Thali tales

His curiosity led him to the citys Chinese connection. The importance of the Chinese population in the city,I realised,couldnt be weighed by their number,but by their influence on eating habits in the city, says Kenworthy. Hes referring not just to the countless chowmein kiosks dotting the city,but the hallowed Chinatown in Tangra,a foodie paradise.
Street food,in fact,was what introduced Kenworthy to the intermingling of regional identities and inherited foreign traditions that form the anchor of Kolkatas cultural heritage. The food that you get at Dalhousie Square popularly know as office para for the sheer number of government offices and business establishments is actually representative of the population of the city. There is something for everybody,every Indian region. I realised if they sell litti a flour dumpling served with spiced mashed potatoes its not just to flatter the taste-buds of Kolkatans with Bihari local flavours. There is a sizeable population of Bihari rickshaw-wallahs,cabbies and labourers for whom litti is made. Its another thing that it has found takers among several others in the city, says Kenworthy.
Similarly,the ishtoo he was served at a roadside stall on Camac Street during a busy lunch hour,was very close to the English clear soup. It was a very light,non-spicy concoction of vegetables in a clear soup. Later,a friend told me that it was stew I had. I couldnt deny the similarities. I doubt if you will find such local twists to British dining staples anywhere else, says Kenworthy.
In Bengali cooking traditions,he found quite a delightful confusion. I was told there are vegetarian dals and non-vegetarian dals. Again,some cooked a certain dal with onions while others religiously kept it away from the same, he says. In fact on a certain day of Durga Puja my mother-in-laws family cooked fish while it was a strict no-no in my father-in-laws family. I see why the dal is subjected to such discrimination, he says.
Kenworthy has also been inspired by Kolkatas mixed cuisine to innovate. When he first had mitha paan,he thought it tasted funny. But I was one of the first chefs to introduce chocolate paan to the city, he says.
_Piyasree Dasgupta

KEISUKE UNO
DELHI
At a staff canteen in south Delhi,Tokyo-born Keisuke Uno settles for a spicy Indian meal. He crumbles a quarter of roomali roti and dips it into a bowl of piping hot chicken curry. Just about two months old in the city,Uno is already tucking into a curry meal with ease. The chicken curry is the closest Ive gotten so far in understanding the Delhis tastebuds, says the 32-year old chef at Japanese restaurant Ai. It is usually available in our staff quarters and I dig into this dish quite often, he says.
When Uno was in Singapore,he was a regular at the Little India street. It helped me understand the curry and its generous spices, he says. India to him was synonymous with spices and Taj Mahal but that was before I stepped out of the Delhi airport.
He has already begun his forays into the citys food bazaars. A recce of the famous INA Market was a turn-off. I was told that its the citys biggest and most popular market but the low hygiene standards shocked me, he says. His second adventure,to Panchkuian road,introduced him to roof top eateries at hotels and fleets of foreigners dotting the streets. And he loves auto-rickshaw rides too. Once my pick-up cab was running late and I hired a tuk-tuk to the restaurant. The staff was surprised but I loved my ride. Its nicer to see the city this way.
The chef takes us shopping with him to a basement shop in south Delhi that stocks up on Japanese sauces and frozen cuts. I was surprised that the ingredients are so readily available here, he says,running his hands through packs of sea trout and pink salmon.

Unos family runs a sake distillery in Fukui and he has travelled to Vietnam,Singapore and New York in his 13-year-career. But,Uno says his India experience is already turning out to be much more than he expected. When I first told my friends and colleagues about my travel,they were very excited. India is very popular country in my hometown Tokyo for tourism and work. The mix of customers at Ai has impressed Uno. When I was in New York,I regularly hosted French,Africans,Europeans,at our dining tables. Here too,its a mixed bag of people,each with a unique palate and penchant for flavours.
Uno has found time to do a foodie pilgrimage of his own in Delhi. My cooking inspiration came from watching Chef Masaharu Morimoto in the Iron Man TV series, he says. So he had to visit Chef Morimotos Wasabi at the Taj Mahal Hotel. Melting pot indeed.
_Meher Fatma

ORIANNA TIRABASSI
MUMBAI
Italian chef Oriana Tirabassi arrived in India on Diwali in 2008 and got blasted with a potent dose of Indian culture. It was 1 am and the lamp-lit streets resounded with the bursting of firecrackers. As her car chugged its way through the dense clot of humanity celebrating on the streets,the city was abuzz with a cauldron of sights and sounds. There were all these bare-chested men dancing on top of stationary vehicles. Every time I saw an auto-rickshaw zipping past,I was sure that someone was going to get killed, says Tirabassi.
That was a year back. Today,whether its visiting a crowded Crawford Market or getting a taste of oil-dripping egg paranthas and kebab at Bade Miyan,the 42-year-old is no foreigner to Mumbai. She hails from Rome and began her culinary journey in 1987. In 1994,Tirabassi was ranked number one at the Pizza World Championship,the first female chef to achieve the title in Las Vegas.

Seated at a dimly-lit eatery called Mahesh Lunch Home,a stones throw from J W Marriott,Juhu,where she works,she describes the place as her bolt-hole to escape work pressures. Besides,the lobster and the biryani here is to die for. And by now we realise she has developed the intestinal fortitude required to withstand Indian cuisine.
Indians use so many different types of masala. In Italy,we dress everything with wine. Indian masala has a bevy of flavours. Its difficult to remember them all. Lebanon has the best vegetables,Hong Kong has fantastic fish preparations but there is nothing to beat Indian masala. I call it the Indian magic powder, she says in crusty English,laced with a heavy Italian accent.

As a waiter brings a tall glass of sol kadi a kokum drink,she tentatively sniffs it,takes a sip and screws her nose in distaste. The coriander taste is so dominant here. Indians use coriander,cinnamon and coconut in everything including their espressos and cappuccinos. And garlic. If you use garlic in Italy,the Italians will call the police.
But she cant stop singing paeans about falooda which she calls the multi-coloured sweet,malai kulfi which she calls traditional ice cream and paan. The first time she had it was on the bustling lane outside one of her favourite haunts,Italian restaurant Mangi Ferra. Her friend stopped outside a paan wallah who was deftly opening a box stacked with betel leaves and stuffing them with a variety of dubious-looking ingredients. I thought there was no way I was going to chew on leaves. But I loved the taste. Now,I ask for it to be brought to my room every day.
She does admit that it is a tall order to cater to the epicurean sensibilities of Indians. In Italy,there is only one menu which everyone adheres to. Here,guests might chose a focaccia,spaghetti or tiramisu but will have a hundred specifications. Theyll want it peppered with cream cheese,chicken masala,coriander or spices. But do make it authentic Italian cuisine, theyll tell me, she says.
And that night,she told us,she was going to try what were sure is going to be a memorable experience: a ride in the local train. After all,what better way to soak up Mumbai culture than to get tossed about in the packed womens compartment of a local train? And who knows,it might even trigger off another culinary epiphany for Tirabassi.
Anjuly Mathai

ROMEL PAGOLA
PUNE
Whenever Romel Pagola,head chef at Harajuku,the Japanese specialty restaurant at The O Hotel,Pune,dines out,he makes it a point to order butter chicken,tandoori chicken and naan. I love Punjabi food for the contrast it offers me. Most of my time is spent preparing food which makes minimal use of spices and oil. Punjabi food is delicious,despite being loaded with oil,rich gravies and is definitely spicier, says Pagola.
Before he landed in Pune in August 2007,Pagola,had already made the culinary journey from Cyprus to Lebanon to India and back to his hometown Manila Phillipines. I started out as a steward in Manila and made my way up to being the head chef here at Harajuku,after a gastronomic adventure which has taken me half-way round the world, says Pagola,as he delicately slices an octopus leg,which will soon sit pretty on a sashimi dish.

The 35-year-old has been a chef for 14 years now and is enjoying his India experience. When I first came to India,I must admit I was a little surprised at the way things worked. I had expected a more European kind of working environment here. Yet,within a matter of days,I felt at home, he says. There is some truth to the belief that all Asians are broadly similar,despite outward appearances,he says. India is almost like a second home for me now, says this stocky Filipino.
In the two years he has been here,he has learnt Hindi and developed a taste for spicy Bollywood. Priyanka Chopra is his favourite leading lady and hes eagerly waiting for the release of Whats Your Rashee? The last Hindi film I saw was Dostana and before that Fashion. Apart from the entertainment,Bollywood films also help me understand the Hindi language better, he says.
When he goes out for a movie with friends,the evening is incomplete without two other things: pani puri and vada pav.
_Shalini Rai

ROGER C WILLI WILLSON
CHENNAI
It was in Kolkata,many years ago,that Roger C Willson,a Kiwi who had just begun his culinary adventures in India,curled up with Vikram Chandras Red Earth and Pouring Rain and read about heroes conceived from miraculous,glowing laddoos. The sweets he went on to taste didnt quite match up to potency but Kolkatas smoked hilsa and prawns in mustard did get him hooked.
Since then,Chef Willi has had quite a taste of India. He has worked in Mumbai,Goa and Chennai,where he arrived in 2002. I always tell people I lost my return ticket and 14 years later I am still searching for it, says Willson,who is the director of food and services,The Park Hotel,Chennai.

Along the way,hes collected a few savoury memoriesthe best rajma-poori at a Punjabi friends house,Malabar prawns in Cochin,a crispy dosa in Chennai; the raan from Peshawari in Mumbai; mishti doi and bekti from Kolkata; pork vindaloo and sorpotel from Goa. Years ago,I was living in Australia and would go to a local Indian restaurant and eat whatever. Now,after living and working with Indian cuisine for 18 years or so,the first question I ask is what area is the food from? Is it north Indian,Punjabi,Bengali,Goan,Hyderabadi or Malabari cuisine? he says.
But he doesnt like meddling when his sous chefs make Indian dishes other than to suggest small improvisations. While I play around with presentations and styles,I do not change recipes. I leave that to my Indian master chefs. Yes,I will fill gulab jamuns with ice cream and deep fry them in tempura batter,I will present lamb pathar on lavash bread. Most importantly,I will ask my chefs to think outside the box and see how we can do something exciting and different.

From the perspective of an outsider,Willson finds Indian cuisine adapting,but very slowly to contemporary times. We are more sedentary and consume more calories so we are actually becoming less healthy because we stay with our past. Home food should adapt to lighter dishes that will allow people to remain healthier, he says.
When Willson goes out to eat,he sticks to the simple food. If I am out for breakfast it is a masala dosa,for dinner it is fish kebab with yellow daal and paneer saag with a roti, he says. Malabar prawns are his idea of a south Indian treat and he still has a fondness for the magic of laddoos.
_Gopu Mohan