Indian seaweed is having a moment

Chefs and mixologists are using the local species in garnishes and broths, and to flavour miso, crackers and cocktails

- Sayoni Bhaduri

(left) Sargassum from The Good Ocean; and seaweed risotto trials at Coco Shambhala.

hen Giles Knapton, the founder and director of Coco Shambhala, a luxury boutique property in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, discovered the diversity of seaweed along the Konkan coast, it felt both nostalgic and full of culinary possibilities.

“I grew up eating dulse, a dark-red seaweed, in Ireland, first as a snack and later paired with drinks. Seaweed here reminded me of home, yet presented a new terroir of waters, textures and flavour profiles,” he says.

The team at Coco Shambhala, which opened in 2017, is running trials of risottos, salads, stir-fries and fritters that highlight the natural umami of local seaweed. They're even trying out a seaweed-infused varan (dad). Some of these kitchen experiments will eventually make it to the menu.

With an approximately 12,000km coastline, India has largely overlooked seaweed as an ingredient, relying instead on imported varieties like nori and wakame from Japan, and gim from South Korea. India has a thriving seaweed economy through agar—a vegan alternative to gelatin widely used in icing, ice creams and marshmallows.

According to data from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, the country’s total seaweed production was 72,385 tonnes in 2023. With the help of marine specialists, entrepreneurs and chefs, India’s ulva and sargassum seaweed species are making their way on to our plates.

Chefs and mixologists now prize local seaweed for its versatility and umami, and also for being a climate-smart food.

LITTLE LOCAL LORE

There are more than 800 varieties of seaweed flourishing in the Indian waters, but there is very little recorded of it in regional foodlore. There are fleeting anecdotal mentions, as Arnav Mariwala, the founder and CEO of MariTide, a seaweed cultivation and processing company in Devgad, Maharashtra, found.