The Heat Is On

The last few years has seen Indian cuisine fighting its corner of the eating out industry as different ethnic styles of cooking have increased their influence on people’s eating habits.

Suppliers are confident it will never completely lose its appeal with Brits but what can caterers do to liven up Indian food to boost its appeal?

Premier Foods, makers of Sharwood's sauces and pastes, says although Indian cuisine is facing competition, it is important to note that Indian food is still one of the most popular cuisines to eat out of home in the UK. Senior business development chef Mark Rigby says: "In terms of livening up Indian food caterers can add their own mark to more traditional dishes by simply adding one or two extra ingredients, such as coconut milk, yogurt, tomatoes or coriander to sauces or pastes." He adds that Indian cuisine is also all about accompaniments that make up the whole package such as naans, poppodums, chutneys and dips.

Unilever Foodsolutions, which produces Patak's sauces, says the rising popularity of other ethnic cuisines, in particular Thai and Mexican food, has increased the competitiveness in this sector and to retain the popularity of Indian food, "chefs should be looking to provide real diversity to their customers and inject new tastes into the dishes they produce".

Executive chef Vijay Anand says chefs should move away from using traditional meat and seafood and aim to include more rare products such as partridge or scallops to jazz up menus. For example samundari ratan is scallops stir fried with mustard and coconut sauce using korma sauce to enhance it. He also suggests using sauces as spicy dips to accompany poppadoms and naan bread, and pastes as marinades to add flavour to meat.

Cherry Valley has been looking at old traditional Indian recipes that include duck as the base, and one dish it has developed is duck balti Zheera made from skinless diced duck fillet cooked in duck stock, tomato, coriander and onion, and served with mandarin segments and chopped mint.

The company says it's a new area it is starting to develop with the Indian trade in the UK, and has been getting inspiration from executive chef Vivek Singh, who heads the kitchens of the Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen.

The Authentic Food Company (TAFC) believes Indian food is "on the up" from the growth it sees in particular foodservice sectors. Marketing manager Carly Windsor says: "Indian cuisine has shown significant growth in the past year particularly in the pub sector. We have been working closely with AC Nielsen and found that the global main meals sector, which includes Indian cuisines, is worth £296m. Main meals value is up 12%, proving the range is well on the increase in pubs.

"We have witnessed a rise in sharing options through the appearance of Thali on pub menus, and this also spans across to sharing platters and hand held snacks.

"There has been a surge of Indian flavours emerging within the retail and food on the go market with chicken tikka and onion bhaji wraps, chicken tikka pizza and large samosas as hand held snacks and alternatives to a regular lunchtime sandwich. This highlights the demand for something spicy at any time of the day."

TAFC head development chef Sanjay Sighat adds that dishes in its range hail from specific regions of India – chicken makhani from the Punjab in northern India and Kashmiri lamb kofta curry originating from Lucknow, again in the north of India.

However, alongside the continuous innovation for new flavours, he says the company will continue to offer and improve its core lines such as chicken korma and tikka masala and tandoori vegetable masala.

Brakes' product marketing manager Robert La Francesca says the UK's taste for ethnic food, already the largest in Europe, is showing no signs of slowing down.

"Despite the recession people are still travelling long haul, discovering new cuisines, and wish to replicate those flavours when they return home. Those who opt to stay at home on a 'staycation' will look to create their favourite holiday dishes in the kitchen."

Bite size chicken tikka or korma split sticks will also be popular for traditional buffets, he adds. "Indian finger food is ideally suited to corporate catering and client entertaining, being easy to hold and eat while walking and talking."

This year Daloon Foods has added a 30g chicken tikka mini samosa and a new 22g onion bhaji to its range. General sales manager for foodservice Simon Cliff says recent consumer retail market data [TNS June 2009] shows consumer expenditure on frozen Indian snacks increased by 40.4% between June 2007 and June 2009 – an insight into UK consumer trends that tends to be reflected in the foodservice sector.

Major International's tandoori Mari-Base is one of 12 ready to use spicy varieties that enables Indian flavours to penetrate meat or fish, which Major's managing director David Bryant says is of particular importance in the current credit crunch, which is forcing restaurateurs to look to their culinary skills to keep food prices down while still maintaining quality.

With Indian cuisine so quick and easy to prepare once you've got the base mastered, he recommends all outlets take advantage.

"Even if you are a small café or pub you can still make the most of our love affair with Indian cuisine by giving sandwiches, wraps, jacket potatoes and soups an ethnic twist."