Japarati or Gujupanese Fare, Anyone?

As old friends Narendra (Modi) and Shinzo (Abe) met in Ahmedabad again with hefty delegations of officials and businesspeople in tow, it was not surprising that there was fusion afoot. And, well, a cook. Among the nibbles apparently laid on for this Indo-Japanese prime ministerial powwow — besides classic favourites of the host, handvo and undhiyu — were dhokla maki and khichdi sushi.

While the uninitiated may pucker up at the thought of besan (chickpea flour) and seaweed in the symphony, the two VIPs are lucky their meal was not dished up by another visiting celebrity, Chef Gaggan Anand from Bangkok. He not only has just Japanese-style emojis on his menu cards, he has been known to turn dhokla or khandvi into mousse with coconut nitro “snow” and curry leaves.

While the two PMs are obviously all for technology — the bullet train, after all, is a major part of the Ahmedabad agenda —whether the two would have been able or willing to stomach such radical creativity is moot.

However, Japanese fusion food is becoming increasingly popular in major cities across the globe, with ramen burgers and sushi burritos leading the way. The Peruvian-Japanese melange called Nikkei food is already a cult gastronomic genre, so this week’s Japarati or Gujupanese experiment could put Ahmedabad on the cutting-edge cuisine map too.