Fusion is the new allure
If you’ve never heard of spaghetti shots, gulkand cupcakes, chocolate rasmalai, tomato-jasmine tea soup, paneer lasagna, jalapeno-stuffed kachoris, apple jalebi, omelette with papad and cashews, tea-poached chicken, and ande ka halwa, you’ve probably never come face to face with fusion foods. From sushi burgers to caramalised kimchi fries, this new breed is almost everywhere. Fusion isn’t always about molecules and atoms… and yet, isn’t it? But then, physics labs do not have a proprietary right on the word because we now see it happen all around us. Fusion fascinates and is present almost the way a deconstructed samosa, a tandoori broccoli, seabass in madras curry, and grilled asparagus with achaari paneer convert food into fusion food – or Comida de fusion, Fusionsnahrung, Nourriture de fusion, or samesmelting kos as it may be called in other parts of the world. Fusion in foods is a convergence of passion, creative love, conceptual thought and hard work done in a respectful and informed way so that the charm of the original recipe doesn’t get mutilated at all.
Fusion in foods is a convergence of passion, creative love, conceptual thought and hard work done in a respectful and informed way so that the charm of the original recipe doesn’t get mutilated at all
La fusión es una tendencia… or fusion is a trend globally, and this allure is only increasing. I’ve been to Republic of Noodles in Hyderabad and realised how magically their chef transformed taste into an uncontrollable giggle for the palate. It is almost like nature blending seamlessly with a nomad to create a landscape that tantalises. Marshall Rosenthal in ‘The Art of the Plated Dessert’ (1997) famously wrote of fusion food: “It can jump off the plate at you but it doesn’t have to chase you out of the restaurant.” What is obvious is that surprise is a necessary ingredient of fusion. And this element of surprise comes together with taste that bows gracefully and then tantalisingly dances its way through your taste-buds into the auricular folds of your heart. And all you can do is murmur softy about being lucky enough to live in a lovelier world.
Now if stretch our talk about fusion food a bit longer, every corner of the capital has restaurants serving food where fusion is creatively melded into all that they serve. Look at what places like Fusion5 does… or enter Yuktha… or step into even the well-known KFC and Subway outlets and you’ll know that fusion and exclusivity go together. No wonder then that even food hops that want to remain in the race today needs to serve achaari chicken or seekh and tikka subs to their Indian customers. This does not mean that peri-peri, tacos, nachos, kimchi, and smoked chicken remain alien terms… they are the ones that find the right Indian partners here and give food the creative fusion that was missing all these years. After all, the common man too has an equal right over the tsunami of attention that fusion is getting today… though there will always be limited edition outlets like Indian Accent where the transcription of the word ‘fusion’ reaches a new dimension.
Why must one diverse form of cooking be isolated and not allowed to explore a union with other forms is a concept and a thought that has gained momentum now. Yes, it is, of course, to be done with a lot of restraint and research, as even Alain Ducasse says, “Classical cooking and molecular gastronomy should remain separate. You can mix two styles and get fusion; anymore, and you just get confusion.” Obviously then, fusion and confusion are to be seen as separate entities and never the twain must meet. The truth behind fusion foods is that the good parts from multiple trends tend to come together and create a new haven for connoisseurs and those who appreciate the world becoming a lovelier place to live. It is almost like the fusion appreciation that Nehru jackets being paired with denim jeans get, or the global applause for a musical composition by A R Rahman for a Hollywood flick, or the mesmerising looks that Jackie Chan gets while training with Indian choreographers, or even the news about Maruti launching DzireAllure for the car lovers in the country. By the way, even the new Maruti Allure has a colour range that reflects fusion of colours with real life ecstasy… and sangria red, cave black, magma grey, alp blue, silky silver, pearl arctic white are nothing but fusion taken one step forward in a classy and stylish way. This automobile obviously brings together the latest in technology, electronics, design and fuses them all to give driving and comfort a new dimension.
These examples of fusion are all signs of a great welcome to a lovelier world and an affirmation that fusion is here to stay as some sort of a dynamic new specie. Finer things are always limited and only a mind that understands the subtle notes of a well-composed fusion effort can possibly understand this well.
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La fusión es una tendencia… or fusion is a trend globally, and this allure is only increasing
Fusion fascinates and is present almost the way a deconstructed samosa, a tandoori broccoli, seabass in madras curry, and grilled asparagus with achaari paneer convert food into fusion food – or Comida de fusion, Fusionsnahrung, Nourriture de fusion, or samesmelting kos as it may be called in other parts of the world
Fusion in foods is a convergence of passion, creative love, conceptual thought and hard work done in a respectful and informed way so that the charm of the original recipe doesn’t get mutilated at all
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Arvind Passey
08 March 2017
