After making curries for Londoners for years, Chef Atul Kochhar has opened his new signature eatery to serve food featuring the cuisine of northeastern India. His new restaurant will focus on the food of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim — the reason being to introduce people to the distinct cuisine and flavours of the region.
According to him, the flavours here are so unique that it cannot be compared with the cuisines of the rest of the country.
Kochhar gushes about the fermentation techniques, air drying of meat and use of extremely subtle flavours to create a unique taste profile. However, he also says that he won’t use bhut jolokia , or ghost chilli. “Personally, I would love to use bhut jolokia, but it will be impossible for Europeans to go through the intense flavour of the chilli,” he says. Edited excerpts from an interview:
What is the idea behind Kanishka?
The idea behind Kanishka is to explore the food of the lesser-known regions of India, in particular the Northeast. This cuisine has not been given the recognition it deserves, particularly in the UK. I’ve explored various regional Indian cuisines at my restaurants, so for Kanishka I wanted to challenge myself by exploring something new and different to what Londoners are familiar with.
The cuisine of the Northeast is not well-explored. How would you hope to educate diners to try the cuisine?
I think London’s diners are increasingly interested in trying regional Indian cuisine — they’re becoming more aware that India is a huge country and our food doesn’t simply consist of what they know from a British curry house. I think guests will be surprised at how familiar a lot of the food from the Northeast is, though — the influence of bordering countries such as Nepal, China and Bangladesh can be seen in the use of ingredients like soya and raw meat.
In your opinion, is the food from the Northeast bland?
Not at all! The food of the Northeast is incredibly flavoursome, combining tastes from bordering countries with beautiful results.
Because the states are so remote and mountainous, techniques such as salting, smoking and fermenting are necessary — all of which result in unique and powerful flavours.
How did you get a chance to learn and understand the cuisine?
By travelling — I have travelled to the region and some of my family are living there currently. I was also born and raised in East India, so I can connect quite easily.
The ingredients used, especially the herbs, are not easily available. How do you plan to meet the requirements?
I’ve always primarily used British, seasonal ingredients in my cooking — there’s no point importing all our ingredients because they’re never going to taste as fresh or delicious as they do at the source. Instead, it’s about making the most of the premium produce we have on our doorstep and adapting accordingly.
What is your most preferred dish from the region?
Anything that is made with bamboo shoot. This flavour is one of my favourites from that region.
