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New York
City is fortunate to have two acclaimed Indian
chefs whose restaurants are bringing Indian flavors
to the forefront of contemporary dining. At
Tabla, classically trained Chef Floyd
Cardoz prepares
what he calls “New Indian Food,” marrying
French technique with Indian spices.
Cardoz grew
up in Goa, a very small state on India’s
west coast that was once a Portuguese colony. As
a result, many Goans are Catholic and do eat pork,
rare among Indians. Elsewhere in India, fish is
fried in batter, often made with chickpea flour.
In Goa, fish is fried in breadcrumbs, a European
touch.
“As a kid, I remember having fried fish dipped in egg and breadcrumbs for lunch, with spice of course,” says
Cardoz.
Goans love fish curries, using tamarind and kokum, a dried tart fruit, for the souring element. Fish, even in curries, is always served on the bone in a Goan kitchen, and it is usually cooked beyond what most Americans would like, says Cardoz.
In his reinterpretation
of a Goan fish curry, he poaches fish fillets slowly
in seasoned duck fat, tops them with crisp breadcrumbs
flavored with bacon, and surrounds the fish with
a richly spiced coconut-milk sauce. The slow poaching
(12 to 14 minutes at about 165ºF) produces
a tender piece of fish that is more in keeping
with American taste.
At Dévi,
Suvir Saran’s new Manhattan restaurant, Saran presents home cooking from all the regions of India. His style is “no drama,” says the articulate young chef, who speaks knowledgeably about India’s culinary history. “Fusion was happening in India before fusion become trendy anywhere else,” he says. “The
beauty of India is that it has changed every minute
it has existed.”
Sweet Spice Braised Oxtail with Tumeric Mashed
Potatoes |
His halibut
en papillote with mint-cilantro chutney may sound
vaguely French but is authentically Indian, claims
the chef. An Indian cook would use banana or taro
leaves instead of parchment paper, but the procedure
is the same. The fish is marinated first in lime
juice, salt, ginger and garlic. Then it’s
sealed in parchment with a chutney made of cream
cheese (in place of drained yogurt), mint, cilantro,
scallions and a little yogurt for sourness. The
paper wrap is cut open at the table and the fish
emerges perfectly cooked and bathed in the aromas
of the chutney.
The marinade and chutney are from North India, says the chef; the method of wrapping and steaming fish is from the south. In his hands, the two halves of India merge beautifully on the plate.
Floyd
Cardoz’s Sweet
Spice Braised Oxtail with Turmeric Mashed Potatoes
Suvir Saran’s Halibut
En Papillote with Mint-Cilantro Chutney
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