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Edible ash is the new black
Updated On: 25 July, 2021 08:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Nasrin Modak Siddiqi
From jamun and beets to kale and kesar, chefs are tapping into nature’s bountiful palette to avoid the toxins of conventional food dyes
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Idlis infused with carrots at G.O.D. Cafe (Goodness of Dairy) prepared by chef Kailash Chauhan. A first of its kind in Mumbai, the A2 milk café offers sattvic meals. Pic/Ashish Raje
A dish of chicken breast with blue pea sauce, charred pumpkin and mango mash inspired by the changing hues of the sunset is art on a plate. And, the best part is there’s not a drop of synthetic colour in it, insists chef Vanshika Bhatia of Saucy Spirits Hospitality. Since people tend to eat with their eyes first, the visual appearance of food matters. And chemical food colourings are a common additive in the production of foods and beverages. This, despite the health risks involved and the fact that they provide little or no nutritional value. Bhatia is of the opinion that it is important that we lose our obsession with perfectly-coloured foods. “Instead, use natural colour as a guideline for healthy eating, it’s a better approach.” She roots for natural colours from flowers, herbs and vegetable—her favourite being beetroot or berries for a beautiful shade of crimson. Questioning the norm, she says, “Why is colour so important in food that we feel compelled to use chemicals in it? The taste of chemical colours is, in fact, off-putting. Our nature is full of vibrant hues and humans have been extracting them for centuries. Learning from that, I use edible colours from spinach, beetroot, berries, turmeric and saffron. Each berry has a different shade, and besides the beautiful, natural colour you have an added flavour as well. It’s only about conditioning the mind to accept it.” When you add natural colouring, especially in shades of soft red and purple to dishes that are baked, the colour of the food turns brown and that’s perfectly okay, she thinks. Her red velvet cake is made using beets—she calls it copper velvet due to its slightly brown tinge. “But, we know and are also told by patrons that it tastes so much better than the commercial red velvet cake,” adds Bhatia.
Chicken breast with blue pea sauce, charred pumpkin and mango mash inspired by the changing hues of the sunset is art on a plate by Chef Vanshika Bhatia of Saucy Spirits Hospitality
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