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Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Cooking Up a Storm: Desi Chefs Spice up the Big Apple
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads At 7:30 on a sweltering summer evening in New York City, the Garment District is winding down. The frantic activity of the Big Apple 's fashion hub gives way to a quieter time of day. But the air still hums with the excitement of secrets to be revealed. Times Square is to the north with its bright lights and heaving crowds, while the Empire State Building is unmissable, awash with colour from the lights. The mannequins in the shop windows, draped in sequined fabric, seem glimmeringly sentient. Tucked away on West 37th Street, a storefront announces Chatti in a flamboyant italic script and, in smaller but no less confident font, By Regi is the celebrated Indian chef's toddy shop-inspired, Kerala-style kitchen. And it's part of a wave. New York is in the throes of a spice-sprinkled gourmet glasnost that is unapologetically city's Indian food scene used to be split, only half-jokingly, into butter chicken for the masses, molecular gastronomy for the those extremes lay an arid vacuum. The ground has shifted with a bunch of intrepid, creative chefs serving Indian food that's uncompromisingly hyperlocal and high concept to NYC. Diners can't get enough of it. And the food critics, powerful enough to make or break restaurants in this part of the world, are the first time in its nearly century long history, the New York Times anointed an Indian restaurant—Semma—as No. 1 in its Top 100 Restaurants in NYC South Indian fine-dining destination, helmed by chef Vijay Kumar (formerly of California's Michelin-starred Rasa) and backed by restaurateurs Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya of Unapologetic Foods, has emerged as an unmistakable disruptor in fine dining. Alongside Semma, several other Indian restaurants made it to the Times' Top 100, including Dhamaka, known for its fiery, rustic menu from the Indian hinterlands; Masalawala undefined Bungalow , a newer entrant from celebrity chef Vikas Khanna blending artful plating with deep-rooted Punjabi flavours; and Dera, a Jackson Heights staple offering a rich blend of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi Foods is at the heart of this spice-splashed revolution. Pandya has also won the much sought-after James Beard prize for chefs. Most importantly, their growing empire—Semma, Dhamaka, Adda, Masalawala & Sons and Rowdy Rooster—doesn't pander to Western palates. Dhamaka and Semma are booked months in advance. Diners are lucky if they can snag a reservation on Resy.'The Indian food scene right now is as exciting as it's ever been in New York City,' says veteran food writer Andrea Strong. 'And that's in large part because of Chintan and Roni and Vijay.'Bungalow is Vikas Khanna's most personal offering to date.'This is my last restaurant,' he says, a culinary venture that caps off a 41-year career. 'New York is not an easy restaurant space, of course; it's the greatest, and it's also the toughest.'With Bungalow, he's reclaiming memory, an ode to what his late sister told him after admonishing him for 'chasing lists.''I have so many failed businesses where I could not break the code,' he says, but Bungalow is his York has had great South Asian food for quite some time, says Ryan Sutton, a food critic who has spent over two decades writing about food for Eater and now publishes The Lo Times. 'I remember going to a wedding at the original Junoon about a decade ago—probably the best wedding food I've ever had.'There was also Hemant Mathur's now-closed Tulsi, which had a Michelin star, like Junoon. 'And of course Indian Accent rolled into town a while back, and that venue (like the late Floyd Cardoz's shuttered Tabla) proved that New Yorkers were willing to pay a serious premium for really good South Asian fare,' remembers Sutton. But admittedly, what's going on is more exciting than just trendy amuse Chatti, the room is filling up fast. Within the hour, it's packed—tables claimed, voices rising in a familiar rhythm. For a moment, it doesn't feel like New York anymore.'For so long, people only knew one kind of Indian food,' says Mathew. 'People become like a community… good food in smaller portions. Now, they're discovering the flavours of Kerala. They're discovering our stories.'Stories that—until a few years back—weren't an option in the fine dining circuit of New York's food scene. These ideas were mostly pushed to the confines of the immigrant-reliant borough of Queens.'What's happening is not a trend,' says Pandya, who fired up the kitchen at Dhamaka, listed as a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant. 'I think it took a lot of crazy steps, almost, that didn't make logical or business sense for us to arrive at this point, and those were the breakthroughs that we needed.'What is happening differently with Indian food, and specifically in their restaurants, is that they are serving the real thing. 'Food we've been cooking for a long time—at our households, at our events—but it was never represented,' says March 2017, common friends had introduced Mazumdar and Pandya to each other. Pandya says Mazumdar was 'a crazy entrepreneur' who wanted someone to partner with.'We knew one thing—our cuisine needed a radical shift,' Mazumdar says. 'Chintan had spent his whole career in fine dining. I came in with a disruptive mindset. That's where we connected. We didn't have a white paper or a protocol.'It was uncharted territory. Indian food had never really worked in this city. 'So we asked, what do we do about it?'Whether that meant serving gurda kapoora (goat kidney and testicles) or refusing to do takeout at the pandemic-born Dhamaka.'The very first time when you open the lid of a freshly cooked dish and that steam comes out—that's a dhamaka,' Pandya says. 'I cannot recreate that in a plastic container.'Currently, Semma is what every Indian wants to talk about. Kumar has taken the city by storm, given that it's unprecedented for a Tamil food-centric restaurant to get a Michelin Kumar wasn't hired to build Semma. He had written to Mazumdar when Rahi launched, saying he would love to join them he finally joined the kitchen at Rahi, his dishes stood out. At that point, Mazumdar said if they end up serving this, they would end up confusing Rahi's core consumers. So Semma was born. Rahi has since closed.'Semma showcases Tamil Nadu. Masalawala brings Kolkata. Dhamaka brought offal. This isn't about fusion or elevation. It's about recognition,' says says: 'The food is spicy, it's loud, it's rowdy, and it's fun. There's an energy to it that's similar to what you'd find in Bombay or Calcutta.'Unapologetic Foods is planning to open an Adda in Philadelphia and a fast-casual Kababwala in NYC by the end of this at Chatti, Mathew is busy attending to guests at every table—explaining toddy shop culture. Khanna says there are nights he sees scores waiting outside. 'They're just coming as a part of a pilgrimage. Agar restaurant ye create kar sakta hai, it means there's so much more.'For the first time, Indian food in New York isn't whispering. It's making noise—and it's not asking for permission. It's unapologetically Indian.
Economic Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
Semma to Chatti and Bungalow: Desi restaurants in Big Apple do a Dhamaka
Indian restaurants in New York are going unapologetically hyperlocal New York: At 7:30 on a sweltering summer evening in New York City, the Garment District is winding down. The frantic activity of the Big Apple's fashion hub gives way to a quieter time of day. But the air still hums with the excitement of secrets to be revealed. Times Square is to the north with its bright lights and heaving crowds, while the Empire State Building is unmissable, awash with colour from the lights. The mannequins in the shop windows, draped in sequined fabric, seem glimmeringly sentient. Tucked away on West 37th Street, a storefront announces Chatti in a flamboyant italic script and, in smaller but no less confident font, By Regi is the celebrated Indian chef's toddy shop-inspired, Kerala-style kitchen. And it's part of a wave. New York is in the throes of a spice-sprinkled gourmet glasnost that is unapologetically city's Indian food scene used to be split, only half-jokingly, into butter chicken for the masses, molecular gastronomy for the those extremes lay an arid vacuum. The ground has shifted with a bunch of intrepid, creative chefs serving Indian food that's uncompromisingly hyperlocal and high concept to NYC. Diners can't get enough of it. And the food critics, powerful enough to make or break restaurants in this part of the world, are the first time in its nearly century long history, the New York Times anointed an Indian restaurant—Semma—as No. 1 in its Top 100 Restaurants in NYC list. The South Indian fine-dining destination, helmed by chef Vijay Kumar (formerly of California's Michelin-starred Rasa) and backed by restaurateurs Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya of Unapologetic Foods, has emerged as an unmistakable disruptor in fine dining. Alongside Semma, several other Indian restaurants made it to the Times' Top 100, including Dhamaka, known for its fiery, rustic menu from the Indian hinterlands; Masalawala & Sons, a nostalgic tribute to Bengali home cooking; Bungalow, a newer entrant from celebrity chef Vikas Khanna blending artful plating with deep-rooted Punjabi flavours; and Dera, a Jackson Heights staple offering a rich blend of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi Foods is at the heart of this spice-splashed revolution. Pandya has also won the much sought-after James Beard prize for chefs. Most importantly, their growing empire—Semma, Dhamaka, Adda, Masalawala & Sons and Rowdy Rooster—doesn't pander to Western palates. Dhamaka and Semma are booked months in advance. Diners are lucky if they can snag a reservation on Resy.'The Indian food scene right now is as exciting as it's ever been in New York City,' says veteran food writer Andrea Strong. 'And that's in large part because of Chintan and Roni and Vijay.'Bungalow is Vikas Khanna's most personal offering to date.'This is my last restaurant,' he says, a culinary venture that caps off a 41-year career. 'New York is not an easy restaurant space, of course; it's the greatest, and it's also the toughest.'With Bungalow, he's reclaiming memory, an ode to what his late sister told him after admonishing him for 'chasing lists.''I have so many failed businesses where I could not break the code,' he says, but Bungalow is his homecoming. New York has had great South Asian food for quite some time, says Ryan Sutton, a food critic who has spent over two decades writing about food for Eater and now publishes The Lo Times. 'I remember going to a wedding at the original Junoon about a decade ago—probably the best wedding food I've ever had.' There was also Hemant Mathur's now-closed Tulsi, which had a Michelin star, like Junoon. 'And of course Indian Accent rolled into town a while back, and that venue (like the late Floyd Cardoz's shuttered Tabla) proved that New Yorkers were willing to pay a serious premium for really good South Asian fare,' remembers Sutton. But admittedly, what's going on is more exciting than just trendy amuse bouche. Inside Chatti, the room is filling up fast. Within the hour, it's packed—tables claimed, voices rising in a familiar rhythm. For a moment, it doesn't feel like New York anymore.'For so long, people only knew one kind of Indian food,' says Mathew. 'People become like a community… good food in smaller portions. Now, they're discovering the flavours of Kerala. They're discovering our stories.'Stories that—until a few years back—weren't an option in the fine dining circuit of New York's food scene. These ideas were mostly pushed to the confines of the immigrant-reliant borough of Queens.'What's happening is not a trend,' says Pandya, who fired up the kitchen at Dhamaka, listed as a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant. 'I think it took a lot of crazy steps, almost, that didn't make logical or business sense for us to arrive at this point, and those were the breakthroughs that we needed.'What is happening differently with Indian food, and specifically in their restaurants, is that they are serving the real thing. 'Food we've been cooking for a long time—at our households, at our events—but it was never represented,' says March 2017, common friends had introduced Mazumdar and Pandya to each other. Pandya says Mazumdar was 'a crazy entrepreneur' who wanted someone to partner with.'We knew one thing—our cuisine needed a radical shift,' Mazumdar says. 'Chintan had spent his whole career in fine dining. I came in with a disruptive mindset. That's where we connected. We didn't have a white paper or a protocol.'It was uncharted territory. Indian food had never really worked in this city. 'So we asked, what do we do about it?'Whether that meant serving gurda kapoora (goat kidney and testicles) or refusing to do takeout at the pandemic-born Dhamaka.'The very first time when you open the lid of a freshly cooked dish and that steam comes out—that's a dhamaka,' Pandya says. 'I cannot recreate that in a plastic container.'Currently, Semma is what every Indian wants to talk about. Kumar has taken the city by storm, given that it's unprecedented for a Tamil food-centric restaurant to get a Michelin Kumar wasn't hired to build Semma. He had written to Mazumdar when Rahi launched, saying he would love to join them he finally joined the kitchen at Rahi, his dishes stood out. At that point, Mazumdar said if they end up serving this, they would end up confusing Rahi's core consumers. So Semma was born. Rahi has since closed.'Semma showcases Tamil Nadu. Masalawala brings Kolkata. Dhamaka brought offal. This isn't about fusion or elevation. It's about recognition,' says says: 'The food is spicy, it's loud, it's rowdy, and it's fun. There's an energy to it that's similar to what you'd find in Bombay or Calcutta.'Unapologetic Foods is planning to open an Adda in Philadelphia and a fast-casual Kababwala in NYC by the end of this at Chatti, Mathew is busy attending to guests at every table—explaining toddy shop culture. Khanna says there are nights he sees scores waiting outside. 'They're just coming as a part of a pilgrimage. Agar restaurant ye create kar sakta hai, it means there's so much more.'For the first time, Indian food in New York isn't whispering. It's making noise—and it's not asking for permission. It's unapologetically Indian.
India Today
24-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Harvard's math crisis: Trump's jab, remedial classes and a deeper problem
It's been a wild week for Harvard University, and not the kind that makes the alumni a recent press meet, US President Donald Trump took a swipe at Harvard students, mocking them for 'needing remedial math' and suggesting some 'can't even add 2 and 2.'When a reporter asked Trump why he didn't want the 'best and brightest' from around the world to study at Harvard, he shot back:advertisement 'I do. But a lot of the people need remedial math, where these students cannot add 2 and 2 and they go to Harvard. They want remedial math and they are going to teach remedial math at Harvard.''How can someone who cannot add, don't have basic skills, get into Harvard?' he remarks sparked a fresh wave of outrage, and not just from academic behind the jab is a sobering truth: for the first time in its history, Harvard has introduced remedial math how did the world's most prestigious university end up here?TRUMP vs HARVARD: MORE THAN POLITICSTrump's comments come in the middle of an ongoing standoff between his political camp and Harvard over the enrolment of international a controversial move, the Trump-backed administration recently revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification. This meant the university could no longer admit new foreign students, and those already studying would be forced to transfer or lose their legal status in the 700 of those affected students are crackdown was justified on grounds of campus unrest, anti-Semitic incidents, and Harvard's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies -- issues that have become lightning rods in today's polarised political now, a federal judge has stepped in, issuing a temporary restraining order that pauses the ban. That gives Harvard and its international students a brief window of relief, but the future remains the ban returns, hundreds of Indian students and thousands more could be left stranded, mid-degree. WHAT'S REALLY BEHIND THE REMEDIAL MATH CLASSES?Now, back to Trump's 'can't add 2+2' comment. That punchline wasn't pulled from thin air. It's based -- somewhat crudely -- on a real change: in the 2023-24 academic year, Harvard rolled out a year-long remedial math course called Math isn't a casual elective. It meets five days a week and covers basics like algebra and geometry -- material you'd expect students to have mastered long before applying to an Ivy League Harvard says the course is necessary. Why? Two big reasons: the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the university's move away from standardised testing in the SAT and ACT going optional, admissions officers now have less data on applicants' maths ability. Combine that with pandemic-era learning gaps, and the result is a growing cohort of undergraduates who arrive at Harvard unprepared for college-level mathsWHY ARE SMART STUDENTS STRUGGLING?The crisis in maths readiness goes beyond Harvard, and it's been building for years. Four major factors stand out:Pandemic disruptions left students without in-person instruction during critical learning years, especially in admissions mean even elite schools may admit students without clear indicators of academic readiness in quantitative high school curricula has pushed towards abstract concepts, leaving students less equipped in practical achievement gaps in the US mean lower-income and minority students often enter university already behind in this broader context that makes Harvard's case so jarring. The university is turning away thousands of applicants with perfect SAT scores and AP Calculus credits, yet enrolling others who now need to relearn high school algebra. advertisementIS HARVARD LOWERING ITS STANDARDS?The controversy doesn't stop at remedial courses. Grade inflation is another hot topic. Reports now show that a whopping 79% of grades at Harvard fall in the A see this as evidence that the university's rigorous standards are eroding in favour of participation trophies. Defenders argue it's a reflection of student commitment and the university's attempt to create an equitable learning debate over performance vs participation is playing out not just at Harvard, but across American higher OF FEDERAL OVERSIGHT AND DEI COMPLIANCETo understand how Harvard ended up in this spotlight, we need to rewind a few decades. Since the 1970s, the university has been under federal pressure to meet diversity benchmarks -- first through executive orders, then through compliance threats tied to a result, Harvard's admissions process has long included affirmative action plans, oversight committees, and demographic data reporting. These policies have shaped the face of the campus: today, fewer than 15% of its incoming students are straight, white and some, this is a sign of long-overdue change. For others, it's proof that the university has veered too far from merit-based admissions. Either way, DEI has become a central flashpoint in the latest round of political and cultural battles. advertisementTHE LARGER QUESTION: IS THE US SCHOOL SYSTEM FAILING?Trump's jab may have been rude, but it points to a larger concern: Why are elite universities admitting students -- international or not -- who need help with basic maths?The answer lies in America's shaky K-12 pipeline. Years of shifting policies, underfunded schools, and pandemic fallout have left even high-achieving students with serious learning universities like Harvard are stuck filling those gaps themselves -- with remedial classes, inflated grades, and a lot of public scrutiny.A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCEHarvard's remedial math course is a sign of cracks spreading through the foundation of American the legal and cultural battles rage on, the fate of thousands of international students hangs in the balance. So does the reputation of one of the world's top big question now isn't whether Harvard can survive this storm. It's whether the US education system can rise to meet the moment -- or whether we'll keep blaming students for a system that's failing them.
