When an Italian goes native

You order a pizza and it comes with a topping of baked raw banana or jackfruit.
At another place, the pizza comes with a blend of a local meat and rice dish. And do you like the idea of biting into a chunk of cottage cheese when you ask for a burger? Well all these experiments are taking place with food that Hyderabadis hold dear, but are they loving it?
“They are localising their menu to meet local needs and drive up the volumes.Let’s be clear, the pizza sold by multi-national food chains is not Italian. It is
customised to sell in bulk. Now, they are customising to cater to local tastes. This
usually upsets the food puritans. But there will be a whole lot of people who would want to check it out and it will bring in the volumes,” says Akshay Pulijal, a foodie.
“A paneer burger is OK, but not a biryani on top of a pizza. I wouldn’t mind going Indian, but the biryani and pizza mix is taking it too far,” feels Chowder Singh, a food blogger.
On social media, there is a full scale use of all the offensive words that one can muster ranging from bastard child of biryani to mongrelisation of Indian food. “Like the mule and the centaur, not all hybrids are successful (sic),” wrote Mahesh Murthy.
“If they tweak the formula to Indian palate, it is okay, but to mess around with foods that people associate with culture or identity isn’t a good idea at all. I think biryani is one of the most beloved dishes in India and messing around with it
will not be liked by a lot of people and perhaps that is the reason why so many bouquets and brickbats are flying about,” says Akhay.
“I am eagerly looking forward to the launch of ‘khichdi pizza’ by one of these MNC chain for Indians with bad stomach,” tweeted Gaurav Hajela.
But one thing is certain, the vast array of Indian cuisine with its exotic appeal from the highly textured subtle idly to fiery curries and bland appams to aromatic wazwan from steaming dosas to deep fried vadas and a dozen varieties of rotis are a fair game for experimentation. The choice is for the average Indian to make. Savour it or scupper it.