Hip Indian

No, we are not talking about that joint of luscious lamb. Instead, 2011 sees a turn to poshed-up regional cuisine(s) as well as ?nouvelle? Indian food.

Regional Indian cuisines

This year, get ready to experiment. Andhra looks hot, as does seafood from coastal Maharashtra. Late last year, Delhi saw a handful of Bengali, south Indian (serving distinct Tamil, Andhra, Kerala food, not just masala dosas), and even Assamese entrants, not to mention a steady stream of exotic regional food festivals. In fact, Souza Lobo, Goa?s best-known shack, also made an appearance in GK puppydom (though not entirely successfully, but that mostly because of suspect sourcing). The challenge will be to sustain this interest. Of course, that Swagath has expanded, Gunpowder become a cult, Poppadam opened in posh Mehrauli with decent Andhra fare and Mumbai-staple Trishna expected to set shop in the Capital soon, means the market is growing for regional fare.

While Delhi will experiment more with fairly authentic regional flavours, Mumbai also may just discover better ways of doing ?north Indian?. Already, we have some pointers: through much of last year, Jiggs and Zorawar Kalra?s chain of Punjab Grill restaurants did its best business in Mumbai (beating even Delhi), according to co-owner Rohit Aggarwal of LiteBite foods. Then, 2010 year-end saw food bloggers ooh and aah over an unlikely new entrant: Indian Harvest in Chembur, albeit a contemporary Indian restaurant (and we?ll come to that), won them over apparently not just by its inventiveness, but also by rich Avadhi/Punjabi flavours? creamy dal makhani, parda chicken (no doubt inspired by Dumpukht?s ?parda? biryani) and various paneer concoctions.

Hyderabad, on the other hand, has two big restaurants to boast about, both of which serve poshed up Hyderabadi/Andhra bites and serve as a beacon of hope to a regional revival this year in hipper avatars across the country: Ada, at the new Taj-run Falaknuma Palace Hotel and Aish, at the equally ambitious, chic new Park hotel in the city. But more of that later.

Contemporary Indian

After Varq and Indian Accent, as well as Marut Sikka?s Kainoosh in Delhi, there are now Ziya and Azok in Mumbai, both by London-based celeb chef Vineet Bhatia. While Indians may be used to typically eating out the family way and formats with expensive, fussy and (often) tiny Western-style pre-plated portions invariably get guests suspicious, this is one way of exoticising Indian food.

Worldwide, of course, formal dining has declined (thankfully) and while I am all for inventiveness, I don?t really see the logic of using imported John Dory, foie ?gras or even New Zealand lamb chops to make Indian recipes. Yet, because the market for luxury (and luxury foods) is only set to grow and because eating out is now one of the three most popular recreational activities in the country (according to an India Leisure and Entertainment Report by The Knowledge Tree Company), we will surely see much more of this trend.

2011 buzz

Will London-based Atul Kochchar of Benares fame follow Vineet Bhatia to Mumbai with a chef-based restaurant? We will be watching.

Asian street food and grills

Asian street food?Vietnamese, Malay, Indonesian, Korean?has been on the rise globally. Vans dishing out some of these and Asian hamburgers and quesadillas in America are reporting big queues. There is no reason why this trend should not take off in India too.

Already, there is evidence from cafes and casual-chic restaurants such as Fu, Mamagoto and Yum Yum Tree (all in Delhi) that dim sums, robata and Korean grills, Murtabak (a Malay street snack), cha gio (Vietnamese spring rolls) can be very palatable to young, upwardly mobile Indians.

Epicurious.com has declared Korean to be the cuisine of 2011. In India, while there are a handful of full-fledged Korean restaurants (especially in Chennai with a strong expat presence), what would work is not so much a single cuisine that goes into its entire difficult-to-accept repertoire, but pan-Asian, casual formats serving much more approachable, authentic snacks and appetisers.

Also, the trend of putting essentially ?street? or ?beach? cuisines like Thai and Vietnamese in expensive five-stars is distinctly fraying. The Indian diner today is much too well-travelled for such aspirational eating. A cooler approach is to invite more informal experiences: A yum cha afternoon with dim sums not necessarily off The Oberoi trolley, or pho on the go for a lady?s lunch out without having to go to Blue Ginger? you get the drift. Live grills, including those on the table, too, have their charms which will be explored this year.

Gastro-lounge-bars such as Shiro?s (in Bangalore, Mumbai and lately in Delhi too) have realised the pop appeal of combining easy Asian food with cocktails and wines and this may replace Med as everyone?s fave bar food in 2011.

More exclusive bar experiences should come by way of Isakaya-style places?stocking a range of trendy Japanese spirits, shochu, sake, whiskies, serving these with interactive grills, appetisers and snacks. Isakayas are an international trend predicted for 2011 by many, including Epicurious. In India too we see their beginning. In Bangalore, Edo, ITC?s latest restaurant brand that opened this November, is designed on this concept.

Gastro-cafes and anti-cafes

Last year, molecular gastronomy ? already a fading global phenomenon, the world over? had been deemed the food trend to look out for. Luckily for us, it was a trend that fizzled out even before it began in India. In 2011, it is casual dining formats and indeed ?anti-cafes? that will define gourmet cutting edge.

?Anti caf?s?, or chef-owner-driven places that are big on food without fussing about decor, will look at local availability and cook authentic meals for you. The element of surprise is maintained because the menu changes almost daily.

In Delhi, Gunpowder started off the trend, and in Bangalore, The Secret Garden, as well as Grasshopper (located on a farm), are testimonies to how popular such places get. The term also includes the many pop-ups that now happen somewhat frequently, at least in Delhi. We should see more of these too through 2011.

The gastro-caf?, on the other hand, seems to be replacing other kinds of cafes, which are primarily beverage retailing chains. According to an industry white paper prepared by Technopak in 2010, tracking the restaurant business in India, there are 1,500 cafes in the country in the organized segment even though consumption of coffee is low?just about 100g per person per annum as opposed to a high of 2kg in European markets. Half of the cafes are owned by just two major retail chains and Caf? Coffee Day last year also became the recipient of a big PE funding?another business trend to watch out for incidentally.

Yet, it is the gastro-cafes that steal a march on these chain giants. Owned by individual restaurateurs, these reflect the foodie ambitions and palates of their owners. Ritu Dalmia?s new Diva caf? in Delhi that opened in 2010 is a perfect example. Latitude in Khan Market, owned by Good Earth but put together by Dalmia, is similarly a great destination?for breakfast, lunch, dinner, for kitty parties, birthdays and office meetings. It now has a wine list on the menu too.

Salads, gourmet pizzas, Asian street snacks, gastro cafes serve them all and more. In Mumbai, Rahul Akerkar?s Indigo Caf? lives up to its promise, never mind the early criticism that came Tote?s way. With casual dining being a fast growing business segment, expect more of these.

Healthy eating/ organic foods

Despite the popularity of the ?slow food movement? and the likes the O-burgers (organic burgers) in the West, middle India was never convinced about healthy eating. ?Spa menus? and ?organic? food put off most people. It?s only now, it is coming into its own.

Zero-mile sprouts grown in-house, flax-seed and multigrain dosas and croissants, broccoli omlettes, even organic paneer?all these started being regarded as gourmet fare in 2010. In the new year, this trend will deepen, with more people watching what they tuck into.

Bangalore saw the country?s first two organic restaurants in 2010 with Modak (a brain child of Satish Bangalore, former head of Phoenix, a software firm that was taken over by TCS) selling organic thali meals to an upper-class, RNRI audience in Kormagala. Lumiere, the other restaurant, went in for a pan-Indian menu with organic produce. Also in the Garden city, the new ITC Gardenia (with a Platinum LEED certification) has more eco-chic options on its menus, including green banqueting.

Organic food is still difficult to do in India because sourcing it is costly. But with green consciousness seeping in, and supply chains being strengthened by social entrepreneurs if not chefs, it is time to watch the o-spread to other metros.

Foreign chains, Indian links

With the organised restaurant business growing at an estimated 25% annually, India is the place to be in for major F&B players. We?ve already seen the likes of Manchester United, Hard Rock Caf? and so on make a beeline to the metros, and there are big chains like Yum! Foods, which plans to have 1,500 restaurants across India by 2015, according to the Technopak report. On a smaller scale, celebrity foreign chefs, including some Michelin star winning ones, have been increasingly visiting India this past year, cooking up occasional dinners, ticketed (at quite a price) for corporates only. In Delhi, both the Oberoi and the Taj Palace Hotel hosted such guest chefs to considerable excitement, late 2010. In Mumbai, Nobu himself was ostensibly coming?but the event got cancelled, some alleged, because few were willing to shell out the stupendous per head price! Kittichai, the New York-based celebrity Thai chef, opened Koh (serving contemporarised Thai food), also in Mumbai last year, though it can?t match Thai Pavilion by common Mumbai consent. And, of course, expat chefs have become de rigueur. But while all these will continue with even more frequency, it is heartening to expect Indian chains (and Indian chefs) to hold more than their own.

A big new trend is individual restaurateurs starting up. Delhi in 2010 saw a steady stream of 25-35 year olds?investment bankers, advertising professionals, even a pilot?start ambitious restaurants. Most of these people have worked abroad, earned their own dollars, which, supplemented by family money, were used to open restaurants in India. The difference between these start-ups and those of yore is that careful business models seem to have been worked out now. And almost all involve chains. Foodie-entreprenuers today are keen to build replicable models. Sometimes, this happens very quickly. In 2010, Mamagoto, a casual pan-Asian caf? started in Khan Market by two young boys not only did enough business to stay afloat?despite huge rentals in the locality?but even extended to another outlet in the city in just a couple of months. We will see more of these local chains sprouting. Often, they serve better food than foreign giants, as the entreprenuers know the gaps in the market.

?The writer is a food critic