese customer base that is enjoyed by Sakura and Tamura,theyve embraced local customers. This has required them to modify the cuisine for the Indian palate,with an emphasis on dishes that can be served more quickly using tangy sauces and,of course,the beloved chili pepper. Ai,which opened 18 months ago in Sakets MGF Metropolitan mall,has targeted the corporate world and Delhi-ites in their 20s and 30s. Japanese cuisine is elegant and quick,and the sushi is light and healthy, says Ai chef Vikram Khatri. In other words,its a perfect meal for busy executives,yuppies on the go and working women. Roughly half of Ais clientele is local,he says,including many first-time Indian customers. Youngsters under the age of 35 are particularly willing to try out anything new, he adds.

To help uninitiated Indians enjoy subtle Japanese flavours,the restaurant gives diners several spicy options. Ais veggie California roll is made with kimchi,while its spicy tuna maki,(a hand-rolled sushi) is mixed with mayonnaise and spicy layu oil. Both are big hits with locals. Ai also serves spicy garlic-chili dip on the side on request. Ai recently introduced an organic black rice maki dish aimed at late-night diners and ladies in their 40s and 50s. Khatri says that hes always on the lookout for healthy combinations of tofu,olive oil,avocado and vegetables.

This approach is hardly unique. A big seller at Izakaya,which opened a year ago at DLF Promenade mall in Vasant Kunj,is spicy tori,says Chef Gasu Lama. It uses teppanyaki-grilled chicken and Chinese doubanjiang,a spicy paste made from fermented soybeans and chili peppers. Also popular is ebi-garlic,a fried prawn dish with a sake sauce,sweet mirin vinegar and again,Chinese doubanjiang. Izakayas owner Sachin Chowdhery claims his restaurant,with its 70 per cent plus local customer base,offers a wide range of healthy vegetarian dishes. The menu boasts nine varieties of vegetarian maki,including their popular paneer cutlet maki wrapped in seaweed and served with a sweet chili sauce. Another is the ume-kyu maki a pickled plum and cucumber sushi dish which is said to help delay ageing.

Sakuras Akihara thinks these fusion Japanese dishes are very basic food disguised as real Japanese food. He,however,also recognises that many restaurants modify their dishes in order to survive commercially. And while he doesnt see authentic Japanese cuisine being accepted by mainstream Indian customers anytime soon because of the huge cultural gap, he hopes the classy,delicate Kaiseki cuisine will gain traction amongst wealthy Indians as more of them travel to Japan for business and education.