Visiting chefs fuse Cajun, Indian cuisine

By ROBERT ZULLO The Daily Comet

Take a dozen chefs from India. Mix in spices from the sub-continent and Louisiana ingredients, and you can get alligator masala.

That was among an array of colorful, boldly seasoned dishes prepared by a visiting group of Indian chefs at Nicholls State University's Chef John Folse Culinary Institute last month.

Continents, climates and crops separate the dishes that are central to the cultures of the world, said Gunjan Goela, a consultant and television food personality from Delhi, India.

But the ties that bind cooks from Mumbai to Thibodaux lie in the techniques and traditions that make a cuisine more than a meal.

"We all meet at one point," she said. "Food bonds people. It unites people."

Goela was one of 12 Indian chefs, described as among the most well-regarded in that country, who spent the last two weeks of May at Nicholls, learning about a range of southern U.S. cuisine.

The exchange program, in its ninth year, is sponsored by the Southern United States Trade Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The intent is for the chefs to bring the recipes, products and knowledge they've experienced back to their home countries.

"They always introduce some of the dishes to their market," said Troy Rosamond, financial director of the trade association and the manager of the culinary program.

A Nicholls chef, associate professor George Kaslow, is scheduled to visit India in July for cooking demonstrations at trade shows and universities.

Chef Randy Cheramie, an associate dean at the culinary institute, said chefs from 38 countries have passed through the school to learn about the unique flavors and ingredients of south Louisiana and other regions.

"If you want to learn about a people, cook and eat with them," he said.

The visitors' itinerary was packed with lectures, crab boils, barbecues, visits to New Orleans and local plantations and introductions to regional dishes from the trade association's members, which include 15 Southeastern states and Puerto Rico.

"The faculty here is so good," said Rupali Dean, 36, a food and travel writer from New Delhi. "They made us feel so comfortable."

"Louisiana rocks," added Saby Gorai, a 35-year-old from West Bengal, rated as one of India's top 10 chefs "It's a super place."

The visiting chefs cited the quality of local produce, the variety of influences on Cajun and Creole food and the friendly reception from locals.

"It's beautiful. It's the most culturally rich state in this country," said Rachana Desai, 47, a restaurant owner and chef from the state of Gujarat who has traveled extensively in the United States. "Fruits here are luscious. Vegetables are luscious. It's a state of plenty as far as agriculture is concerned."

"It's a melting pot of so many cultures," Goela said. "What comes out is Louisiana."

Gumbo, made with what Cheramie called "Cajun napalm," a dark roux of flour and oil cooked at high temperatures as opposed to the lighter bases common in India, proved another fascination for the visitors.

"We never knew gumbo could be such a wonderful experience," said Lloyd Rodrigues, 32, a pastry chef from Mumbai who spent 10 years working on a cruise ship.

Okra, widely grown in India, may be put to a new use. The chefs were taught how to use the vegetable to thicken gumbo.

"It's going to be a big hit in India," Dean said.

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