Say fusion food and we have all kinds of it in India. Any dessert is turned into a cake. Need a tweak to any dish? Introduce it in India. Recently, I attended a fusion food showcase at ITC Kohenur, where I tasted a a medley of flavours that will linger for long.
The taste of every dish only went to prove that magic with flavours and ingredients happens when fusion is done right. The event ‘Taste of America in the City of Pearls - U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad’ was a showcase to promote American ingredients in Hyderabadi cuisine
Taste of America is a flagship campaign that showcases premium, American-grown food and beverages to Indian consumers. With its diverse set of cultures and cuisines, India is a hotbed for the ‘fusion food’ global trend. Indian chefs are responding to consumer demand by expanding their offerings with fusion barbeque dishes, mithai and other savoury food.
Shivneet Pohoja, Executive Chef, ITC Kohenur, blended traditional Hyderabadi dishes with American flavours. “Hyderabadi flavours had to be infused with American-grown ingredients to get a win-win solution for both. I loved working with the California walnut to create the chepala vepudu en croute (fish fry in puff pastry sheet with nuts and orange). The same goes for the California pistachio tart with allam chutney jam. We used goat cheese and candied allam chutney juliennes. Every dish came out better than we expected. The quality of the American nuts we used further enhanced the flavours of every dish we made.”
Also well appreciated was the guacamole California walnut toast served with mango and the fried chicken and California pistachio terrine.
