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Tandoori Fusion offers artistic Indian creations

by Robin Garr » Wed Aug 03, 2022 9:03 am

Tandoori Fusion offers artistic Indian creations

Goat biryani, a feature on the summer specials menu, offers a huge quantity of rice and minced goat meat so spicy that even heat level "1" sets your face on fire. In a good way.
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Thoughts inspired by a recent meal at Louisville’s Tandoori Fusion restaurant: Fusion cuisine has been around for centuries, going back as far as Chinese restaurateurs coming up with chop suey to please western consumers in 1850s California, and maybe even to Marco Polo and his noodles.

But the concept didn’t get a name until the 1980s, when chefs like Roy Yamaguchi and Wolfgang Puck began to intentionally combine flavors from different cultures. Before long, just about everyone was chowing down on Pacific Rim cuisine and Thai pizza, and calling it “fusion.”

The concept became hugely popular – I loved it too – as it invited chef-driven creativity to come up with, well, “new original cuisines which could be called true artistic creations … artistic dishes never seen before.” Yeah. the original Japanese Iron Chef took fusion to a new level.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Hawaiian pizza: People started asking questions about cultural appropriation. “Many white cooks and chefs have been called into question after presenting audiences with dishes from which they have no culinary connection,” food-culture expert Sylvia Tomczak wrote in Canada’s RestoBiz magazine last April. “This is problematic as ethnic ingredients are rebranded to be trendy, cool, and relevant for Westerners while sometimes totally disregarding culinary histories.”

Uh oh. Does this mean that we need to strip our pantries of international delights like Laoganma hot chile crisp, and even [gasp] pasta? Naaah. Even Ms. Tomczak eases up a bit at the end of her piece. “While it’s inevitable that our pantries will see more unique international goods going forward, we must be respectful of their origin and not claim to be anything other than inspired by another culture.”

So what about Tandoori Fusion? Well, for starters, it’s owned by folks of Indian origin who live in Kentucky now, so no one can question their cultural authority. What’s more, it musters an admirable farm-to-table approach. Many of its ingredients come from local farms, including the Veering Creek farm in Smithfield, Ky., founded by Tandoori Fusion’s owner Purna Veer.

Tandoori Fusion specializes in traditional south and north Indian cuisine, but it earns the fusion moniker with a selection of culturally hybrid dishes ranging from chicken tacos and dosadillas (yeah, quesadillas wrapped in South Indian dosa pancakes), and even pizzas with your choice of tikka, spinach palak, or a traditional margherita. That’s fusion, all right. ...

Read the complete article on LouisvilleHotBytes,
https://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/tand ... ion-indian

You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly's Food & Drink section later today:
http://www.leoweekly.com/category/food-drink/

Tandoori Fusion
4600 Chamberlain Lane
255-2590
https://thetandoorifusion.com
https://facebook.com/AuthenticIndianfusionfood
https://instagram.com/tandoorifusion_ky

Noise Level: The large room seems to absorb noise, and high-backed booths provide a quiet (and socially distanced) refuge. Conversation was not a problem.

Accessibility: The restaurant appears accessible to wheelchair users, but much of the seating is in booths save for a few free-standing tables toward the back of the room.

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