Popular belief says that wine goes best with European food. But Indian cuisine is no longer off-limits to the concept of food and wine pairing, says Renu Dhole

Over the past few years, though Indians have been hearing a lot about and perhaps tasting a lot of wine, the drink is still associated with Continental food. Indian food, with its curries and gravies, its overwhelming spices and the clash of different flavours within one meal, doesn’t seem to lend itself very well to the concept of food and wine pairing. After all, it’s easier with European food — the essential taste of meat or vegetables isn’t masked by spices, there are dominant flavours in the courses that can be neatly matched with wines and the food is mostly dry, enabling the need to “washing it down” with wine. Well, it may just be time to reconsider these beliefs, as Indian cuisine is entering the cherished food-wine equation slowly, but surely.

Monsoon Wine and Food Fiesta, an initiative by Good Earth Winery to promote wine and food pairings, has a special focus on matching good wines with Indian cuisine. Nisarg, the seafood specialty restaurant near Nal Stop, is one of the six participants in this event that goes on till mid September. “I went to Nisarg a few days back to try out some food and wine combinations. First, I ordered Butter Garlic Crab, not the one cooked European style in white sauce. Lobsters, crabs, shrimps have a sweetish flavour and I thought crab would go very well with white wine. And so it did!” says B Shankaranarayan, moderator, Pune Gourmet Club. The club has hosted food and wine pairing events in the past and Shankaranarayan has valuable insights into the subject. “The notion that wines are suitable only for European cuisine is not true. Any cuisine, including Indian, can go very well with wine,” he asserts.

The principles

“There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to pairing of Indian food with wine,” says well-known Chef Nilesh Limaye, technical head, Trikaya. The classic rule of matching seafood, poultry with white wine and red meat with red wine, need not always hold true for Indian cuisine. “For instance, Kakori Kebab, made the traditional Awadhi way, is lamb meat mixed with khoya. And the flavouring is quite mild. According to the golden rule, this kebab should be paired with red wine, since it’s red meat. But it goes excellently with white wine, because of the mild spices,” says  Shankaranarayan. The trick is to break down rules and make your own unique pairings. There is a guideline though — since the taste of meat (or vegetables) is overshadowed by spices in Indian food, it makes sense to try and complement the flavour of the spice rather than of the main ingredient. “Anything that’s spicy, greasy — for example Biryani or any curry — goes well with chilled white wine. And kebabs, garlic naan or breads tend to go well with red wines,” says Limaye. As we’ve already learnt, there are no sacrosanct rules one has to follow while pairing wines with Indian foods. Says Limaye, “You don’t even need to go for those classic French wines. Young wines that come in a variety of flavours are also very well suited to Indian food. Fruity flavours, with a hint of spice, work wonderfully with our food.”

The challenges

“Our food has varied flavours —  a typical Indian meal would consist of vegetables, daal, rice, rotis, curds, pickles, and so on. Each mouthful consists of various different flavours. Ingredients used in Indian food respond in various different ways to wines. To stick with just one wine throughout may not even be such a good idea,” feels food critic Jyoti Balani. Shankaranarayan, on the other hand, feels that given the variety of contrasting flavours in an Indian meal, it is best to stick to a specific dish to pair your wine with. “One has to be careful about choosing a specific taste and pairing the wine with it,” he says. One can use the wine to either complement the food or offer a nice contrast to its taste. “It’s all up to your palate, the sum total of the pairing should be a higher food experience. That’s all,” he feels.

Words of caution

“If you are having a spicy dish, avoid wines containing aromatic spices, since the blend will hit your throat. The taste, at the end, should be smooth,” says Limaye. Shankaranarayan advises, “Try avoiding Chiraz with anything that uses too much peppercorn — like Chettinad Chicken. Go for a mellower red wine instead.”

The rest is all about trial and error. So, let your imagination play!