Roxie in Bengaluru is currently hosting a puffizza festival that combines the flavours of puff pastry and pizza. The festival showcases a variety of puffizza creations, each with its own cultural influences and distinct stuffing.
Chef ViveQ Pawar sheds light on the evolutionary trajectory of puff pastry in the realm of Indian snacks. “We as Indians have always accepted different cultures including the culinary ones and made them our own. Puff pastry is a similar innovation. From the reading that I have done, puff pastries came into India through France and Britain as a colonial snack.” He further adds, “The puff pastry has evolved in the last 26 years and it has been a culinary adventure to say the least!”
ViveQ shares his personal experiences with puff pastries, saying, “I remember gorging on khari from Nafeez bakehouse in Mumbai. I have also relished the iconic pattice of the then Mafco Cafés at Cuff Parade and cream rolls from Monginis as well as the Ahar railway eatery stalls of Mumbai.”
He highlights the various flavours and fillings that have become popular over the years, stating, “Nationally, a few restaurants, cafes, and street food stalls innovated further and created puff pastries with fillings of Hakka noodles, butter chicken, chilli paneer, and Schezwan chicken to name a few.”
When discussing the inspiration behind the unique flavours in the puff pastry creations at the Puffizza festival, ViveQ said, “Our inspiration was the iconic bakehouses across the country and internationally, which added a special element to the puff and made it their signature dish.”
Chef Madhura Deshmukh at Roxie | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
He further explained, “We were also looking to innovate with the puff and after experimenting, we decided the puff pizza was a delicious addition to the menu. Also, both puffs and pizzas are very dear to me, so I wanted to try a version that brought together and I am happy that we have been successfully able to do so.”
Chef Madhura Deshmukh, baker, explains how a puffiza is made at Roxie, “We have tried to recreate the pizza by making the base, a puff. The base is flaky while the toppings add a nice texture and flavour to the dish.” She emphasised the importance of freshness and flakiness, mentioning, “This is a limited menu for a short period at Roxie. To ensure freshness and flakiness, it is made to order and not pre-made, for it to be leisurely eaten and enjoyed with friends.”
The festival showcases a variety of creations that pay homage to different cultural influences. ViveQ says “The puffizza festival pays homage to different bakeries in the country.”
He described some of the specific puffizza creations and their cultural influences, such as the Landour’s paneer tikka puff and the Nahoum’s paneer puff. “The Landour Bake House is known for its paneer tikka puffs and we needed to include that. The curried chicken puff is a story of how the Madras curry powder reached England and how the British commissioned this curry powder to be sent back home,” he says.
Roxie in Bengaluru is hosting the Puffizza Festival until July 15, with an approximate cost of ₹500 + taxes for two.
