Shuma Raha: High on haldi

Coffee is so yesterday. In the tony cafes of the US, the UK, Australia and elsewhere, the beverage of choice now is a golden brew called turmeric latte. Yes, you guessed it - it's a cool variant of our very own haldi doodh, the homey concoction that your granny said would cure everything from a cold to aches and pains. Now haldi doodh has gone global, and it's got health freaks and food faddists all blissed out. So if you ever grimaced at that wonder drink, it's time to eat crow. Or drink it, maybe.

Turmeric itself is fast becoming something of a dietary star. A Google report on food trends in the US says online searches for the spice went up by 56 per cent from November 2015 to January 2016, and much of it had to do with searches for its use in turmeric lattes.

And why not? It's healthy (turmeric's laden with antioxidants, if you didn't know), it's modish, and its golden hue looks stunning on Instagram - much better than the boring brown of fuddy-duddy coffee. Besides, though latest research suggests that caffeine is not carcinogenic unless consumed very hot, knowing those medical dudes, they'll change their opinion before you can say "robusta". Basically, any which way you look, turmeric latte's nailed the competition.

Of course, the magic morning cuppa that health addicts are swooning over (they're probably pairing it with their yoga routine) is a new-age spin on our humble haldi doodh. Recipes vary, but the basic ingredients are turmeric juice, ginger, and - no, not milk - but nut milk (almond, coconut - take your pick). Hollywood lovely and celebrity health highness Gwyneth Paltrow likes to add a pinch of sea salt to the mix. Even so, we Indians can definitely lay claim to the prototype. And proudly add haldi doodh to the list of Indian foods that are up there in the global food firmament.

Think curry and its huge popularity with foodies the world over. In 2001, Robin Cook, then UK's foreign secretary, went so far as to say that chicken tikka masala was Britain's "national dish". Indeed, from vindaloo to korma, from biryani to "balti" chicken, from ghee to garam masala - dishes and spices from the subcontinent deliver a mighty whack of taste and are part of the gourmet scene of most countries around the world.

But this is not a one-way food street. It is a thriving gastronomic cross-pollination of sorts. So while the firangs drool over their jhal frezis and lahsuni naans, and take big swigs of their turmeric lattes, we Indians rave about an array of foreign delicacies. In the living rooms of the wealthy and the with-it, you may find folks solemnly holding forth on the relative merits of acai berries and chia seeds (both have been strutting as superfoods for some time), Parma ham and Serrano, Perigord truffle and Alba, nigiri sushi and sashimi.

They might occasionally complain that it's impossible to find really good oysters here. Or say plaintively that one is yet to taste an authentic Piedmontese cheese fondue in this country. But on the whole, Indian high rollers who have become determined aficionados of foreign foodstuffs have lots to lick their chops over. Whether it is baby kale or arugula, quinoa or couscous, sourdough bread or the sweet, dense pumpernickel - every kind of trendy food is being sampled and serenaded here.

And it's not just about the snobby, super pricey foods that only the rich can afford. Part of the glories of globalisation is that the cuisines of the world are at our doorstep and we are all digging in.

On my first trip abroad some 20 years ago, I remember being wildly impressed with such things as beef carpaccio and crisp fried soft-shell crabs. I remember the explosion of taste of a meaty enchilada. I remember pigging out on frothy zabagliones (an Italian dessert) and profiteroles dripping with chocolate cream. Today, Indian restaurants offer all this and more, and many of them do them with skill and sophistication. The days of the ghastly Gobhi Manchurian and American Chop Suey are, thankfully, behind us.

That said, are we giving as much as we're taking from this global gastronomic ferment? Not by a long shot. Yes, ghee is being hailed as a superfood now, and turmeric latte may be getting there. But if haldi doodh could become such a rage amongst the West's wellness elite, think of the potential of our rich store of homespun health foods. I'm sure a creative chef and a clever marketer could turn chyawanprash into an energy drink. With a picture of a levitating rishi on the can, it could give Red Bull a serious run for its money.

So Indian chefs and restaurateurs, please wake up and smell the turmeric latte. There's a bunch of Indian wellness foods and drinks waiting to be discovered by the world. You just have to pitch them right. And then watch them grow into, what else, superfoods.

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