Breads are a staple at every meal and while curries have seen much change, the bread was somehow always left behind. This has however changed, and chefs are now experimenting with innovative fillings and grains to ensure that flat breads are becoming as interesting as they are tasty.
New Plates
While there are several new kinds of breads that you can try at food festivals, chefs are now takin feedback from their guests and adopting these recipes into the regular menus too. Interestingly many of these breads come with an Indo-western twist and combinations like Keema Matar, Chicken liver and Paneer Makhani are now available. Breads like Tikoni khamiri roti, Baluchi kulcha and Kashmiri kulcha cooked in the traditional way as well as breads with a twist like olive chilli garlic naan, that is cooked with black and green olives and brushed with virgin olive oil are also making their way to the table. And there is more on offer like the Tandoori Ragi ka Masaledar Nanza, Makhmali Pudina and Rosemary Paratha, Chukandari Worki Paratha and Thyme Charcoal Bharwan Chicken Baida Roti. Sanjeev Kumar, Chef De Cuisine, Renaissance Bengaluru Race Course Hotel explains, “Khasta Khamiri Roti which is a popular staple food from the Mughal Age is generally served with non-vegetarian dishes such as Korma but at our restaurant LUSH, we make special Khasta Khamiri roti and serve them with our famous Methi gosht ki seekh kebab and Kasoori murgh kebab. These rotis are made with a combination of ayurvedic ingredients such as saunf, kalonji and kevda. Apart from adding flavors to the bread, these ingredients also make bread easy to digest. We make kulchas using fresh coriander, potato and topping is done with poppy seeds and sesame seeds. Considering these are heavy bread, we only serve them with mushroom ghee roast and murgh makhani khata pyaz.”
Health First
Breads made by normal process are made with white flour and are very heavy on the stomach. Considering people are more health-conscious restaurants are using healthy ingredients in flat breads as well. “The thought to process behind creating new flat breads beyond rotis, naans and kulchas is that they are totally healthy, glutton free and vegan options available and are made with a modern Indian style. Indian chefs add secret spices too,” says Siddarth Noronha, Executive Sous Chef, Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences. With the focus on whole grains, breads are also getting a makeover with the base flours ranging from multigrain variants and there is a focus on flours like millet-based flours (ragi, bajra, jowar), water chestnut (singhada), chickpea flour and more.
Read the full story that first appeared in The Tribune dated August 23, 2020 here:
