Date: 6th August
Venue: Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi

Green curry or red curry – which one is your favourite?

We have a difficult time in deciding what Thai food to try as Thai cuisine is very popular in Delhi NCR and is gradually making place in Indian buffet spreads too. That is no surprise since Thailand is one of the most sought after foreign holiday destination for Indians. Given that we have travelled to various parts of Thailand, we have firsthand experience of the fantastic tourism facilities that country offers. Bangkok for one is a business hub combined with fun zone. Chatuchak Market in Bangkok is the largest crafts collection we have seen in the world. When we asked around about where is the best Thai food in Bangkok , Chatuchak was the answer. There was much more than Thai red and green curries being sold here at most reasonable prices. Somehow we only get to know about very limited Thai food options in India.

Talking about options we were part of a food initiative by the Embassy of Thailand. Under their Namaste Thailand initiative, they want to orient Indian diners about authentic Thai food. In fact, Chef M.L. Kwantip Devekula, MasterChef Thailand judge is visiting India to collaborate with food journalist Vir Sanghvi on a film project. Thailand Ambassador His Excellency Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi used this occasion to invite select media for a Thai dinner experience at the Ambassador’s residence. We were privileged to be part of the Embassy’s guests that evening.

It rained throughout the day and the weather was one of the best this season. The trees inside the Thai Embassy at Chanakyapuri sparkled under the night lights. The Ambassador and his wife themselves hosted us throughout the evening. And that was such an eye-opener. The Ambassador has a charming personality and regaled us with anecdotes about food and his experiences in India. He and Madam Spouse were wearing Indian Ikat. This was no surprise since India has learnt Ikat weaving from other parts of South Asia through trade and skill exchanges in yester years.

Coming to food, we were served a fruit based drink and prawn crackers when we were at the drawing room. We were led to the dining room in a while and the beautifully laid table made us bring out our cameras before anything else. Once seated, we saw that the first course was awaiting us already.

Kanom Jeeb Thai steamed bird shaped Thai fish dumplings looked so pretty that it broke our hearts to eat them. These were accompanied with deep fried chicken wings which perhaps are a universal favourite. We loved the sweetish chilli sauce on the fried chicken.

The main course comprised lamb, shrimp, duck and chicken in delectable forms. Each dish was served separately. A serving of Kao Sam See tricolor jasmine rice – golden yellow, white and violet was the cereal in this course. When the complete main course had been laid, it looked like an artful solar system around the plate. A small rattan basket of delicately carved salad completed this spread.

Chef Kwantip took time out from the busy kitchen and explained the dishes. The golden colour of rice was from a flower that looked like saffron but not quite so strong in flavour. But what surprised us was the violet hue. The chef clarified that this shade was not a result of any artificial food colouring agent. She had used the extracts of a Thai flower – Butterfly Pea to colour the rice. In fact, every item, including the little pink flowers used as decoration on the platter was organic and edible!

In terms of taste, this was quite something we have not had before. Every dish was unique. The duck was on a fiery hot sauce and the chef had served the salad to balance that. We also learnt that the chicken, squid and shrimp clear soup was served to balance the drier dishes in the main course. It appeared that Thai meal is all about balance – a concept which is the foundation to all modern gastronomical sciences. The chef also enlightened us that soup in Thai cuisine is not a starter dish but part of the main course.