Acclaimed Chef Maneet Chauhan on Infusing Modern Tastes in Indian Food

Born and raised in Punjab, Chauhan came to the U.S. at a time when Indian food was not as trendy as it is now.

Chef Maneet Chauhan is no stranger to being on the receiving end of accolades and prestigious awards nor is she unaccustomed to owning coveted roles on television. The author of the vibrant cookbook “Flavors of My World: A Culinary Tour Through 25 Countries,” she has been a participant on “Iron Chef America” and an esteemed judge on Food Network’s “Chopped.” She has served as the Executive Chef at restaurants in Chicago and New York and is currently the co-owner and Executive Chef of Chauhan Ale & Masala House in Nashville, Tennessee. None of this even begin to cover her vast accomplishments.

It is tough then to have some of these successes stand out. However, for Chauhan, being invited by the President and First Lady for the annual Easter Egg Roll Hunt at the White House is the highlight. Another goosebump-inducing moment? Being invited as a convocation speaker at the Culinary Institute of America.

“At one point I looked around and realized I was there amongst the who’s who of chefs. I felt very proud of my accomplishments at that moment. It all hit me,” she said. “And then finally, opening Chauhan Ale & Masala House and becoming a voice for Indian food. I mean, from where I came from, and even more so as a girl, I’d like to think I’ve traveled a long way, literally and figuratively, you know?”

And travel she has. Born and raised in the Punjab province, Chauhan came to the U.S. at a time when Indian food was not as trendy as it is now. She has seen the evolution of Indian food here first-hand. In fact, she has played a valuable role in this evolution. Due to this, her travels aren’t just physical, but also metaphorical when it comes to the navigations in her career.

“When I first came to the US, I stayed in Poughkeepsie, upstate New York. There was one Indian restaurant and I was just about the only Indian,” she laughed as she remembered. “Look, I come from the coolest hotel management school in India. Then I came here and I had no idea what I was doing! And let me tell you, being Indian wasn’t particularly cool then. I was with people who had no idea where I came from. People would ask questions like if we traveled on elephants back  home,” she said.

She also remembered wondering where they got their information from.

“I became a self-promoted ambassador of sorts for Indian food, and India really, during this time,” Chauhan said. “When I moved here, my sister would send my care packages which consisted of basmati rice and a homemade spice mix. We were only allowed microwaves in our dorms; so I would put two spoons of the mix with the rice and cook. While it was cooking, the smell would waft through the corridors and people would come to see where this foreign aroma was coming from and of course assume it’s curry.”

She said she wanted them to know about the diversity of the Indian cuisine beyond the obvious.

“I became passionate about Indian food, of course, because it is the food from my homeland, but also I took it upon myself to show my peers the nuances of Indian food and cooking, that it’s not all curry this or curry that!”

Chauhan remembered how the only Indian restaurant back then was an all you can eat buffet for $8.95. She took her friends there and everyone was being polite and saying it’s good. But she knew it wasn’t!

“What we were eating was not Indian food,” she explained. “It was not food I was accustomed to where each ingredient was sourced fresh. That triggered my obsession with showing true Indian food.”

She believes that all the current trends—farm to table, seasonal cooking, farmer’s markets—this is stuff Indians grew up with it! These are newer concepts in the West.

“Every Sunday my father and I would go to, what you call the ‘farmer’s market’ (which, by the way, was EVERY market!) on his scooter. We knew each and every farmer, we knew who was selling what, potatoes from here, ginger garlic from there, and so on. Then we would go to the meat purveyor. And so we would carry on, from farmer to farmer,” she said.

For Chauhan, this is what Indian food is, and always has been—not just the cooked dish but all the freshness, the relationship with people and ingredients that are part of the experience before you even cook and eat a single item. Through her cooking, this is the message she wanted to spread.

Luckily, she thinks that Indian food and the codification of it has made leaps and bounds since she came here in December of 1998!

“Times are changing, to say the least. When I was at the CIA, I was the only Indian. When I go back and visit now, I see so many young Indian budding chefs and that is so exciting to see,” she said.  “It is becoming an acceptable profession for Indian-Americans. No longer is their career trajectory resigned to the obvious doctors or engineers. There is great success in the culinary career as well.”

Even more so, she agrees that Indian food is becoming exciting. It is finding its roots here in the U.S. The bar is being raised. She strives to maintain that in the menu of her restaurant and keeps it fun and fresh.

“It was important to me to get the aesthetic right because to me, our restaurant encapsulates modern India and also, modern Indian food in America,” she said. “It’s not the same old sitar music playing in the back with the same formulaic menu. No, it’s dynamic! And lively! A bit of old and new. Sure we have our Indian décor and our Ganesh deity. But we also have brick walls and masala infused ales.”

She believes that even if she didn’t own the place, this is where she would bring her friends to get the taste of India. Chauhan infuses Nashville’s culinary scene with the much-needed presence of a hip Indian restaurant that offers an adventurous menu combining Indian fare with southern flare. She has come a long way and so has Indian food in the States.  Her restaurant, Chauhan Ale & Masala House, is located at 123 12th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203.