Chef Ajay Chopra Says Indian Food Has Replaced Chinese Food As A Global Favourite

Even for us Indians, Chinese food is a favourite. We love the noodles and fried rice and most of all, we like Indianising the Chinese food to suit our tastebuds. But now, Chef Ajay Chopra says that Indian food is overtaking Chinese food even in the global market.

In an interview with PTI, Chopra said, “Indian food has definitely made a mark on the global map. Globally, Chinese food has been the 2nd favourite after the native cuisine, but slowly Indian food has become very popular and replaced Chinese cuisine globally.” While this is not based on study, research or exact statistic, it’s definitely quite possible. Indian food has always been favoured by people for the rich spices and flavours and while sometimes considered too spicy, it’s also a rush for those who don’t eat spicy food all the time.

Chopra is not only a widely travelled food expert, but he’s also the host on the cookery show on Living Foodz, “Northern Flavours”. During the interview, he was also asked to comment on the difference between North and South Indian cuisine and he added, “North Indian food depicts the personality of North Indians, which is vibrant, tasteful and quirky whilst the usage of flavourings and fat is on a higher ratio, the food is delectable and enjoyable just not by the whole of India, but around the world.” But when looking at the two cuisines from the point of ingredients, flavours and cooking techniques, Chopra said that it all depends on “regional and local produce and flavours.” He added that, “Whilst the local produce decides the predominance on flavours, there is a huge difference in the consumption patterns in both cuisines when it comes to staples like meat, fish and rice.”

While talking about the flavours of the two cuisines, he added, “South Indian food has a lot of use of coconut, curry leaves, different chillies, whole spices, while the North Indian food gets a lot of flavour from its home churned butter, cream, regional spices, meat and chicken.”

“TV has become a very big medium of popularising regional Indian food,” he feels. “Traditionally, communities only restricted consumption to their food, but now cross-community food is on the rise. With more people travelling across the country, they explore local flavours. For example, a traveller would look forward to the ‘Poha’ in Indore or the ‘Goan fish curry’ in Goa,” Chopra added, using his shows “Northern Flavours” and “Hi Tea” (on the FoodFood Channel) as examples of how the public is getting to know about these different kinds of dishes. Plus, he added that says that shows like “Eat Street” and David Rocco’s “Dolce India” have helped spread Indian flavours across the globe.