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From pop culture to old-school fables about guests looking forward to food at a wedding, shaadi ka khaana is what guests eagerly look forward to, no matter how much we evolve with the times. What does seem different compared to making a beeline for the chaat counter or breaking lines to get an extra puri, is that Indian weddings are not just a life event – they’re nothing short of a carefully planned production. From Instagram-worthy photo booths, to unique bridal entries and immersive guest experiences, what remains the heart of a true-blue Indian wedding, is the food.
From traditional Indian staples that have evolved into shedding the spotlight on regional cooking, to custom-curated menus that take into account the gastronomic favourites of the couple, wedding menus have begun to get as much attention as the décor and trousseau. Creative renditions of global cuisines, larger-than-life food displays and decadent wedding cakes have all been some of the newest additions into the beautiful chaos that forms a huge part of our culture.
Minimal Wedding Cakes
Taking the less-is-more philosophy beyond the bride’s make-up and attire, wedding cakes have now become a crucial detail that commemorates the exchange of vows. While nothing quite takes away from the effort and attention to detail needed to make a gorgeous wedding cake, these sweet centrepieces with minimal decorative elements and big flavours have won the hearts of many wedding-goers.
The World On A Plate
Remember when having a designated pasta counter or special corner for Chinese food was all the rage about 10-15 years ago? Indian weddings have now also seen the well-travelled palates of the families and guests evolve to accommodate tacos, sushi, shawarma and more – thus, leaving guests spoilt silly for choice. Eating at a wedding feels as immersive an experience as enjoying constructing the perfect bite of your taco at a Mexican restaurant.
Bite-Sized Classics
Image Credits: indishwindisch
Traditional Indian delicacies meet small serving portions equals getting to try a little bit of everything, without feeling too full before you can sit down to have dinner. Think tikki sliders, gol gappa shots, mushroom tandoori skewers and laal maas baos; there’s scope to try just about everything and more, minus the guilt of indulgence. Indian food, especially at weddings, can be a rich and heavy affair but minimizing portion sizes does the trick like no other!
Zero Wastage Menus
Whether it is a nose-to-tail approach or a root-to-shoot perspective, wedding menus that support a sense of climate consciousness have now gained momentum. Choosing organic, sustainably sourced ingredients that not only taste good, but also generate zero to minimal waste, have become an admiral stance to take with food at weddings. Minimally processed, supporting local vendors and giving guests something off the beaten path are some of the additional reasons why guests are opting to go down this eco-friendly road.
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Fusion Starters
Image Credits: Flavor & The Menu
Trust us Indians to take just about anything from around the world and put a desi spin to it! From chaat grazing boards to thepla tacos and papdi canapes, tweaking traditional classics from around the globe to better suit Indian tastebuds has moved beyond just adding mayonnaise to pasta sauce or paneer tikka on pizza. As the world inches closer through technology, shaadi menus bring cultures closer by combining the best of two worlds.
Thematic Set-Ups
Taking a leaf out of the global counterparts for Indian food, using new presentation and plating styles for lesser-known cuisines with a high demand (Read: Kashmiri, North Eastern and Himachali) are taking centre-stage. For example, a ramen bar is a chic catering fixture but what’s cooler to have is a station serving steaming bowls of Tibetan thukpa. Similarly, utilising chefs and cooks hailing from a specific region to get the nuances of a dish or dishes right, is now being encouraged in order to have the best kind of culinary experience for the occasion.
Chef-Designed Menus
In recent times, the number of couples and families of couples requesting specific chefs to design the entire wedding menu has seen a spike. Not only does this add weightage to a wedding menu asking to be taken seriously, but also allows a platform for the chef to showcase what they’re capable of doing outside of a conventional kitchen space. This adds a refreshing dimension to the meaning of wedding catering and places the responsibility of quality control solely in the hands of the chef.
