Six Indian chefs share how nostalgia inspires and influences their menus

Six renowned chefs weave nostalgia, family traditions, and personal stories into menus around the world, and share dishes from their childhood that continue to inspire their cooking

There is an undeniable warm, fuzzy feeling that suffuses your heart when unexpected flavours, textures, and ingredients fill your mouth – especially those pulled from childhood memories knitted to love and laughter. 

The growing trend in the culinary world has chefs sharing moments from their early years spent with family and friends, in the form of inspired dishes on the menus. Six famous chefs share the preparations that make them go mush with fond memories:

Nikhil Nagpal- Chef Culinaire, Avartana

A tomato soup with croutons is a classic dish served in an Army mess. Even though the fizzy colas were a go-to drink when I was growing up, a sweet and sour, rich and creamy tomato soup with fried croutons was a must for me whenever I visited the Army mess with my parents (My father served in the Indian Army) 

 Obsessed with the versatility of the tomato, I took to making makhni, and arrabiata; my first promotion as junior sous chef was based on pizzas. I’ve perfected the clarification technique to create the clear liquid with the umami of the tomato, and during the last 18 years spent in Chennai, I have made multiple variations of the quintessential rasam, with the flavour packed cracked black pepper, garlic, cumin, and curry leaves. This is my classic serve up at Avartana. The liquid gold – infused rasam made over 48 hours through multiple clarifications.

Garima Arora, Chef-Owner, Gaa

This recipe of gobi paratha comes from both my paternal (dadi) and maternal (nani) grandmothers. 

I have such fond memories of my nani making cultured butter by collecting the cream and letting it slowly ferment before she churned it. In the morning, my dadi would prepare fresh parathas, which all of us would enjoy together, with the fermented butter.

This combination is decadent and so delicious: it will always remind me of home. I love it so much that we put a version of it on our menu, at Gaa. We serve our homemade butter along with bread stuffed with cauliflower. We suggest our guests enjoy it with a generous amount of butter, and after they take a bite, you can almost always see a smile spreading across their face, lighting up their eyes with joy.

Vicky Ratnani, Founder — Speak Burgers, chef, culinary consultant, cookbook author

I have always loved the aloo tamatar sabzi, with the rassa (gravy) as a child. My mother used to make it once a week, and we used to relish it as an entire family at the table, with puris, for either breakfast or dinner. 

I would eat the leftover sabzi with bread, tearing pieces from a slice and soaking them in the mashed aloo rassa. It was so delicious. My wife learnt to make it from my mother, and made it during the pandemic. That stirred so many memories, and I decided to make my own version.

I came up with gnocchi aloo, in a tomato rassa. The gravy remains the same as I used to have as a child – with hing (asfoetida), adrak (ginger) and kari patta (curry leaves). The aloo I routed into the belly of the gnocchi. Served with a dot of butter, it tastes amazing, making me relive the same comfort of the aloo-rassa dish that my mother used to make.

Himanshu Saini, Global Corporate Chef, Passion F&B Group (TresInd Studio, Dubai)

I belong to the Chandni Chowk-Daryaganj area of old Delhi. Moti Mahal restaurant – the pioneer in the North Indian style butter chicken – was a regular haunt for us. I have vivid memories of me eating the butter chicken with hot, buttery naan, with my father at this restaurant.

This taste has stayed with me, and I have created my own version in my restaurant. I have created a butter naan souffle, with a broth that brings in the complete flavours and taste of the tandoori chicken. Using all the spices including fenugreek, ginger, cardamom, coriander… and the tomato juice to create the accompanying broth, you get the entire flavour base of the butter chicken as the juice of the tandoori chicken lends that air of smokiness and helps me shape this dish. 

Instead of using the dough of the naan, I use the puree of pasta, that makes it possible for me to give body to the souffle. I mix this purée with yeast to give the taste of leavened bread (naan) to the souffle, using eggs and cheese as well.

Niyati Rao — Head Chef & Partner, Bombay Daak, and Ekaa. My parents used to travel a lot, and my brother and I loved trying out different foods while on the move with them. My father had friends in Singapore who were Tamils, and had been living there for generations.

Each time we ate at their home, I realised they used quintessential Tamil ingredients like karipatta and gunpowder, and liberally used uncommon ingredients to pair up too, like pandan, and condensed milk. I remember eating chicken lollipops with condensed milk and karipatta tadka. 

I married my childhood memories of condensed milk preparations with prawns and came up with Milkmaid Prawns on the menu at my daru and chakhana restaurant, Bombay Daak. It is a small plate, that is an ode to the juicy prawns, and my delicious memories, in a wok. 

Avinash Martins, Chef and Owner, Cavatina by Avinash Martins

My childhood memories centre around the crab. I used to go with my father on his Lambretta, to a place called Betul in South Goa to buy crabs from this vendor. While waiting for him to arrive with the fresh crab, I used to have a fizzy cola, and Dad used to have a drink, chatting with the locals. 

So, in Goa, the most common crab recipe is crab xecxec. When I started my own restaurant, Cavatina, I came up with my ode to the crab in the Crab xec xecbisque. It is a take on the traditional dish and emerges as a bisque – a silky smooth French style soup. I roast the xec xec masala, roll in the crab meat that is delicate and slightly sweet by itself, bring in the brandy with aromatic vegetables, and then swirl it. After purée and straining, the stock-like liquid – that I call sofrito – tastes like pure joy.

My Crab xec xec bisque is a hug in the bowl. A spoonful takes me to the world of sheer nostalgia. I also make crab kulli cutlets, rolled in masala (it is just a catalyst as the crabmeat is delicate and simple) and served with avocado mousse and caviar.

Published - November 01, 2024 03:22 pm IST