THE TASTE OF INDIA

Fact: Food and food habits change every 100 kms in India. Fact: We're still talking about butter chicken on a global level. But change starts at home. As micro cuisines take centre stage and garner much needed attention, culinary experts help understand if this boom will change the way we look at regional offerings

- SAMREEN TUNGEKAR

The takeover of social media, Reels, and the Explore feed can be blamed for many things, but the bright side of having access to it can be the debunking of certain myths, and an important one is this: There's no such thing as 'Indian cuisine.

While we're popular with the broader culinary landscapes of different states or even cities, a recent boredom (dare we say saturation?) with the most mainstream idea of food (cannot with chicken tikka masala anymore) has led to smaller regional cuisines finding their way to the average Indian consumer's plate, so much so that this year's Godrej Food Trends Report has listed micro cuisines as one of the major food trends to look out for.

NOT SO MICRO

A micro cuisine is essentially the sub-cuisine of a region, terroir, community, or place with distinctive characteristics and practices that are specific to that sub region only. It's not just local with its ingredients, but it also has its own traditional cooking methods, preservation techniques and more, which give it a unique identity. A quick example: If Maharashtrian cuisine is the cuisine of the state, then Saraswat, Malvani, etc. would be its micro cuisines. Yes, you have, albeit unknowingly, sampled multiple micro cuisines over the years. It's time to try some more.

The interest in micro cuisines is further validated by the 2023 Godrej Food Trends Report, which says that 64 per cent of the panel has predicted that diners want to try cuisines different than their own. Chefs, restaurateurs, even luxury hotels are doing their bit in bringing these micro cuisines closer to diners who are ready to experiment.

FROM INDIA, WITH LOVE