FUSION FOODS-FUTURE TREND IN INDIA

"Indianization" of foreign foods seems to be the "mantra" of many multinational food companies who find it difficult to make any breakthrough in business in India with their otherwise successful recipes of western origin. Fusion foods, though a relatively new word in the food lexicon, brings out the reality that unless products that best suit Indian palates are launched, it is a Herculean task for the MNCs to establish sound business competing with the small scale caterers. Indian fast food outlets and road side vendors. Here is an example of such efforts by some companies as a part of their survival and growth strategy.

"Several "cross-border" cuisines seem to have emerged in the process. One such example is the 'Indo Chinese' that has items like 'gobi manchurian' on its menu. So now, preparation of chicken tikka might as well be slightly changed to marinating the chicken pieces in a 'laksa' paste, made from the Singaporean herb 'laksa' leaves, to give it a Singaporean twist before finishing on the charcoal grill. Similarly, 'laksa' might be used in the fragrant basmati -rice Indian 'pulao' preparation to make the 'laksa pulao' which its creator Chef Rajkamal Chopra of WelcomHotel Sheraton insists tastes best with 'raita' or spiced yoghurt. "It is very important for a chef to break out of routine and experiment, says Chopra. Similar views are echoed by renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor who feels "chefs by nature are experimental". "However, today the diner has also begun experimenting, and this gives the chef more liberty and a stronger reason to do so."  Kapoor, who recently launched the Hindi version of his website to attract "new internet users" also attributed the large number of outbound as well as inbound traffic to and from the country to have helped cause the change. Global fast food players like McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Hut and Chikking, a new entrant into the north Indian market, have also innovated with local ingredients to suit the Indian palette".

Fusion foods basically brings about rapport between Indian traditional food tastes and successful foreign products, be it from China, Europe or the US. It is remarkable that even a giant like McDonalds or Pepsico has grasped the significance of this aspect of creating new foods for marketing in this country. Sure, this is going to be the future trend whether in India or other Asian and African countries. Probably India may see many such developments in future with more and more foreign players adopting this route for success.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com