Sidharth Bhardwaj, executive chef, JW Marriott, Mussoorie, feels that traditional Indian cuisine needs brand ambassadors and multiple awareness drives. By Siddharth Choudhary
Food from the Himalayas is a new concept that is gaining ground in organically aware times. And taking it further is Sidharth Bhardwaj, executive chef, JW Marriott. “Regional cuisines of India are still unexposed and undiscovered on international platforms. There is still a lot of work to do. Garhwali, North-eastern, Himachali, there’s a sub-categorisation of hill food that’s still not known. The food from these parts of India needs brand ambassadors and multiple awareness drives,” he told us.
As executive chef in the resort town of Mussoorie, Bhardwaj encourages sample platters as part of the guest experience. But then it cannot be made a tourist must-do. “Finding chefs with knowledge of authentic regional cuisines proves to be difficult. Most of the delicacies are lost because they have been saved only in the oral and generational tradition. Curating and serving any cuisine that is not common knowledge is a challenge due to non-availability of ingredients and talent in the kitchen,” explained Bhardwaj.
Food is so deeply ingrained in Garhwali culture that even some traditional songs are themed around it. Take for instance the famous song, “Bedu paako baara maasa”, which is about a berry that grows throughout the year. “While cooking, the women often hum songs because they believe it purifies the air in the kitchen and infuses positivity in the food and it was this positivity that we wanted to infuse in our food and kitchen,” said Bhardwaj.
The local cuisine seems to have emerged out of the body’s nutritional requirements. Few Garhwalis can resist the thick, dark brown rotis made from manduwa (buckwheat or millet grain), which they eat with big helpings of home-made ghee. The other flatbread that is widely eaten in the Garhwal-Kumaon hills is the Gehat ki dal ka Parantha. To make this, the dal is soaked overnight, pressure-cooked, mashed and stuffed in kneaded wheat flour with garlic, green chillies and salt. It is then rolled into flat bread over a hot griddle or tava. The residual water in which the dal is soaked is used to cook other gravies as it is said to cure kidney and liver ailments.
“The most difficult part while cooking Garhwali food is to maintain the originality. To create the dish we have to travel deep into the mountains to find lost recipes as some plants and spices are almost extinct now,” said Bhardwaj.
“Dubuk is a dish that we consider to be our speciality as it takes a huge amount of time to prepare but is the most wholesome item going around. Soak lentils in water overnight. Grind black lentils without water to a paste. Heat oil in a pan. Add jakhya seeds, fenugreek, asfoetida, green chillies, onion, ginger and garlic paste. Fry it for some time. Then add half a cup of water, garam masala, coriander powder, chilli powder, and salt to taste. Add tomatoes. Cook it for some time. When this mixture becomes thick, add lentil paste to it and fry for some time. Add four cups of water and cook it for at least 30 minutes. Stir it regularly. Garnish it with green coriander leaves,” the chef suggested.
Cooking gives Bhardwaj freedom to experiment. “Cooking is an art. like any other art form, you can adapt the skill to befit your personality and expression. It has no limitation when it comes to creativity.” He further added, “Each guest is different and adapting a dish as per the guest’s liking is what excites me.”
He also mentioned about the new food trends where diners are looking for traditional healthy foods. “There will be multiple trends but the ones making food healthier will last and be accepted no matter how discerning the guest is,” he explained.
He is keen on the new developments in the food industry and said that we are now going back to the basics. “It is reverse development as per me. We are going back to the basics to understand the crux of every cuisine. Questioning every step and every ingredient is necessary to absorb any cuisine completely. The more we move forward towards the scientific part of cooking, the more we realise we need to know the roots of any regional cuisines to gain a wholesome knowledge about why it all started,” he said.
As for new technology, Bhardwaj said he only uses it for convenience. “I get inspired by the fact that I can present my dishes to anyone in any part of the world easily, be it a guest sitting in a remote country or a local family of Garhwal. It is very easy to gain knowledge on a particular cuisine and experiment it in your kitchen,” he remarked.
Bhardwaj is confident about the growth of the food industry in India. “Fusion of modern techniques with traditional cooking methods is acquiring scale. Each way of cooking has its exceptional qualities and it will be fun to witness how these two amalgamate,” he said.
With increasing competition from global markets, Bhardwaj has only one piece of advice for budding chefs and that is working hard. “Experience is not acquired overnight. Don’t hesitate to try and experiment. You will only succeed after multiple slip-ups,” he mentioned.