Pune’s Cooking With the Exotic Truffle

March 30, 2017

Until recently, spotting a truffle dish on the menu meant a sceptical glance. Further enquiry presented you with a suspiciously foreign-looking object (hint: Black Truffle) that may just have you refusing the dish point blank.

Fortuitously, many restaurants have now opened their kitchens to truffles just as foodies have opened their hearts to them. Today, truffles are a popular food trend and cooking with truffles is no longer an oddity in Indian kitchens.

Alisha Bajaj, a full-time foodie swears by black truffles from Tartufalba. Carefully sourced from her restaurateur cousin who resides in Mumbai, the city-based gal is popular among her circle for her truffle-parties.

“On the rare occasion when I get my hands on black truffles, I simply have friends and family over for dinner so we can celebrate the produce with a special menu,” she explains adding that the black variety is cheaper than its white cousin. “Shave the delicate truffle over lightly flavoured pasta or litter its flakes over a homemade thin crust pizza.

It is the best way to introduce our Indian palate to the novel flavour!” says Alisha.

Vivek Yadav is quite the epicurean who states that it is almost impossible to find fresh truffles in Pune. He opines that he has to settle for white truffle oil, which is a worthy substitute. “Just skip the vinaigrette on a leafy salad and adopt truffle oil,” he says. “It exudes an intense flavour,” he promises.

Celeb Chef Pooja Dhingra who recently curated a special truffle menu at her café mentions that she preferred using a rich paste made of fresh truffles in her pasta to offer them a unique flavour.

“My love for truffles is more recent,” admits Aditi Bhati. The general practitioner reveals that she is a closet chef who happened to enjoy a delicious serving of Black Truffle Gnocchi this past Valentine’s Day.

“Well, it was over Valentine’s dinner at Conrad that I tasted the Truffle Gnocchi and I was completely floored. I’d never tasted truffles before so I was pretty apprehensive.

But boy was I in for a surprise! It was paired with Bellini Champagne that especially brought out the flavour of the truffles beautifully. “I wanted to recreate the flavour, but with a twist, so I bought some white truffle oil and began my experiments. For me, it works best with eggs for a special brunch.

Just trickle it over poached eggs and let the sunny yolk meld with the potent truffle flavour for an intensely satisfying mouthful,” she recommends with a grin.