Why Top Indian Chefs Are Turning To Foraging For Regional Ingredients

My first experience of foraging came during a culinary trip to Nagaland in 2023, organised by OMO Cafe, Gurugram. As we made our way to Mon town, I watched in fascination as Naga locals and OMO chefs suddenly stepped out of the car and began picking fresh ingredients right in the middle of the road. It was then that I learned how seamlessly foraging is woven into daily life in Nagaland. Plucking plantains and other wild ingredients to use in everyday meals isn’t just a trend; it’s a way of life. For many tribal and indigenous communities across India, it’s also a vital means of livelihood.

Back then, Chef Vanshika Bhatia was at the helm of OMO’s kitchen. Inspired by her interactions with local farmers and chefs, she returned from the trip with a fresh perspective, incorporating traditional Naga cooking techniques and ingredients (like Timur pepper and stinky beans) into her menu. Many Indian chefs have also been on this path, embracing foraging as a way to reconnect with indigenous culinary traditions and then bring that knowledge to diners through a menu that features India’s lesser-known produce. They’re making this fine dining experience fun by not just introducing diners to new Indian ingredients but also encouraging them to step out of their comfort zones, expanding their palates in the process.

A Reconnection With Roots

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Chefs are realising the importance of going beyond what is available in markets and kitchens and understanding ingredients in their true environment. “Foraging has always been a way for me to reconnect with food at its most primal level,” shares Chef Radhika Khandelwal, food security activist and chef at Fig & Maple. “My curiosity about ingredients and flavours that aren’t part of our daily vocabulary drives me to seek out what’s growing in the wild—ingredients that people from indigenous and agrarian communities have known and used for generations but have never quite made it into mainstream culinary spaces. As a chef, these expeditions are not just about discovering new flavours but also about learning from the land and from those who have an inherent understanding of it. It changes the way I think about food, and the way I cook and approach sustainability,” she says.

India's Rich Bounty On Your Plate

At a handful of fine dining restaurants championing regional Indian cuisine, you’ll find everything from prickly pear and seaweed to elephant apples and yeast balls on the menu. While they may not sound glamorous, these chefs know exactly how to turn them into something spectacular. 

Head to restaurants like Masque or Ekaa in Mumbai, or Fig & Maple in New Delhi, each dish arrives with a story—where the ingredients come from, how they’re sourced, and the significance they hold. More and more diners are becoming interested in the origins of their food, whether it’s sustainably sourced, and the hidden stories behind local ingredients.

 

Niyati Rao, head chef and partner at Ekaa, Mumbai, introduced sea asparagus to her diners with her latest menu, Awakening. All this time I knew about asparagus that grew on land. But when I learned it grows in water too, it baffled and fascinated me. “Sea asparagus or sea samphire, is a coastal plant I first worked with in Scandinavia, where it thrives in cold waters. Until recently, I believed it only grew in such climates. To my surprise, I discovered that it also grows wild along the distant coast of Maharashtra,” shares Rao. “On a recent visit, I connected with a local forager who helped us source it. Sea asparagus has a naturally briny, slightly crunchy texture with a delicate umami depth, making it an exciting ingredient to work with. We’ve incorporated it into our current tasting menu, in the course Tomato.”

Similarly, chef Varun Totlani, head chef, Masque, Mumbai, recalls his trip to Ladakh in 2023. “We went to a remote village in the Aryan Valley where a local school teacher kindly offered to host us and take us around. An unexpected outcome was coming across the amla’s (gooseberry) distant relative—Chinese lantern berries. We also learnt then that the local population generally uses the papery outer casing of the fruit. Once dried, it makes for great decorative additions to traditional headgear worn at festivals.”

Totlani and his team’s travels to Goa led them to discover seaweed, ulva (sea lettuce) and the sargassum swartzii (a seaweed variety). “The sargassam swartzii is quite prolific and available freely, but the ulva is sent to us in batches by The Good Ocean (a local regenerative ocean-based business focused on seaweed in India),” he adds. “Our search for sea urchins took us to a tiny fishing village in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. Although the sea urchins didn’t make it by the time he got to Mumbai due to storage issues, most of the foraged ingredients made it back to his menus. “We use seaweed in our seaweed ponkh bhel and as a garnish in our sea buckthorn and seaweed pani puri. Goan sea lettuce (aka ulva)-cured barramundi, with sea buckthorn juice, fresh and chewy/dried Ladakhi lantern berries. We’ve also made a broth and salad dish with different kinds of seaweed.”

 

Chef Thomas Zacharias, founder of The Locavore (a platform championing an impact-driven local food movement in India via stories, events, partnerships & projects), tells me about the diverse produce he’s discovered on his foraging trips. “I found umber (cluster fig) in the Palgarh district of Maharashtra and used it in papdi chaat. Its earthy flavour and crisp texture bring an unexpected, yet delightful, foraged element to a beloved street food classic,” he shares. He also discovered mahua in Jharkhand, karande (air potato) in Goa, tyrkhang in Meghalaya, and queen sago in Kerala. 

From the lush forests of Uttarakhand to the coastal stretches of Maharashtra, Chef Khandelwal also came across ingredients that hold stories, medicinal properties, and incredible flavours. “Takla, a wild green from Maharashtra, appears for a short window during the monsoon, its slightly bitter taste making it perfect for simple home-style preparations. Hisalu, a golden, fragile berry that grows in Uttarakhand, is another ingredient that doesn’t lend itself to transport, which means it remains deeply tied to the place it grows. I’ve also worked with the nannari root from South India, traditionally used in cooling sharbats, and Russian sage, an aromatic herb I found in Ladakh that lends itself beautifully to infusions and light broths. Russian sage, with its slightly minty and floral notes, pairs well with oyster mushrooms, creating a delicate interplay of earthiness and aromatics. Hisalu, because of its fleeting nature, finds its way into cocktails at my restaurant, infused in gin where its tart, almost citrusy profile brings a refreshing sharpness.”

Beyond The Buzzword

“Foraging has come into the public domain from the West with restaurants like Noma, but it isn’t new in India,” notes Chef Zacharias. “It has been an integral part of forest-dwelling communities’ lives for generations. Chefs need to approach it with respect and awareness.” 

While it’s great to see chefs spotlighting our country’s rich biodiversity, it’s important to note that this isn’t what foraging is restricted to. Today, it has become a new catchphrase, with every chef wanting to talk about local sourcing and seasonal produce. But only a few are actually doing the work beyond the PR-friendly plating.

Nurturing Communities 

Chefs incorporating foraged ingredients must also build meaningful relationships with local foragers and farmers. “Foraging comes with responsibility—not everything edible should be taken,” says Khandelwal. “Understanding sustainability is just as important as discovering new flavours.” Today, foraging is often commercialised without acknowledging the communities who have sustained these practices. Zacharias emphasises the need to give credit where it’s due. “Too often, chefs highlight wild ingredients without mentioning the communities behind them. There’s no consideration for who they’ve learned from. At the very least, respect and honour that. Diners will notice, and it will change perceptions about these communities. It’s one thing to preserve ingredients, but it’s equally important to preserve the knowledge and traditions surrounding them.” 

Foraging isn’t just about rediscovering forgotten flavours— it’s an opportunity to celebrate, protect, and sustain India’s rich culinary heritage. Few chefs in India are already leading the movement by doing it the right way. By working closely with local foragers, respecting indigenous knowledge, and sourcing responsibly, they are proving that foraging isn’t just a fleeting trend but a sustainable culinary tradition. If done with thoughtfulness and integrity, it has the potential to become a mainstay in Indian fine dining—where wild, locally sourced ingredients don’t just make for great Instagram content but tell a deeper, more meaningful story on the plate.

Read the full story on ELLE India’s new issue, or download your digital copy via Magzter.