Indian foie gras or bheja fry

Any plans to bring Gaggan, your restaurant in Bangkok, to India?

I’m planning to open one in Mumbai late next year but don’t have much on paper right now. It would make more sense to open restaurants in say London or New York, and even getting a Michelin star might be easier. However, I want to prove myself on my home ground first. It will be totally different from what I’ve done in Bangkok. The flavours will be different. The food will be different. There are a lot of things I can’t do in Bangkok because I get so many international visitors there. Take the taste of hing for example, the Thai or the Chinese wouldn’t appreciate it. That is just one of the many things I would love to try here.

What do you mean by deconstruction when you apply it to your food?

It’s not just about deconstruction but also about deconstruction and reconstruction. Take the recipe of a classic Papri Chaat. If you break it down, it has three elements — papri, dahi and chutney. Now the papri is what makes me feel nostalgic, so I won’t mess with it. The dahi is introduced as yogurt spheres, and the chutney with air bubbles. When you put it all together, it’s reconstructed into the good old papri chaat, but with slight alterations. When you put it into your mouth it is the same damn papri chaat, it just looks different.

Gaggan sips on shikanji from the Vivekananda Park chaat zone during his Calcutta trip in August. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

Do you think Calcutta is ready for such a concept?

No, I don’t think so. I do get many visitors from Calcutta, who read about my restaurant in The Telegraph and come down. I know of a person who flew in for a holiday to India and then to Bangkok to celebrate his anniversary in my restaurant. I was so touched. Calcutta certainly has a lot of people who are well-travelled and looking to explore new culinary delights. But I don’t think they are ready to explore within the city limits yet.

Do you mean “ready” in terms of price sensitivity?

No, no, don’t get me wrong. I love Calcutta. But Calcutta thrives on nostalgia and that’s what we love about it. Look at Park Street. All of Park Street is about nostalgia. It’s ’70s food. Mumbai that way is adventurous. It is always looking for something new. But Calcutta is about its old favourites like the Shiraz biryani or Peter Cat or Chinese from Bar-B-Q. You just can’t compete with nostalgia. It’s what I come to Calcutta for.

Two of my India-inspired dishes have their origins in Calcutta — the salmon with shorshe and and my only lamb dish is Kasha Mangsho, not Rogan Josh! Most of my food is about my memories, and my memories are about Calcutta. Look at the Bengali kasundi — for me it’s up there with French Dijon Mustard.

Your five favourite flavours from around the world?

Simple aglio olio pasta, maybe with some chillies and baby clams. Nolen gurer sandesh in winter. Spicy Som Tam or raw papaya salad. Pao Bhaji from Swati Snacks in Mumbai. Joselito Reserva Iberica (a kind of premium ham) with cheese and wine.

Your five favourites from Calcutta?

Chaat, chilla and masala Thums-Up from outside Vardaan Market, gundi paan, any Calcutta bekti kebab in Oh! Calcutta, shorshe machh, chingri malai, topshey, pabda...er... the entire thali from Kewpie’s, and Chinese at Jimmy’s Kitchen.

Malini Banerjee