5 ingredients indigenous to India that you should know

Skotse, or wild garlic, is one of Choudhary’s favourite ingredients, which she often forages for in July and August. “It comes from the fields and lakes in two villages in Ladakh and has a fragrant aroma similar to that of cumin and fennel,” she says. While traditionally used in kisir (buckwheat pancakes), it is used to flavour pumpkin kasundi (mustard sauce) served with fish at Noon.

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Bombay duck is the very definition of ugly delicious. The pink-skinned lizardfish is native to the Indo-Pacific waters and is a delicacy in Mumbai, often breaded and fried or roasted. During my trip, we visited a Koliwada fishing village, where the community catches and sells fresh fish every morning.

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Mahua flowers, which grow on an Indian tropical tree, were traditionally used in tribal communities for medicinal purposes. “Here, we use it in a garum and also ferment it into a sweet miso,” Choudhary says. “We go beyond the conventional uses, which now include making liquor, to create something totally new with this indigenous ingredient.”

At Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, a Mumbai-based institution famed for its Gujarati thalis, one of the highlights is the selection of bread to choose from. One that caught my eye is a flatbread made with finger millet, which is high in nutrition. “Communities often soak millet overnight, sprout it, sun dry it, and mill it into flour,” explains Choudhary.

“Kokum is typically used as an alternative to tamarind in curries or used to make juice,” Choudhary says. The sour fruit comes from the same family as the mangosteen and can be found in areas such as Maharashtra, Goa, and Kerala. At Noon, it makes an appearance in the last savoury course on the tasting menu, which sees mushrooms cured with kokum served alongside a coconut yoghurt with kokum and Koli spices.

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