After a food blogger’s recent experiment with the beloved lassi went viral, chefs known for their innovations, discuss how far one should go while playing around with oddball combinations
Toblerone lassi by Shihan Chowdhury. Pic/Instagram
>> Focus on elevating taste
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Assortment of flavoured lassis by Oye Kake
From Old Monk gulab jamun to oreo pakoda, 2021 threw up some of the wackiest food experiments. While some like Maggi milkshake left netizens cringing, Indian-American food blogger Shihan Chowdhury’s (@chilipeppercooks) Toblerone lassi with Thai chilli-honey won many hearts. But how much is too much, when we’re experimenting with bizarre ingredients, or reinventing a classic, such as lassi? Pankaj Gupta, founder of Oye Kake, which served up 40 variations of the dairy last year, shares that one should remember that the aim is to enhance flavours. “It should be better, if not the same; otherwise, the idea makes no sense,” he notes, giving us the example of a salted caramel, and an avocado lassi. “A lot of people prefer khari or salted lassi; for them, salted caramel offers the balance of salty and sweet. Similarly, we did peanut butter and avocado lassis because any kind of nutty or fatty foods work well with dairy, improving it.”
Avocado lassi
Ingredients
>> 100 gm fresh avocados
>> Curd and sugar mix
>> Dry fruits of your choice
>> Julienned avocados
Method
De-seed and peel the avocados. Add them along with the curd and sugar mix. Blend to get a smooth and creamy consistency. Garnish with chopped dry fruits and julienned avocados.
>> Classical meets contemporary
Duck seekh with glazed orange rind by Issar
What constitutes a great dish>> Prashant Issar, creator, Ishaara, decodes: “It should have a hanger appeal — catch your attention right when you read it on the menu. It should be pleasing to the eye, nose and the palate.” The co-founder of the modern Indian restaurant also highlights that the context, along with the intent of the creator, is important. He lends us the example of duck seekh kebab, which he once paired with glazed orange rind — a French take on the Indian favourite.
“In classical French cuisine, every kind of meat is served with a sauce. Since duck was also a game, when you went out hunting, fruits were easier to come by, so it was a natural combination,” he explains, adding that the principles of classical, scientific cooking can therefore be used as a compass when it comes to testing out unlikely pairings.
>> Context matters
Coffee kharvas by Saee Koranne-Khandekar for a pop-up at NIPR, Pune
Culinary consultant Saee Koranne-Khandekar, who continues to wow with her thoughtful, re-imaginations of familiar and forgotten Maharashtrian fare, prefers to take a step back from the rule book. “Experimental approaches to cuisine shouldn’t be held back by anything,” she maintains. Our culinary conditioning influences how we accept or reject reinventions or innovations, she says.
“I once made a pate version of a Jalgaon-style baingan bharta and served it like crostini at a food festival. All diners enjoyed the dish thoroughly, with the exception of one elderly patron, who took great offence to the interpretation and insisted that I should have served it with traditional bread instead.” However, Khandekar also stresses on the importance of not ditching the context of the original dish simply for the sake of shock value. “The coffee kharvas I made at NIPR Pune was a hat-tip to a sister restaurant right next door, and the coffee is one of their specialties. Would a red velvet kharvas have been a bit much? I think so,” she illustrates.
>> Boozy ideas
Like the Toblerone lassi, dairy is a favourite base for experimentation when it comes to cocktails, with buttermilk and even cheese being favoured picks. Take for instance, the cheese day cocktail that Chaitanya Manwatkar, VP-operations, Saltt, Karjat, stirs up.
Yes, it offers cheese — as parmesan syrup and as shavings — with gin. When it comes to wacky beverages, Manwatkar has some truly oddball combos in mind: “Bilk [beer and milk]; yoghurt-flavoured Pepsi; celery soda; avocado honey ale; and cold brew and tonic water.”
Cheese day
Ingredients
>> 60 ml gin >> 30 ml lychee juice >> 22.5 ml lime juice
>> 22.5 ml parmesan syrup
>> Egg whites>> Parmesan
Method
Pour all ingredients in a shaker. Shake and double-strain in a chilled coupe glass. Grate parmesan cheese. Serve in a martini glass.
Popsicle idlis
Sometimes, all is takes is presentation to change the whole game, like it did for Kandivali-based home baker Minal Badheka who’s behind the viral image of the popsicle-shaped idlis (below).
“As a baker mom, I never serve idlis in the regular way and experiment with moulds. If food is appealing, then a simple dish can rule the table,” she says.
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