A conversation with Vidya Narasimhan
Sally was delighted to sit down with this season’s guest Vidya to talk to her about her favourite South Asian foods and how they pair with wine. Of course, a glass of deliciousness was enjoyed as they chatted and talked food and wine pairings.
Vidya grew up in Chennai (South India) but has lived all over, including Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad with dishes from North and South India featuring during her life. She has also lived in the US, mainly in New York, and now resides in London. With her broad knowledge of Indian food and wine pairing as it is enjoyed around the world, what does she suggest?
​​​Where do plant-based dishes fit in your diet?
I grew up vegetarian then over the last 20 years, since leaving India I have embraced some seafood and a little bit of meat but I essentially am vegetarian. I love food !!
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Tell me about favourite foods growing up in India?
My best food memory is primarily vegetarian. I grew up with the familiar smells of Asafoetida (Hing in Hindi) which is a plant resin found in India and has a sulfurous smell, tempered in ghee along with cardamom, green chili, clove and cinnamon. Any typical Indian dish will involve 5 spices if not 10 so it is the warm spice aroma that I grew up with and I absolutely love the aroma of these spices along with curry leaves, coconut and the smell of freshly melted ghee. Ghee is like liquid gold whether used in savoury or sweet dishes.
These flavours are found in some of the North Indian curries that we are familiar in the western world such as a paneer butter marsala or saag paneer, or a samosa. Growing up in in South India, I had these spices in a coconut chutney that we ate with dosa (a savoury crepe either soft or crisp) or idli (soft, steamed savoury ‘cakes’) both of which are made from a fermented rice and lentil batter used to make a crepe or soft, steamed ‘cakes’. We also find those wonderful flavours in Sambhar – a tamarind and lentil based thick soupy dish cooked with a host of vegetables which can be anything from cauliflower, potatoes, carrots or peppers plus other Indian vegetables that we don’t find in the West.
​​What about special occasions?
I love a Vada which we usually make on special occasions. It is a savoury lentil batter shaped into a donut and then deep-fried. Fresh from the frying pan, it is very rich, high in protein from the lentils and spiced with salt and green chilli with protein from the lentils. Because Vada is fried, it goes so well with a sparkling wine – in Bordeaux that would be a Crémant or a wine with high acidity. This is an absolute fave of mine!
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What do you make for an easy dinner when friends come over?
We often begin the evening with a sparkling wine. I buy frozen samosas from the Indian store and cook them in an air fryer or convection oven as an easy starter so I can focus on the main course. Dosa (a crispy flat crêpe) or Idli also pair really well with sparkling (see below in light mains) and another favourite is Baingan Bharta, a smoky aubergine mash from North India (see below).
Sally says: I imagine that would be fab with my Château George 7 which has superb, sweet spices and smoky flavours.
What are your food and wine pairing rules for non-Eurocentric vegetarian dishes? Is it the easy rule of thumb of ‘what grows together goes together’ which we often cite for European pairings?
I always go by:
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A refreshing high acid wine to cut through rich, fried, or high fat food
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Wine needs to either complement or display the same flavours as the main ingredients of a dish such as smokiness or earthiness
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An off-dry white wine balances the heat of spicy dishes – an off-dry Gewurztraminer or an off-dry Riesling balance the heat of spicy Indian dishes for a western palate:
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Herbaceous white wines such as a zippy Sauvignon Blanc pair well with spinach and green vegetables
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Easy drinking earthy red wines pair well with meaty mushroom and aubergine dishes see Charulata's Homely Mushroom Curry
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Smoky, oaked wines pair well with charred vegetable dishes
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Medium to high tannins in a wine are balanced by fat and salt in the sauce of the dish
The key principles involve:
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freshness & fruit characteristics to balance the fat and spices in the dish
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well integrated tannins to balance the salt and the fat in the food to complement the sauce or to enhance the spices without overwhelming the palate. ​
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How about alcohol or tannin levels?
Consider the alcohol level while pairing wine with Indian food - any wine over 13.5% ABV may cause alcohol burn when consumed with warming spices such as cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger.
As for tannins, if the red wines are aged well and the tannins are mellow and well-integrated then they can even pair well with dishes that have creamy and buttery sauces as well as with well spiced (though not ‘hot’) dishes.
Depending on your palate, you should be mindful of how tannins can impact and can bring out the spiciness in dishes. Merlot, for example, often has lovely velvety tannins which mellow quicker than other black grape varieties.
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Are pairings for common Indian dishes different according to where we come from?
South Asian preferences for pairings can be quite different to what Westerners might choose. Many people I chat to here in London prefer a white wine or a rosé with their Indian meals. For example, oft-suggested pairings are an off-dry wine such as a Riesling or a Pinot Gris or an off-dry Gewürztraminer. Some Bordeaux rosé with a touch of body but not ultra-dry could be a good match.
However, most South Asians will prefer a red wine with Indian food. We don’t want something to kill the heat, and we like the heat combination in our meal, because we grew up eating well spiced and warming dishes despite the warm tropical environment. Therefore, red wine works well and especially those of us who reside in the UK where it is colder! Because we love the heat, we do not shy away from tannins either so Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon dominant wines can work well.​​
Nibbles / Snacks / Appetisers
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Poppadoms / chaat / samosa / onion bhaji / a lentil vada (savoury doughnut) all pair well with a sparkling wine such as cava or a Crémant or a Champagne whose high acidity and the fizz balances the salt and the fat in these dishes
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A paneer kebab (grilled) pairs delightfully with a high acid sparkling wine or an oaked smoky wine like a white Rioja or a riper yet high acid Chardonnay or a dry Chenin Blanc from the Loire
Light Mains
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A saag (spinach) paneer with its Indian spices pairs well with whites such as that have herbal flavours and a bitter finish or a Sauvignon Blanc. The high acid in these wines cut through the rich paneer.
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Dosa (the crispy flat crepe) or Idli with coconut chutney or a green chutney with mint, coriander, green chilli and lemon or sambhar (tamarind based) pairs really sparkling white wine or with a crisp white wine such as a Pinot Blanc.
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Vegetable korma i.e. vegetables simmered in coconut milk pairs well with an Albariño / Vinho Verde or a zippy Sauvignon Blanc
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A tangy lemon rice made with the juice of the lemon and tempered with lentil seeds, mustard and a touch of chilli pairs with a high acid white to bring out the fruit flavours in the wine.
Hearty Mains
Hearty mains can be paired either with a refreshing light white / Rosé wine or fruit forward light red wines or with earthy, full-bodied reds:
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A hearty and filling chickpea curry in a tomato base with a buttered naan can be enjoyed with a refreshing dry Rosé or a fruit forward Barbera / Beaujolais / Carmenere / Mencia / Sangiovese.
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Paneer Butter Masala or a Malai Kofta is quite rich given the butter and cream in these dishes and can pair well with either a high acid light red such as Beaujolais or a young fruity Merlot or a fuller bodied, high tannin red wine such as a Malbec.
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A rich black lentil dal matches an earthy, dusty Cabernet Sauvignon or a Portuguese red blend or an earthy Malbec.
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A smoked aubergine mash, Baingan Bharta, can pair with an oaked white like a Pessac Légnan or Graves refreshing white to complement the smoky notes or with an aged oaky wine such as Rioja or a Bordeaux dominated by Merlot with mellow, well integrated tannins.
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A vegetarian biryani matches an oaked Pessac-Leognan, or a Rioja Blanco or a fruity young red from grapes such as Pinot Noir, Carmenere or even Malbec.
South Asian food typically involves many dishes in one meal - appetizers, dal, vegetables in sauces or curries as well as vegetables cooked in in various sauces and accompanied by some raita, a yoghurt-based side dish which makes pairing tough to do per course or dish. The wine choice is ultimately determined by the main element of the meal, whether the sauce is more umami-led or creamy, the overall spiciness of the selection and one’s own palate preference for heat in the food.
Have you tried any of these pairings? Do you recommend any other pairings that you enjoy? Let us know.
