Shepherd’s pie with chicken 'rogan josh' filling: Bengaluru is adding a local twist to classic Christmas dishes

BENGALURU: When Christmas menus have dishes like Shepherd’s pie with chicken rogan josh filling and Mexican chilli rubbed roast chicken, you know you are in a new-age Bengaluru.

While you can’t take away the strong, rooted Christian and Anglo-Indian culture, the IT city is also responding to the new pulse of its cosmopolitan cauldron. World flavours are influencing Christmas foods like roast turkey, roast chicken with baby potatoes, stuffing, pudding and yule log. On the other hand, ingredients of the festive season are becoming tools of innovation for limited edition menus as restaurateurs and chefs cashing in on the culinary trend that reflects the city’s evolving palate.

Chef Saurabh Arora has given multiple twists to the Christmas menu at Smoke House Deli and Social chain in the city. Examples include Naga chilli pork ribs with maple and orange sauce; mutton seekh with Christmas fruits, pita bread and walnut chutney; pumpkin paratha with chicken sausage masala; and winter salad with ginger and marmalade dressing.

“Everyone does season’s classics like roast turkey and honey-glazed ham. The idea is to make a fun Christmas menu that grabs eyeballs and helps us to stay one-up in the competitive F&B industry,” says Arora.

Celebrated chef Sarah Todd, too, took the fusion route for Chai Point’s Christmas tea-time snack menu on Swiggy with plates like chicken samosa with cranberry chutney and shepherd’s pie with chicken rogan josh filling.

Chefs are exploring cuisines from different parts of the world to curate a Christmas menu that is as limited an edition as possible. Chef V Bharathan of The Whitefield Arms pub — known for its Anglo-Indian fusion food — has taken the Middle-East route. For the last two weeks of the month, he will be serving a Christmas version of Palestinian maqluba where the pilaf (pulao rice) is flavoured with caramelized onion, aubergine, cinnamon and sweet pepper instead of traditional garam masala. It will come with turkey tikka masala and fig naan.

“Bengaluru market enjoys fusion food. Curating an offbeat Christmas menu with middle eastern flavours is a natural progression,” says Bharathan.

Likewise, chef Vikas Seth is adding the flavors of Mexico to the Christmas menu at Sanchez. An example is Mexican chilli rubbed chicken roast, which will be served with spiced sweet potatoes and cranberry chipotle jus. “The pulse is that Bengalureans enjoy season’s classics like whole roast turkey at private Christmas parties. Traditional community dining does not happen at restaurants during this season. So, the idea is to keep in with the spirit of the season and bring in customers with limited edition menus that feature a comfortable slice of flavours of the month,” notes Seth.

Agrees culinary professional Natasha Hinshaw, who adds, “I have been receiving catering orders only for classic dishes like roast chicken and stuffing for private bashes. However, the restaurants are fulfilling the demands of the holiday season as the city’s cosmopolitan nature requires one to embrace all the cultures.”