The sommelier’s conundrum- Pairing drinks with food that is zany and unprecedented will always be subjective exercise with as many opinions as there are diners in room

The sommelier’s conundrum: Pairing drinks with food that is zany and unprecedented will always be subjective exercise with as many opinions as there are diners in room

Many sommeliers shy away from the idea of pairing wines with foods that sound extreme—strongly spiced, rich on umami, textural variations—anything that will make a dish too multifaceted to be comfortably paired with a beverage. Indian cuisines are one such area, most sommeliers worth their tastevin will advice you to simply drink beer.

In their defence, most Indian cuisines aren’t exactly wine-friendly—think of all our regional spreads spanning the length and breadth of the country, with their motley and varied mix of spices, and the ever-tough-to-harness, chillies. But it’s not just these, even others like Teochew, Sichaun, or Korean cuisine can be tricky. And then there’s Japanese, which seems to home in on sake as the ideal pairing and nothing else.

I was still unsure of what to expect but a few positive reviews from people whose palates I trust were certainly some saving grace. All in all, and to cut this mystery short, I was glad we went.

Chef Adwait Anantwar has honed his skills at many Indian fine dining eateries before he decided to take on this challenge. What’s even more surprising is that he was working on an Indo-Japanese menu almost two restaurants ago, slowly building up a repository of recipes and dishes that he would, maybe, one day, get a chance to execute. Panchali Mahendra, the power-hand behind Atelier House Hospitality in Dubai, saw the potential and moved quickly to get all in place.

Before we knew it, the capital had Inja, a new eatery waiting silently in the wings for its time in the limelight. In many ways, it reminded me of an outlet which had occupied the same premises many moons ago and it too had to wait it out patiently before people got a hang of the Indian accent on their culinary philosophy, if you catch my drift.

But being compared to another eatery, whether from the past or present, that’s one thing Adwait loathes. So, he is extra pernickety about the brand of food he doles out, lest it be subject to comparisons. Which is why he takes great pain in explaining that he can’t really describe how or why the food is Japanese and yet Indian at the same time without falling into clichéd traps as I mentioned above. Now imagine trying to pair a menu like this with wines, or sakes, or… I don’t know, is there an in-between that’s not, well, beer?

To be honest, and take it from me, someone who has been doing this gig for longer than I can remember, pairing will always be a completely subjective exercise with as many opinions as there are diners in the room. Think of it like going to a modern art exhibition where the onlookers are a mixed bag of those who wonder if this is the actual exhibition and others who stand rooted where they are, impressed beyond words. The same is true of pairing drinks with food which is so zany and unprecedented—there will never be one absolute answer. Like the brush strokes of an artist possessed in the moment, the diners will piece it all together, slowly with each course, and see the bigger picture, or else will write it off as a lavish gimmick.

To me, Adwait is quite the culinary Willy Wonka; I may not like all his dishes but my palate agreed with an easy majority of them. In fact, for someone as blasé as me, someone who has dined and wined copiously enough to forget even the more memorable sorties, Inja, from what I tried, will go down as one of the most magnificent gastronomic indulgences of 2023.

So what should you drink when there? Well, they offer a modest wine pairing option with the tasting menu (aka, what Delhi excise allows for the moment). But since the food promises to be so novel, why not go crazy and try what your heart desires. Sparkling wines, cocktails, sake, beer… just remember to dine with company as it’s a long meal so, the right company could make for a most memorable pairing.

The writer is a sommelier