The 10 Dishes That Made My Career: Peter Beck

The trailblazing Indian chef behind Benares offers a masterclass in the regional cuisines of the subcontinent.

Nick Schonberger

Orlando may seem the least likely port of entry for a pioneering Indian chef in America. Yet, that’s where Bombay-born Peter Beck—already well traveled through stints in England and Singapore—decided the USA was the place to test his talents. After a few years in Central Florida and a brief stopver in Miami, Beck landed in NYC. Starting first at Chola, he really made his mark at Tamarind, where his creative twist on Indian flavors was awarded with a Michelin star.

Beck’s cooking has lifted New York’s subcontinental dining away from the singular saucy-ness of Curry Hill and out of cheap eats category. His cuisine—which at his latest venture, Benares, ties together spicy seafood from South India and vegetarian dishes from its namesake city—tiptoes brilliantly on the line between the familiar and unexpected. He flips saag paneer with broccoli rabe, for example, playing with common perceptions of Indian cooking.

His genius pairs a passion for the breadth of Indian styles and an acute sense of what his local audience desires. If he sees a rising interest in sea bass, Beck translates the sweet fish to a Bengali dish. Noticing that customers want healthy proteins, he celebrates the grilled meats of the Mughals, which he hopes to one day elevate to the iconic level of the American steakhouse.

In short, Beck doesn’t shy away from invention. Fusion for him is about the meeting of authentic dishes and trends in consumption. Here, he guides us through 10 key dishes at Benares that reflect a broader, decades-long quest to help Americans love and appreciate the diversity of Indian cuisine.

Benares, 45 Murray St (212-766-4900, benaresnyc.com); 240 W 56th St (212-397-0707)

1. Kashmiri Tikki (beetroot patties)

The beetroot is widely used in the northern part of India, specifically in Kashmir. Normally, when you go to Indian restaurants, they give you potato cakes. So I thought, rather than potato, why not make something with beetroot? I knew it would work because I saw the trend for New Yorkers to eat healthier. Beetroot has great nutritional value. I wanted to incorporate those types of vegetables into what we do. I added spices to make it more flavorful, and I serve it with chutneys. It is a hit item. I top it with lotus flower. Lotus is not so common out here, but it is common in Kashmir. I first used lotus in Tamarind when we opened in 2001. We have a malai kafta, which is basically cottage cheese and potatoes. The dish was in all the Indian restaurants. It is well liked, but I didn't want to do that. So I used lotus fruits instead. Then I started blending in more stuff, like pomegranates. Tamarind was also the first place to use pomegranate seeds for seasoning.
2. Karwari Jhinga (shrimp)

This was invented here. I wanted to do something like a spicy shrimp. Karwari is a region in the south of Indian, where people eat really spicy food. I wanted to bring the spiciness from Karwari to the restaurant. We take chilies, garlic, cloves, and bay leaf, then add a little vinegar and grind it. Then we marinate it. When the order comes, we coat the shrimp in semolina, dust it off, and pan grill it. We finish with a tomato chutney, because it is spicy and needs something to cut the heat. Do you find a lot of seafood in common Indian restaurants? No. But, Indian people love seafood. It is very common. So I have introduced a fair share of seafood with influences from various regions of India and with various spices. I want to have a lot of flavors, because India being a country where the culture changes every 200 miles, the food also changes. We have 26 languages. Religions are different. I want people to know that India is full of variety. If you compare India from North to South, East to West, every state has its own taste. Each region has a different cooking style. In the North they use a lot of tomato and yogurt. In the South, they use a lot of chili and coconut, and also tamarind for tartness—whereas in the north, the tomatoes bring the tartness. If you go east, you see the influence from the Tibetan border and a lot of Chinese influence. You will only find very Chinese food there.
3. Kolhapuri Missal

This is basically a vegetarian dish that is very common in Maharashtra—as common as a hot dog is here. It's a street food, but one that is served in small joints. It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner—anytime really. It is made of chickpea and potato, and it is very spicy. I serve it with a slice of toasted bread on the side, along with a sweet mint yogurt. It is one of the dishes I really wanted to introduce at Benares, but I did not do it at Tamarind. With each restaurant, I want to do something different. The variety of food in India is never-ending, so I always want to bring something new to every restaurant.
4. Crab Chettinadu

Crab in the United States is popular as an appetizer, especially as a cake. You go any place, be it a regular or top restaurant, and crab cakes are always there in some style. I wanted to do it in an Indian way, infusing it with Indian spices. I have done the it before with crab cakes at Tamarind. At Benares, I wanted to do a healthier crab dish. Rather than making a cake and frying it, I temper it with onions, mustard seed, curry leaves, garam masala, and coconut. We sauté rather than fry. It is a better presentation this way than as a fried cake. Chettinadu is a region in the south of India. It is also a cuisine, like how you say Louisiana or Texas cuisine. It is popular for using black pepper, so you will get that taste. Since crab is sweet, I wanted it to have a spice contrast with the black peppers of Chettinadu.
5. Beguni Maach (Chilean sea bass)

If you go to India's coastal regions, they eat fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you go to Bengal, everyday you have to have a fish. If I bring the fish that are popular in those regions, like Kingfish, people will not know about it. So, I wanted to do seafood [that people would recognize], and Chilean sea bass is popular here because of its sweetness. We marinate it in nutmeg and chilies, and then we grill it. It is served on a bed of eggplant with a tomato sauce made with sun-dried tomato.
6. Amiya Jhinga (jumbo shrimp)

These are jumbo shrimp marinated in Indian spices. This is not spicy, but mellow—there is just a very slight spice. It is served with mango chutney. Amiya means mango. Mango is widely used in India. I wanted to bring the mango and the seafood out here. Mango lassi is very popular in India. We have 20 or 30 varieties of mango—from Gujarat or Delhi downwards, mangos are grown everywhere.
7. Burrah Masaledar (lamb chops)

Lamb chops are very famous in India as a grilled item. One thing you will never miss in good Indian restaurants is a lamb chop. When you say masaledar it means that after grilling, the chops have been tossed with onion, tomato sauce, and saffron. The sogginess against the meat gives it some texture. People are deceived thinking Indian food is just curries, curries, and curries. The tandoori was originated in India, we cook bread and meat in that—everywhere in India, in the evening, people have their grill. That is one of the reasons I have introduced a lot of grill items, because India is one of the countries where after 6pm there are always special grill items. I like the grill items the most. I like the beef, the boti kebab. Why beef in India? One time, India was ruled for nearly two centuries by the Mughals, the Muslim emperors, and their main food was beef. I think the Mughal period was the time India was introduced to a lot of grilled items. Today also, people coming from the Middle East enjoy a lot of grilled lamb and chicken. Basically, all over India, where the Muslim colonies are, there are grilled items. They are famous for grilled items. Steakhouses are famous [in the U.S.]. I wanted to make our grilled items famous. That is one of the goals. We lack diversity in Indian restaurants. Many are owned by Hindus, who don't allow beef or pork. But, if you go to cosmopolitan cities, both are widely used. The other thing I want to do, perhaps in the next restaurant, is have all these meats coming from the grill.
8. Murgh Seyal (grilled chicken breast on broccoli rabe)

My main focus is grilled meat, healthy dishes, and seafood. We do saag paneer—basically spinach and cottage cheese—which is very popular with vegetarians. But I wanted to introduce something different. I think broccoli is attractive to all people. It takes well to the flavor of the meat, so we add it with spinach and then top it with a grilled chicken breast. We do very well with it. It attracts a lot of people. Murgh Seyal is one of the dishes that also has dill. Dill is very popular in India with a community known as Sindhi; they use dill with spinach. That is how they cook their vegetables. I've made it better by introducing a little chicken.
9. Sevai Tomato Kurma (mixed seafood)

I wanted to take people's love of calamari, crab, and mussels and figure out what to do with it. I have put together a melody of seafood. In the South [of India], they have a noodles—idyappam—so I decided to use those. You can serve it with anything. So why not make a new dish that doesn't lose the authenticity of the flavors?
10. Baingan Mirch Ka Salan (baby eggplant)

This is another dish I made because people love the ingredient. People here love eggplant. This is a dish from Hyderabad, where the people love chili and eggplant. The sauce in this dish is made of peanuts. So I've introduced peanuts and coconut, a change of pace from tomato sauces. Mirchi is a minced chili. We have long peppers stuffed with coconut and peanuts, and we grill it. That is different [from what you'll find at other restaurant].

The 10 Dishes That Made My Career: Peter Beck

1. Kashmiri Tikki (beetroot patties)

2. Karwari Jhinga (shrimp)

3. Kolhapuri Missal

4. Crab Chettinadu

5. Beguni Maach (Chilean sea bass)

6. Amiya Jhinga (jumbo shrimp)

7. Burrah Masaledar (lamb chops)

8. Murgh Seyal (grilled chicken breast on broccoli rabe)

9. Sevai Tomato Kurma (mixed seafood)

10. Baingan Mirch Ka Salan (baby eggplant)

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