Cordis Hotel senior chef Sagai Nathan is making chocolate naan to celebrate Diwali. Photo / Dean Purcell
Cordis Hotel senior chef Sagai Nathan is making chocolate naan to celebrate Diwali. Photo / Dean Purcell
What started as an experiment has now become a dish that's second to naan at Cordis Auckland's Eight Restaurant's Indian tandoor kitchen.
About three years ago, chefs at the interactive dining venue gave a chocolatey makeover to a traditional Indian bread - which has now become a must-have for manyvisiting the restaurant. Those who know about it, that is.
And with Diwali falling on Monday, chef Sagai Nathan, 45, is expecting chocolate naan bread to be flying off its tandoor oven this weekend and the coming weeks.
"It all started when the executive chef, Volker Marecek, asked us a few years ago to try something different. We had some chocolate around, so we added it to the naan," Nathan says.
"We tried it, and it just tasted marvellous. We knew it was just going to fly, but wanted to keep it as a special dish so kept it as a secret menu item and make it only when we have time, or on request."
For people who tried the dish - chocolate melted within a crusty dough exterior - the chocolate naan became an instant favourite.
Nathan, originally from Hyderabad in South India, says because Diwali is all about celebrating sweetness of life, the chocolate naan is always extremely popular during the festive season.
Diwali, also known as Deepavali, marks the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness and this year falls on Monday, October 24 - which also happens to be the Labour Day holiday here in New Zealand.
People eat sweets and bring sweet food and gifts to friends and family, believing it will bring a good and "sweet" year ahead.
Although the festival has its roots in the Hindu faith, Nathan - who is Roman Catholic - says all Indians of all creeds celebrate Diwali, "just like Christmas".
Traditional Indian sweets or "mithais" have boundless significance - happiness, good omen, prosperity and celebration.
But as for the chocolate naan, Nathan says it meets not only the purpose of sweet significance - but also provides "balance" to spicy curries.
One of the curries Nathan makes at Eight is vindaloo, a dish often regarded as fiery and spicy, originally from Goa and based on the Portuguese dish carne de vinha d'alhos.
"Some people eat chocolate naan as dessert, but it is actually a great compliment to spicy curries like our vindaloo because it cools your mouth," Nathan says.
"Chocolate naan is like the yoghurt, or raita, to spicy biryani. It gives you the balance to the heat."
Chocolate naan to celebrate Diwali. Photo / Dean Purcell
The naan is made freshly onsite, packed with melting chocolate and on busy days, Nathan says he could be making about 60 of these messy, delicious tear-apart breads.
Naan, or Indian flat bread, is baked in a tandoor - a cylindrical oven made from clay. Its origins can be traced back to ancient times and has gone from being a food for royals to an Indian staple.
More common varieties are butter naan, garlic naan and peshwari naan. The latter includes a mixture of sultanas, almonds, coconut and other sweet fruit. Its sweetness balances out the hot spices.
As with most major celebrations, food is an integral part of Diwali and, as Nathan puts it, "If there's no big Indian feast, then there's no Diwali."
If you're Hindu, traditional Diwali meals will include vegetarian dishes such as palak paneer, gobi matar and paneer tikkas.
Over the 19 years that he's been here, Nathan says there is now an increased awareness of Diwali.
Chef Sagai Nathan with chocolate naan. Photo / Dean Purcell
"It's a combination of events like the Auckland Diwali Festival, Kiwis being more well-travelled and a growth of the Indian population," he said.
"One big difference is that Indian families in Auckland like dining out for Diwali celebrations, while in India they tend to cook and dine at home."
And if you're after some good Indian fare, these are Nathan's picks to help you join in the festive feasting.
Big Tikka 458 Lake Rd, Takapuna Try: Kundun murg makhani, Big Tikka's chef Kundanji's take on butter chicken, with tandoor chicken finished in Indian-style spiced tomato, butter and cream sauce. Also try the shimoga elkosu minu, a regional delicacy from southwest India of marinated boneless fish chunks cooked in a slow-cooked cabbage puree, onion and tomato sauce.
Flavours of India 9/25 Anzac Rd, Browns Bay Try: Flavours platter, with samosa, onion bhaji, seekh kebab, tandoori prawns and chicken tikka served with tamarind and mint sauce. Also the chef's speciality of chicken shajahani, a mild dish of boneless chicken cooked in a creamy cashew nut sauce, finished with saffron and coriander.
1947 Eatery 60 Federal St, Auckland CBD Try: Lamb chops, charred by the tandoor but juicy inside. Soaked in lime, yogurt and dark spices served with masala fries. Great also is the paneer lagan, cotton soft paneer filled with fresh khoa, fruits and nuts in onion and tomato gravy.
Paradise Indian Restaurant 581 Sandringham Rd, Sandringham Try: Mutton dum biryani cooked in dum style. This is a dish from Nathan's home city of Hyderabad. Try also the bagarey baigan, a spicy eggplant Mughlai style dish in tamarind gravy.
Novelty Sweets 10J/2 Bishop Browne Place, Flat Bush Try: Diwali dilkhush pack, traditional Indian sweets of peda, pista barfi, motichoor laddoo, kaju barfi, or the novelty special khazana, which has khoya barfi, special dhoda, milk cake, and motichoor laddoo.
Eight at the Cordis, Auckland 83 Symonds St, Grafton Nathan's Indian Tandoor Kitchen is one of eight interactive dining stations featuring flavours of eight international kitchens, each one hosted by an expert chef. Chocolate naan is made on request.
