The rocket science of good food

Divyanshu Dutta Roy

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It was about 60 years ago that after a day of hard work an enterprising chef at an old Delhi restaurant decided to shuffle some leftover tandoori chicken in a tomato-and-cream gravy, thus inventing what we today love as the mighty butter chicken. At least that’s how the tale goes, anyway. But if you thought that was the last time brainwaves (and not microwaves) tried to renovate and re-invent cuisine, then you’re mistaken. Among the latest in that effort today, is something called ‘molecular gastronomy’ that is the new hot trend in the food world.

What’s in a name

Molecular gastronomy is just a fancy (some would say pretentious!) name that for all counts and applicable purposes means transforming food through the power of science and technology. But since the products that come out of it are nothing shy of fancy, the name has stuck. Examples of said products — a transparent ravioli, jackfruit kebabs and powdered Nutella. 

Taking advantage of the advances in various scientific disciplines since, molecular cuisine offers quirky and often edible samples that intrigue your senses. One thing almost always found in this wonderland is the attempt to always change the form and the ingredients. More often than not juices and liquids will undergo “spherification” giving you tiny grapes that taste like mango juice maybe. Shapes of food shall be altered to get you something like a cube-shaped rendition of the usually elaborate eggs Benedict. While the academics of the field will go on and on about the quest of advancing cuisine through physics and chemistry, for most regular folk it means food straight from the Mad Hatter’s menu. Cocktails in ice spheres. Caviar made of olive oil. Crab ice cream, the works. Thankfully, an increasing number of prominent figures in cuisine worldwide in recent years have rejected the term “molecular gastronomy” and begun calling it things like "modern cuisine", "modernist cuisine", "experimental cuisine" or "avant-garde cuisine".

Time and space

Though there have been sightings of it before in varying forms, and sometimes, for the entertainment of TV audiences, the movement began in late 1980s and early 1990s and the term was officially coined in 1988 by Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti and French physical chemist Hervé This. By the early 1990s, the world had begun seeing the first gatherings of scientists and professional cooks and by the second half of the decade it had sprouted menacing tentacles and become a discipline of study with globally recognised objectives and tools. More recently though, there had been a movement to bring back the objective closer to its application. Led by influential chefs, the science and innovation is being reclaimed to produce things not for the lab but for the dining table. But it was not before the second half of the last decade that several restaurants began sprouting across India, inspired mainly by the novelty of the multitude of bells and whistles and endless possibilities that the technique could bring to the rich fare of desi cuisine.

Changing tastes

Let’s face it. At some point in our life, no matter how much we love butter chicken, we do yearn for the occasional break and a new twist. That’s why people pay atrocious amounts to eat raw fish at Sushi bars and that’s why Vikas Khanna’s Twist of Taste is the new KhanaKhazana.

So even though it might be expensive, it might be time for some Amritsari fish and chips or a glucose biscuit cheesecake. Restaurants that serve this high-tech food are rare but they usually do innovate — that’s why going there on a date or a family brunch and exploring a 20-course meal becomes an occasion by itself. If you are going hunting for the molecular gastronomy in India, the great thing is you will find a great list of fares — from the most interesting of foreign innovations like the translucent pastas to the most satisfying of Indian wares such as vegetarian kebabs.So why not have some dehydrated banana fritters, spherified thandai, foamed mango and gelled crab meat. Just remember to thank the gods of science and tech along with those of food.

Nascent stage

Molecular gastronomy in India is still taking baby steps and print and television features not unlike this one have been claiming it’s the next big thing for the last couple of years. Although by now it’s safe to say it’s not shutting down the vibrant stree-food scene in India, nor the McDonald’s up the curb but it certainly is and will compete with the expensive, fine dining institutions. Exceptions are totally possible. Already, establishments like Masala Library in Mumbai or Farzi Café in Gurgaon have made quite a name for themselves even as well-known restaurants such as The Park in Delhi and Mocha in Bangalore have embraced the new and shiny technique of the serving gastronomical surprises. 

The plate less tasted

If you want to try it out the best bet is to go out to one of these fledgling eateries to try some of the brews out. If it interests you, molecular gastronomy do-it-yourself kits are available online and the some of the most popular vendors such as MolecularRecipes.com offer these at affordable international shipping. These packages come at different price points and complexity. The $99 Essentials Kit for example comes with a high-precision digital scale, silicone hemisphere mold, food-grade syringe, a silicone tube to make agar spaghetti, among other contraptions. It can be safely assumed that with just a little bit of research you can very well get down to inhaling the best of vapours or serving your guests with spheres of startling taste.

Defining the new wave

It is a branch of food science. Culinary ingredients are broken down to their chemical composition and paired with similar foods. Or change their shapes, textures and form. Still in its early days in India but these high-tech eating joints are making a name for themselves. By now all major cities have outlets of various shapes, sizes and budgets. Check local listings.

Special touch

Molecular gastronomy is raved about because the same foods that you have grown tired of are today being served in the most imaginative remixes possible. 

But not all dishes will be to your taste.

Total transformation

That’s what it started out as but the more pragmatic practitioners of this art-science only believe in transforming things with science and technology and making it more and more accessible.

The new hip thing

It is. There’s quite something about being treated to a 20 or a 30-course meal with all forms of bells and whistles. These are one of the more up and coming ‘destination dine-outs’ in our cities today.

Cheers to it

There’s a whole world of liquids in molecular gastronomy. Cocktails, mocktails you name it and they will serve it with some icy Nitrogen.