The Sober-Curious Movement, A Cheesecake Issue, & Asma Khan's New Cookbook

The year began with some good news.

Last month, the Maharashtra government cleared a proposal to sell wine in supermarkets and walk-in shops. This decision has piqued Karnataka’s interest too, and they will send a team to Maharashtra to study the implementation. They should take a leaf out of Goa’s books, where not just wine but alcohol can be found in retail stores.

A report from the business technology firm CIIE.CO and Good Food Institute claims that cultivated meat could positively transform India’s food system, a trend no doubt helped by the fact that nearly 50 percent of Indian consumers are willing to try cultivated meat. The Commerce Ministry says that India’s export of Ready to Eat (RTE), Ready to Cook (RTC), and Ready to Serve (RTS) have been on the rise for the past decade —a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12 percent.

The recent Union Budget featured substantial cuts in subsidies for food and fertilisers and increased allocations for agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry sectors.

In non-Indian news, NASA has launched a contest that invites people to come up with an effective project to feed a team of four astronauts sent to Mars for a three-year mission. It is offering a million dollars (only to US resident, sadly) to those who can come up with a sustainable solution

Here are some highlights from the month.

Feeding the sharks
A recent #TIL was that India has its own, highly dramatized version of Shark Tank. The show launched in December and has already built up a fan following. For the industry, it was exciting to see some new and old brands seeking funding for their ideas. Some of the enterprising companies that impressed the judges include: Delhi-based Blue Pine and its frozen momos, ice pops from Hyderabad-based Skippi, healthy ice-cream brand, Get-A-Whey; the Goan vegan jackfruit alt-meat company, Wakao Foods; and Ayurvedic Namhya Foods. In the beverages section, some exciting brands included all-natural flavoured water, Beyond Water from Kolkata; NOCD (No Carbs Drink) from Bengaluru, which offers a sugar-free, zero-carbohydrate drink; and INACAN, a canned cocktail company making low-calorie cocktails.

Time to get sober
There’s no stopping the RTD market in India. Salud Beverages recently launched three pour-and-enjoy variants — a Watermelon & Mint G&T 2.0 with watermelon and mint, Salud Strong is a classic English Juniper-crafted gin and Sonic is a low-sugar refresher of soda and tonic with just 99 calories. “There’s been a rise in the ‘sober-curious movement’ due to the growing popularity of low and non-alcohol drinks. Sober-curious people still drink alcohol but they are more mindful of the effects on their mental and physical health. Limiting their intake of high alcohol beverages, and favouring low or non-alcoholic drinks, instead,” says Ajay Shetty, founder-director, Salud Beverages.

On the subject of ‘sober curious’, a new restaurant in Mumbai Loci and Toot has a ‘dry bar’, a beverage menu boasting of zero-proof spirits, Indian and international. This includes Svami products, GinISH and RuMISH from Denmark, and Seedlip from London.

Beyond the Ether
Ether, the atelier and chocolate laboratory of sorts by chef (and part wizard) Prateek Bakhtiani, has a new product out. And no, it doesn’t have chocolate.

Cheesecake from the new issue of Way Too Many Cavities

In September last year, Bakhtiani launched a pastry magazine, Way Too Many Cavities. The series of bulletins aims to look at the world of pastry from a professional viewpoint. There are familiar names form the industry — Pooja Dhingra, Heena Punwani, Naimita Jagasia — sharing recipes and explaining the technicality behind them. The first bulletin was dedicated to chocolate cake; the second one looks at cheesecake, and cheese. Bakhtiani does the designing, tests the recipes and shoots the images. The digital/PDF version is free for download.

If you are missing the chocolate, Ether has collaborated with Diplomatico (rum) to create a limited-edition box containing Reserva Exclusiva paired with the Ether Sierra (pre-order here).

New eats
Goa, despite struggling with rising COVID cases, hasn’t seen a slowdown in the hospitality industry. Making a name for itself is chef Pablo Miranda’s Makutsu Yakitori Bar & Japanese Street Food Joint serving up gizzard, thigh, cartilage and other yakitori, and cold soba noodles. Chef Sandeep Sreedharan also opened his earth-bases Elaa Café serving local, seasonal, sustainable produce. Others include the Portuguese Goan Maai, Vida, a resto-bar offering familiar and reimagined flavours of Goa, and the ‘modern-tribal’ Totem.

Mumbai, having final received a boost in the form of a directives that allows them to stay open till 1.30am, is buzzing too. The Game Garden is a 30,000 sq-ft experience in Navi Mumbai that offers indoor golf, bungee soccer, arcade games and more, along with a dining experience. The Canary is a London-inspired mead taproom showcasing modern British pub culture. Origin Restaurants’ new venture is pet-friendly and also showcases their Origin craft meads. Over in Juhu, Emerald Hotel launched an all-day vegetarian Café 49. Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels Limited’s Someplace Else opened at Jio World Drive Mall, Bandra Kurla Complex offering the city a new place for live music. BKC also said hello to Noon, an ‘ingredient-driven’ restaurant serving local, seasonal, organic produce from smoked lotus root fritters to purple bean tacos; and chef Ritu Dalmia’s Motodo Pizzeria.

Turn the pages
The biggest and most disappointing publishing news recently was learning that Amazon has shut down Westland Publications, taking off the shelves some fantastic authors and food books like The Biryani Trail by Shoaib Daniyal.

For those who want their fix of food from books, there are new options in the market.

Model and photographer Prasanna Pandarinathan has written an ode to her mother Nirmala. Ammi – An Expression of Love uses curated recipes and anecdotes to put together part cookbook and part memoir. Chef Christine Manfield drew on memories from over 40 visits to India for her cookbook, Indian Cooking Class. Coming in April is chef Asma Khan (of Darjeeling Express) new cookbook. Ammu is a collection of recipes from Khan’s childhood, which honours her mother and the impact she has had on the chef’s life.

Joanna Lobo is an independent journalist from Goa who enjoys writing about food, her Goan heritage, the freelance life, and other things that make her happy. Follow her on @thatdoggonelady.

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