Lesser-known ingredients on Indian chefs' lists

The Hindu

5 days ago

On a starry night in the Thar Desert earlier this year, chef Hussain Shahzad of The Bombay Canteen prepared a sumptuous feast for guests at Mihir Garh, a boutique hotel in Jodhpur, one of several properties owned by House of Rohet. His challenge? To showcase the unique flavours of local Rajasthani ingredients, especially gamey meats such as rabbit and quail, with a contemporary twist.
'Chefs are successfully leveraging the ecosystem they grew up in,' says Shahzad, whose love of quail was cemented growing up in Chennai, where the bird (harder to come by in the north of India) is a fixture on local menus. At this special dinner, a collaboration between The Bombay Canteen and House of Rohet, he gave the bird a creative spin — slow-cooked with Mathania chilli, a Rajasthani variety known for its deep red colour and strong flavour. 'Instead of the usual curry or roast, we tuck it into a taco, making it a fun, flavourful bite, with just a hint of smokiness,' he says.
Like many creative minds, Shahzad finds inspiration close to home, aiming to build a more sustainable, organic food culture. His cooking is rooted in heritage and family traditions — each dish telling a story, through its ingredients or the way it's prepared. And he's not the only one; today, chefs across India are sourcing lesser-known indigenous meats, grains, herbs and spices to create dishes full of memory, history and provenance. From Kerala's sprouted coconut to Garhwal's mandua millet, we track down a few of these beloved but outside the mainstream must trys.
On a flavour hunt
My first stop is Guwahati, the gateway to the Northeast. The food habits here are dramatically different from the rest of India, with pork, pigeon, fish, and seasonal greens cooked in a light broth or fermented to perfection. We are on the hunt for the thekera fruit, indigenous to the evergreen forests in Assam, and used as a souring agent in many of its dishes, including the popular masor tenga, a tangy fish curry.
Later, in Uttarakhand, we try ingredients like bhang (cannabis seeds), rhododendron, and nettle grass from the Tehri Garhwal region, which are slowly finding their way onto menus across India. 'Bhang chutney, made from crushed seeds mixed with green chillies and coriander leaves, has no psychoactive effects,' says homestay owner and chef Deepa Pathak. 'But it delivers a sharp hit to the palette.' In Garhwal, a variety of grains — bajra (pearl millet), jhangora (barnyard millet), and kadra or mandua (kodo millet) — are creatively used in sweet and savoury dishes. A local biscuit combines mandua, jowar, and bajra (which offer three to five times the nutritional benefits of rice and wheat) with ground flax and chia seeds.
Further north, executive chef Pankaj Singh Panwar of The Westin Resort & Spa, Himalayas, gives local nettle leaves a modern twist with a contemporary saag preparation. The natural bitterness of the leaves, we learn, is removed by combining them with tender spinach.
Timur and sprouted coconut
But you don't have to travel far to experience these local ingredients. They are travelling the length and breadth of the country, thanks to chefs and restaurants proudly showcasing these lesser-known ingredients. For instance, timur, a rare and prized wild Himalayan pepper, known for its citrusy aroma, is giving Sichuan peppercorns a run for its money. 'At Loya in Taj West End, Bengaluru, we roast and crush timur peppercorns before marinating fresh prawns, which is served with a pahadi bhang jeera chutney,' says chef Rajesh Wadhawa. 'It adds an unexpected depth to traditional seafood dishes.'
In Mumbai, Jérémie Sabbagh, head baker and partner of Suzette Bakery and Kitchen Garden, incorporates Garhwal's grains in his breads for nutritional value. 'We use it for most of our sandwiches at the bakery,' he says.
Coastal treasures are also making their mark. Thirty-five minutes away at Ekaa, which prides itself in crafting 'culinary narratives shaped by India's rich diversity', one of their recent menus features rarely seen ingredients such as sprouted coconut — a delicacy from Kerala that forms inside mature coconuts, and prized for its sweetness and airy texture. Indian sea asparagus is another star, a wild, salt-tolerant plant that thrives in coastal marshlands. With its naturally briny, mineral-rich flavour, it brings a subtle taste of the ocean to every dish.
'Each ingredient is chosen not just for its flavour, but for the narrative it holds — the people who cultivate it, the environment that shapes it, and the traditions that have preserved it over generations,' says chef Niyati Rao of Ekaa. 'These often-overlooked ingredients carry stories of resilience, craftsmanship, and the evolving relationship between nature and cuisine.'
Choose local
East
Northeast:Bilahi (tomato), bogori (Indian jujube), thekera, outenga (elephant apple), and kordoi (starfruit) are available in fresh and dry forms. There's also Naga chillies, bhut jolakhia (ghost peppers), fermented bamboo shoots, khar (made from the ashes of banana peel), black sesame seeds, and maan dhania (wild coriander).
Odisha: Ambulo (dried mango) and badi (dried lentil).
North and West
Tehri Garhwal and Rajasthan: Cannabis, timur, rhododendron, nettle leaves, mathania chilli, and emmer (wheat).
South
Kerala: kodampulli (Malabar tamarind, a souring agent), sprouted coconut, and Indian sea asparagus.
Adding to cocktails
Indian mixologists are jumping on the bandwagon, too. Souring agents such as kokum are being used to add a tart, refreshing twist. In Pune, Kimaya Brewing Company offers a kokum cider. In Guwahati, microbrewery Terra Mayaa has crafted Aamras, a mango ale.
Even homegrown spirit brands are getting creative with Indian-inspired cocktails. 'Hapusa's Himalayan Negroni features Himalayan Sichuan pepper, a nod to the brand's Himalayan roots,' says Vikram Achanta, co-founder of 30BestBarsIndia. At Masque in Mumbai, the team regularly experiments with unusual Indian spices. 'Terra, our raw turmeric-infused gin, has been a bestseller since day one,' says head mixologist Ankush Gamre. 'We've also worked with tirphal bitters, jalpai, Bhavnagiri chilli, and apricot oils. Lately, we're exploring more savoury, vegetal profiles — using local seaweed and leafy greens to create drinks with depth and complexity.'
So, on your next evening out, be sure to check the menu for something you may have never tried before but that holds a special place in local, indigenous cuisine.
The writer is based in Mumbai.