Regional Indian flavours can be embraced on menus ‘in simple ways’

Hawkins recommended that chefs could deconstruct traditional Indian dishes to create a twist on established dishes, such as using a coriander and mint chutney on a salad. “There’s a perception that Indian food is all about chilli and heat, but you can introduce those different flavour profiles in a ‘safe’ way, like a tamarind drizzle in wraps for food to go,” he said.

He also advised menu developers to look at different Indian regions, pick out their core dishes and flavour profiles and identify with that. “The south has more coconut and seafood, while the north is heavier and uses more chilli,” he said. “If you serve something like a northern Indian wrap, that’s more exciting to diners than a standard British curry and it shows an element of education from a chef.”

For those who are unsure where to start the process, Hawkins reassured: “You don’t have to go and study Indian cuisine, there are sauces already out there if you don’t have time to cook from scratch. Concentrate on the core items you want to serve and then go find sauces that could help you to introduce them. You can always use them as a base and customise them to your customer profile.”

He believes that pubs in particular could benefit from embracing Indian flavours: “A good percentage of people go for an Indian after a pub visit but if you can offer traditional pub dishes with an Indian twist or a street food dish, that could keep them there longer.”

An example fusion pub dish could be crispy beef deep fried chicken with a sticky glaze. “It’s as simple as adding your spices into hot oil then stir frying, which would only take a maximum of 10 minutes to prepare,” Hawkins said.

For further tips, he encouraged chefs to visit specialist Indian ingredient wholesalers to learn from their expertise, concluding: “You don’t have to go too extreme, you can embrace Indian flavours with dishes already on your menu and adapt what you’ve already got.”