How Indian cuisine is exploding in Australia

f three brown girls in her school, Shakti experienced two different worlds growing up. Her home was a warm cocoon of ‘Indianness’ - filled with the known waft of dosas and rasam and the sounds of MS Subbalakshmi and KJ Yesudas. But as she stepped out of the comfort of the known, she was met with curious gazes and constant mocking. "They looked at me as though I was the strangest creature they had ever seen," she said in an interview. As a youngster growing up in Australia, she found it hard to fathom that a culture she celebrated at home meant little to others.

[caption id="attachment_26382" align="aligncenter" width="715"] Amritha Shakti[/caption]

"She struggled with her sense of identity and the concept of 'home' for a long time. One obvious thing, however - was her love for India," mentions her website. And she kept this love alive through music. She was just four when she started training in Carnatic music from her mother. While that set the foundation for her as a singer, she taught herself Hindustani and Bollywood vocals during her teens. It was only in her twenties that Amritha discovered her love for soul, jazz, and the blues. But like most, she planned to do an MBA and keep music as a "side hobby" because she had never seen anyone "who looked like her" on mainstream television. Music was "something very private, more of a meditation" for Amritha, she says in her video.

Carving a niche 

After graduating from Columbia Business School in New York, she worked as a consultant with United Nations and World Bank. But after realising that the original plan wasn't the real deal for her, she turned to her first love - music. Things changed for this singer and songwriter after she posted her first video on YouTube, and soon the journey started to take a "path of its own." Being an amalgamation of East and the West, she found music to be a perfect channel to represent both the worlds she grew up in.

[caption id="attachment_26383" align="aligncenter" width="594"] Amritha Shakti is an Indian-Australian singer[/caption]

Empowering South Asian women 

A staunch feminist, she uses her music to explore the topics of female empowerment and South Asian representation. "You realise to what extent not seeing people like you growing up has mentally closed off doors," she said in an interview. It took her years to shut the noise around her. "I spent my teens convinced that I was not quite good enough compared to western ideals of beauty," she added, and it was in her twenties that she understood her "self-worth." This gave way to her first single Deserve Me. "I wrote the song as an act of defiance and as a way for me to vocally and openly reject all the norms that had been imposed upon me from both worlds. And yet, the song also celebrates my bi-cultural upbringing, fusing R&B and neo-soul with Indian classical elements, bringing together my 24 years of Indian musical training and my love for soul and the blues," she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEH3WFRi3C4

Featuring 30 South Asian women, the video puts brown women in the centre in all their glory and splendour. "Amritha’s obsession lies in fusing her beautiful Indian roots with the power and strength of soul and neo-soul – and creating music that heals and empowers," mentions her website.

Amritha, who collaborated with Canada-based producer and DJ Khanvict for Kingdom, believes that her work addresses the lack of South Asian representation, and steers away from the tokenistic representation. The world is slowly opening up to representation, and Amritha hopes to see more of such change in mainstream media, creative arts, and leadership to make many Indian girls like her have a sense of belonging.

Amritha's journey shows how powerful music can be in finding your identity and empowering others. By blending her Indian roots with Western music styles, she has created a unique place for herself in the music world. Her work not only celebrates her culture but also challenges society's expectations. Amritha uses her music to speak up for South Asian women, focusing on issues like self-worth and cultural pride. Her songs are full of purpose and passion, inspiring others to embrace their differences and share their stories. As the world becomes more inclusive, artists like Amritha play a key role in making sure everyone's voice is heard and valued.

• Follow Amritha Shakti on Instagram and Facebook

vent attended by restaurateurs and chefs from all over the world. Rohit invited me to come to India for a couple of weeks in June 2000 and thereafter, with a few emails back and forth, in October 2000, I decided to come here and get out of London for a bit. I was the Executive Sous Chef for India Habitat Centre in Delhi. I had every plan of going back in a year; but one month prior, 9/11 happened and nobody was boarding flights. I also didn’t have a job to go back to.”

[caption id="attachment_49592" align="aligncenter" width="373"] Chef Shaun Kenworthy[/caption]

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He stayed back and happened to meet Priya Paul of The Park Group of Hotels. She asked him to join them as they were launching new hotels in Bengaluru and Chennai. “I joined the Park Hotel, Kolkata as Executive Chef and had a two-year contract, but they renewed it after one year to extend it for three more years. Those four years were brilliant; I was almost given carte blanche. I spent time in Chennai for the opening of the Park there, and in Delhi for the re-opening of their hotel. I was part of the renovation and relaunch of Flury’s, also owned by the Paul family, in December 2024.”

Here is where he made his mark in Kolkata. With no less a brand than the legendary Flurys; the tea room and patisserie that has been around since 1927. He recalls, “As a pastry chef they wanted me to revamp the menu. I even had Lord Swaraj Paul calling me from England, asking me not to change this or that dish on the menu. The entire Paul family was involved in the revamp.”

Chef Shaun Kenworthy left The Park in 2005. Somewhere along the way, he met Pinky, a model who he married in 2004. “When my time was up, we wondered whether we should go back to England; I also had offers in Beijing, Melbourne and Singapore. But I liked it here, so we stayed back.”

One Chef, Many Hats

That was sheer serendipity because it led to Chef Shaun getting consultancy offers, teaching assignments and setting up new hospitality brands. He says, “I have worked on more than 120 projects over the last 17 years – everything from small boutique properties to high end hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, patisseries, QSR venues and remote properties in places such as the Himalayas, Rajasthan, Kutch and cities across India.”

Chef Shaun Kenworthy was also briefly part of a restaurant called The Blue Potato in Kolkata serving modern global cuisine – which had Bollywood stars and international celebs like Ricky Martin and Antonio Banderas dine there. It shut down in two years because it didn’t have a liquor license. The British chef has also mentored many students, as the Director, Culinary Arts for IICM – the Indian Institute of Culinary Management across several cities. “Thousands of young people have passed through my hands and so many of my students have worked with me.”

Projects he has recently worked on include the premium segment property, Suryagarh, in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan and Rann Riders in Kutch, and Sitara, in the Himalayas. He says, “I like to work on places that tell a story of the region through the food, in a modern context. These places get lots of international guests, so the stories of the place must be retold through the local ingredients and traditions.” He likes taking on selected projects, some on turnkey basis; creating a brand-new all-day menu, masterclasses, pop-ups… “I like loads of variety – doing one thing is boring for me,” he says.

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The place still close to his heart and one Chef Shaun is still involved with since the planning stages over a decade ago, is The Glenburn Penthouse, which opened its doors in the middle of 2018. “We [Glenburn Tea Estate’s Anshuman and Husna-Tara Prakash] decided to launch an elegant, boutique nine-room venue. It stands on Russell Street overlooking the magnificent Victorian Memorial and the Kolkata maidan. Other than focus on the rooms, we host intimate, bespoke events with 20-40 people over dinner. We are open for lunch and dinner and offer a traditional ‘Full English afternoon tea.’ We also did curated menus for special occasions.”

Chef Shaun Kenworthy reiterates that he does not personally cook Indian food. “I play around with flavours and Indian ingredients, but the food I make is more European and modern. I have been using Bandel cheese from Kalimpong for more than 20 years now in my risottos and pastas.”

Bengali Cuisine, International Touch

Bengalis have, more so than Indians from other states, a proprietary approach towards their cuisine. Any criticism or experimentation is often taken as a personal affront. Yet, Chef Shaun has experimented with ingredients and techniques, as he says, “a million times.” To great success. Even the sacrosanct elements of Bengali food – the hilsa fish, mishti doi and the Kolkata biryani –have been modernised and completely transformed under his creative touch. As have puchkas, pani puri to the rest of us, kasundi or mustard paste and paanch phoron – the Bengali tadka medley. The famed sweets too are served in unrecognisable avatars.  He says, “To make the Kolkata biryani, I broke it down into its four main components – rice, meat, potato and egg. I overcooked the rice, the goat was cooked overnight for 12 hours so the meat would just melt in your mouth. I served it with a potato confit and a soft-boiled egg. And topped it with crispy fried onions and a dollop of ghee because everyone loves them. Of course, people criticised it initially, but I told them to taste it first and not jump to conclusions. Similarly, with the hilsa, I serve it pan-seared alongside roasted arbi and green gondhoraj [the local lemon] Hollandaise sauce.” Chef Shaun has also served the much-revered hilsa as a mousse among other Bengali favourites turned upside down.

 

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Puchkas have been tweaked into various starters and dessert much before doing so became a trend. He recalls, “I like to experiment as the food is about telling a story. I’ve served puchkas dipped in white chocolate, or with crab mousse, a beetroot chaat, or Bengali sweets inside – in a million different ways really. I treat the aam papad or shoto as it is known here, as a fruit leather and play around with it as a glaze. The paanch phoron too is so versatile. Among desserts, which are the easiest to make for me, I made a mishti doi burnt basque with mishti doi and cheese; and served angoori rasmalai with little fruit pieces.”

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Global trends according to him are moving towards innovation. He says in conclusion, “India is in a great position and there are so many inspired young chefs doing intelligent stuff with Indian ingredients. Look at Goa, five or six years ago, nothing was happening and so much has changed now. There are so many trendy restaurants in Goa and it is a melting pot of cuisines. A lot of chefs are also reviving regional cuisines and reinventing recipes that have been there for a long time.”

While travelling, Chef Shaun Kenworthy likes to eat at:

• Yauatcha, Kolkata: Crispy prawn Cheung fun
• Comorin, Gurgaon: Any and many of their small plates; I love the bheja fry
• Ode, Mumbai: Yellow fin tuna loin with avocado pachadi
• La Chapelle, London: For a good Sunday roast
• Amazonico, Madrid: For the most incredible Brazilian rib eye steaks
• The Canton house, Chinatown, Bangkok: Their dim sums are to die for

You can follow Shaun on Instagram here: Chefshaunkenworthy