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When curry
crosses continents
As the world
wakes up to the wonderfully appetising aromas of Indian cuisine, Ranjini Rao
pays tribute to Indian cafes abroad that have put Indian food on the world
culinary map
Whoever said ‘All Indian food is hot, spicy and tastes like curry,’ should probably eat those words. While no one knows for sure where the word ‘curry’ came from, it is believed that when the British returned to their homeland from India, they had their cooks mash up a mix of spices to sprinkle on their staid British staples.
The world called this ‘curry powder’ and anything cooked with it was ‘curry.’ Curry is only a part of Indian cuisine, and then, it seems ridiculous that the same old stodgy combination of spices can make up the variety of dishes it has to offer!
Indian cuisine has become popular all over the world because it presents a range of flavours, almost as vast as the country itself. For most Indians in the USA, munching on a burger does not describe how neatly they ‘fit in’ anymore. Instead, it is now considered ‘hip’ to bite into our very own roti-sabji. Be it the ‘crisp rice crepes’ (dosas) or the ‘steamed rice patties’ (idlis) Indian food has surely won over the American palate!
Not only do Indian food lovers have plenty of Indian restaurants across the United States to choose from, they have ones that serve specialty food -- South Indian vegetarian, North Indian, chaats and so on. While most of them have branches, some are innovative, solo ventures of housewives who are passionate about cooking! Most get their groceries from big cities like Washington and New Jersey; and their fruits and vegetables from local suppliers.
‘Udipi Café’ on E. Dublin Granville Road in Columbus, Ohio serves authentic South Indian vegetarian food. Started in 2001, the café’s owner and head chef both hail from Kundapur in South India. The ambience is very Indian -- walls are adorned with Indian oil paintings and light instrumental music fills the air. The menu has standard South Indian dishes. However, the interesting bit is that everything is painstakingly Americanised -- bonda is ‘potato dumpling with chickpeas flour’ and upma is ‘cream of wheat with fresh veggies, garnished with nuts.’
“We are very pleased with the response we’ve got in these three years and everyone that comes here goes back with a smile,” says Suresh Bekal, the manager.
Just around the corner from ‘Udipi’ is ‘Annapurna,’ another vegetarian restaurant, specialising in chaats. Run by the Panchals who hail from Ahmedabad, it is a neat, cozy place, located in Columbus Square. Ami Panchal is the chef and is assisted by four others, including her son Aditya and husband Kamal. The décor is truly Indian with Rajasthani art pieces on the walls. Ami says, “About 60% of our patrons are non-Indians and they simply love the homely atmosphere and the chaats.” The menu describes pani puri as ‘petite hollow bun bread with crunchy shell, spice cool water, chutney (dip) boiled potato and boiled chickpeas.’ John, a regular for over a year now, is a big fan of pani puri “The blend of spices in the water/ chutney just perks up my taste buds, sometimes sets them on fire too, but that’s the whole fun!” he says.
‘Taj Palace’ is an elegant Indian restaurant and bar, on Fishinger Boulevard in Hilliard, Ohio. Jinder Singh is the head chef who works magic into the tandoor specialties that Taj is famous for and the Mehrotras manage this six-year-old restaurant. The sequined wall art and silk table mats make the ambience ethnic. “We have had the same staff since our inception and our patrons, mostly non-Indians, even demand their favourite dishes like palak pakodas and gulab jamoons,” says Ranjana Mehrotra. “Tandoori Murg is my favourite --- perfectly succulent and spicy, it only seems to get better each time!” says Anne, who visited Taj on its very first day and has been a loyal patron since.
The latest addition to the fine Indian eateries in Ohio is ‘Maharajas’ in Gahanna. Rita Nagi, along with her cousin and well-known restaurateur Iqbal Singh (winner of the Gold Plate for his café in Australia, 1991-92), manages everything here, including grinding the spices and cooking. Less than a month old, they are already winning accolades for their tasty treats. They have also designed the glitzy interiors themselves and the silverware has specially been flown in from India!
While there are scores of specialties highlighting the range of flavours that make Indian food so unique, the average American’s idea of Indian food really revolves round the tandoori chicken and chaats that are becoming the rage. But thanks to all these Indian bistros, Americans are beginning to really understand a cuisine that has mystified adventurous diners over a lifetime!
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SESAME SHE
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