OREANDA-NEWS. Emirates, the global connector of people and places, has introduced enhanced menus across 10 destinations in India that reflect regional tastes and customer preferences. Now on board, customers travelling on Emirates flights to and from India can look forward to a culinary offering that has been designed to mirror the varied tastes of India.

"India has a rich cultural diversity that is reflected in its culinary profile, with flavours and ingredients that vary dramatically as you move across regions. Emirates connects 10 destinations in India to its global network with 185 weekly flights, and we also bring thousands of travellers each week to India - whether they are returning home, doing business or discovering the destination for the first time. Our new tailor-made menus were created to suit the palates of our Indian customers, and will also give visiting travellers an authentic taste of some of India's most popular regional dishes," said Robin Padgett, Senior Vice President Aircraft Catering, Emirates.

"Our customers are passionate about food, and we took into account their views - how they look for comfort food and seek flavors of home-cooked meals. We conducted our own in-depth research when designing these new menus, as well as looked at trends and new innovations within the catering industry. All these elements have contributed to our enhanced menu offering across India."

Chef Ravi Nage, Emirates' Regional Catering Manager- Aircraft Catering, putting on the final touches on a dish.

Extensive research, customer feedback, new culinary techniques and the expert knowledge of our catering team were some of the factors that contributed to creating a menu based on the regional ingredients, cooking styles and cultural nuances. For example, customers on the Kolkata route can enjoy a Sarson Maach (mustard fish curry) which is a much-loved dish from the eastern part of Indian. Similarly, regional dishes such as Turiya Vatana Muthia (ridge gourd and green peas dumpling) on flights to and from Ahmedabad in the west, Meen Mulaku Curry (fish in red gravy) on Emirates' flights to Kerala, or Dhabe Da Gosht (lamb meat cooked in pure ghee and flavored with cardamoms, poppy seeds and spices) when travelling to Delhi, are some highlights.

Customers travelling to and from India can also look forward to a host of new additions including condiments such as regional chutneys and pickles, enhanced vegetarian meal options and individually-packed flat breads to compliment Indian curries. The menu will continue to offer specialized accompaniments typical to Indian cuisine such as chivda (a savoury dry snack), nimbu paani (lemon water), pappadumsraita (yoghurt) and traditional Indian after-mints.

With over 90,000 meals to and from India prepared every week, the Emirates catering team have also found subtle ways to enhance the flavours of Indian meals when served in inflight conditions. In particular, the ability to retain the fresh aromas and moisture of the food, through the introduction of meal separators to preserve the form of how curries and starch such as rice, are to be presented to customers.

The catering team has also experimented with the presentation of meals in First Class and Business Class. A western aesthetic has been applied to the presentation of Indian meals. While preserving the authenticity of taste, the traditional Indian cuisine has been given a contemporary look in terms of plating, thus enhancing the visual appeal of the dish. There was also great focus on the simplicity of the product offering and the freshness of the ingredients used. Additionally, menus on the Indian routes are translated into the local regional language of the destination.

Customers can also enjoy Emirates' award-winning inflight entertainment ice Digital Widescreen which offers the widest choice of Indian programming including over 100 movies in eight Indian languages; as well as dedicated Indian TV channels for Bollywood pop videos, comedy and drama; and audio channels featuring Indian classical and popular music. Emirates also has over 850 Indian cabin crew speaking several Indian regional languages.