I finally got ‘Gaggan’d the day before. I am referring to Gaggan Anand, who is possibly the most talked about Indian chef of our times and has piqued the curiosity of gourmands about ‘Indian’ food. There is a reason why I have used inverted commas. I will come to that later. Gaggan and I had met on Twitter years back, and let’s say that the earth shook that night. This was the first time we met in person and the first time I got to have his cooking. Thenexperience answered questions that I had harboured over the years. Primarily, ‘what makes people gush about his food’?
Epiphany happened over lunch and I owe the experience to restaurateur Panchali Mahendra, who owns, among other places, Inja in Delhi. Inja stands for India and Japan. The restaurant, helmed by chef Adwait Anantar, aims to do a synthesis between the food cultures of both countries. Pallavi had organised a collaboration between the two chefs and was kind enough to invite me.
I seemed to be the only Indian food writer in the rest of the room, and outside of it, who had not tasted his food yet, but everything happens at the right time. We laughed off our original Twitter interaction when we met, then got down to the serious business of eating. Now, let me explain why I put Indian food in inverted commas. Gaggan’s food is unlike any Indian food I have had. I have had the good fortune to try the food of almost all new-age Indian chefs. The latter have taken elements of Indian food and presented them in a manner which pushes its boundaries. Comparing the two schools is like comparing apples and oranges.
What Gaggan presented that day existed in a different universe. It was pure sorcery. And I am sure that the full-blown Gaggan experience in his own restaurant would be at another level. Most of the dishes he served, be it his iconic yoghurt explosion, gobi masala cookie, carbon chicken 65, cold curry, ghewar, fire poppadum, did not look like Indian food as one knows it. Yet, what each did was to pop in a very unadulterated Indian flavour into one’s mouth. Would you ever imagine taking a bite of a cookie and feeling as if you were having authentic alu gobi? Sorcery, right? I have earlier had by chefs attempts at emulating his Indian yoghurt explosion, but the complexity of the real deal (Gaggan’s) was light-years ahead.
Then there was his version of ‘curry which he said he had introduced as he was fed up with foreigners reducing Indian cuisine to a word, curry. His version is chilled, looks like a wet POP mix and tastes like a west coastal curry. The meal was a tasting menu and yet I can still remember the flavour of every dish that I tried. That’s unimaginable.
Cold curry
Here’s my take on what Gaggan contributed to Indian food, based on my limited experience of one pop-up. He has managed to make a global audience, who would have been unaware of and apprehensive about Indian food, taste its flavours in their full glory. The analogy that comes to mind is that of a mother who finely chops vegetables, adds them to atta dough, and makes ‘tacos’ to get her kids to eat them. I think this experience would break down the barriers people have about our food, make them more interested in trying Indian food, and help them discover it in its more ‘authentic’ form.
Yoghurt explosion
I got a glimpse of the ‘real’ Gaggan when he sat at our table to chat in between courses. He said that his perspective on life has changed a lot over the years. His early years of heady success were in a rather hostile environment, he said wistfully, thanks to the people he was surrounded with. I will not get into the details of that. He said that the experience taught him that nothing in life compares with being content and at peace with oneself. He continues to strive hard for excellence; his restaurant in Bangkok won first place in Asia’s Top 50 Restaurants. He remains undiplomatic when he speaks. But he says that he now focuses on his work and works only with those who bring positivity to his world. He feels a sense of responsibility to share what he has learnt with the next generation of Indian chefs. This pop-up was an example of that.
And that, folks, is the story of how I finally got Gaggan’d!
Big thanks to Panchali for hosting me, and kudos to Chef Adwait and his team, as well as Gaggan’s team, for delivering such a wonderful experience.
