Gunpowder & fish: Chennai gets the Gaggan Anand treatment

As Chef Gaggan Anand gets Indians to rethink food, he lines up experiments with the idli and dosai for Chennai
Gaggan Anand
Gaggan Anand

Celebrity chef Gaggan Anand has been raking up a bit of a storm lately, with the first few editions of his four-city culinary tour being held in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, leading up to Chennai. Leading up to the uber-exclusive sessions in the city this weekend (take a peek at the price for a table below), the chef is bringing down a massive reputation, what with his restaurant Gaggan in Bangkok, Thailand, being named the best restaurant in Asia (seventh overall worldwide) earlier this year. We got the chef on the phone to chat about the specials he has lined up for us. He also gave us his thoughts on spicing for modern-day lifestyles.

Chef Gaggan Anand
Chef Gaggan Anand

Is your menu different for Chennai?
Yes, with a little bit of tweaking, because the taste buds of people in every part of India are different, no? They all eat in the same way, but there are some small changes. So some dishes here are differently inspired — rather than having one eat them all in the same, simple format. There are some Chennai flavours too, presented Gaggan style (laughs). But I can’t disclose too much.

Are your dishes prepared differently for each city?
A little. For instance, with the fish cooked in a banana leaf — in Bombay, it’s in the Patrani style. In Delhi, it’s Amritsari. In Bangalore and Chennai, we will be working with local chefs and flavour profiles.

Bengali Mustard
Bengali Mustard

Are there any specific local elements you’re working with?
I'm doing a version of the . It will the softest idli Chennai has ever had. It will be 20 times more aerated than a normal idli. And it will be served like a sandwich, with variations of chutneys and elements — when you put it in the mouth, it will be unlike anything Chennai has ever tasted. I’m also looking to make a dosai, like a flat uthappam, served with mutton. In Mumbai, the meat was done in the Kolhapuri style, in Delhi it was the Rogan Josh, and in the South, I'm looking to serve it with a lamb Chettinad.
Then, I’m also interested in making a version of gunpowder and fish. I might do something like that for Chennai. You see, once I reach Chennai and start eating locally, my tongue will behave in a different way.

Are you concerned about feedback from purists?
If I go conservative, then what is the point of me coming to Chennai? I have to give Chennai something new. I always believe if there is no supply — how can there be demand? You have to create the demand.

Hotdog
Hotdog

In the last few years, while North Indian dishes have gained favour in international circles, it isn’t quite the same with South Indian food.
My restaurant has a lot of South Indian influences — these are some of my favourite cuisine. In fact, I passed out of a catering college in Kerala. I also started complaining, because we always represent South India as dosa and idli only — but there are so many layers to the food. Take for instance, a crab curry — it can be done either in a Bengali or a South Indian style. So I do all these crazy things — Alleppey curry and what not. And we have a very different international approach. We don’t serve any naan breads, dal makhni or chicken tikka!

What about the spice factor in South Indian food?
I use spice to flavour. Cinnamon can be put in coffee, vanilla can be put 
in an ice cream cake, nutmeg in a pudding, cardamom in a jalebi or mithai. We make the mistake of putting them all together, and making the dish too spicy. On the contrary, if I make a lamb pepper fry — I will only use pepper, not even cardamom. My mother would use jeera or mustard seeds as a chawk. I don’t even have garam masala in my kitchen. Spicing is the art of flavouring, that’s how I use spices.

Butterfly
Butterfly

And how do you find the language of food appreciation changing?
The era of food has changed - spicing, especially, isn’t how it once was. Spicing now reflects lifestyle today. So with a paturi (traditional Bengali recipe) and mustard oil, people overseas often confuse it with horse radish or wasabi. Overall, we can’t afford to eat spices the way we did in the old days — for one thing, your body smells! The problem also is that we are in the world of social media. So even after 10 years of being an expert, a 19-year-old food student from New York with an expensive camera will claim to be a bigger foodie than you.

Are we generally reluctant and averse to change?
The problem in India is, we don't know how to handle appreciation. The core problem, the way I see it, is that we are basically spoilt. We follow one restaurant that is successful, and everybody will follow that — that is the biggest problem. As chefs, we have to take more responsibility for what is being cooked — starting in our homes.  

Mushroom roll
Mushroom roll

And how do we change the way people talk about food?
The whole world thinks that naan is our national bread — that is not the case. Some people think phulka is our national bread, and that is also not true. There is no dish in India that is called a curry. The British called them curries, and now we are called a country of curry. So a lot needs to change. 

Where do you see brand Gaggan Anand a decade from now?
I will be writing a book, which will be released online on the day that my restaurant Gaggan closes in 2020. After the last night, the book will go online in five languages. And it will be free for everybody to download.

At Prego, Taj Coromandel. On September 15, 7 pm. Rs. 15,000 + taxes per person. Reservations: 66002827

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