Regional fire, tailored for a Hyderabad audience
A Naga food pop-up at the Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre put Northeast India’s bold flavours on a city stage, with chef Joel Basumatari serving king chilli–led plates balanced for first-time diners. Known for working across the Northeast’s culinary map, he moderated the signature heat and aroma associated with fermented ingredients so that more guests could explore the cuisine without being overwhelmed.
Highlights included the famed king chilli (also known as raja or naga mirchi) paired with a mango chilli honey and smoked beef served with kasundi, a pungent mustard relish. The approach underscored a central idea: retain authenticity while easing newcomers into intensity and aroma, particularly with ferments.
Bottling the Northeast: a growing sauces portfolio
Basumatari’s answer to making niche regional flavours accessible is shelf-ready sauces under the “Saucy Joe’s” label (saucyjoes.in). The range is built around the king chilli and kasundi, while incorporating the Northeast’s broader palette of fruity and floral seasonings. By standardising heat levels and stabilising flavour, the products aim to provide a dependable gateway to a region where cuisines vary sharply by state and community.
Key elements of the product philosophy: - Consistency for home cooks and restaurants seeking reliable spice and acidity. - Spotlight on local chillies and mustards, with layered aromatics rather than one-note heat. - Formats designed for easy pairing with street snacks, grills, rolls and dim sum.
Teaching the palate: a careful introduction to ferments
Fermented foods are foundational in many Northeast kitchens, but their distinctive scent can be a barrier for unaccustomed diners. Basumatari and his team adapted the menu after assessing audience preferences, trimming edge notes and dialling in balance. Ingredients such as fermented taro patis (anishi) were used judiciously to deliver depth without overpowering the plate.
The result was a thoughtful primer: familiar textures and proteins, recognisable formats, and controlled intensity. For a city accustomed to spice in other forms, the pop-up presented a different heat profile—clean, quick, and aromatic—anchored by mustard’s pungency and the king chilli’s unmistakable kick.
From pop-up to product: exports and new SKUs
The Hyderabad showcase also doubled as a brand moment. Basumatari confirmed that his sauces are set to be available in Bhutan, starting with kasundi and king chilli, with the first shipment in progress. It’s a useful test of cross-border demand for Indian regional condiments and a signal that Northeast flavours can travel as well as they perform at home.
Beyond sauces, the team is working on packaging smoked dry meats—another staple of the region. If executed with the right curing, sealing and cold-chain strategies, smoked meats give the brand a complementary SKU that pairs naturally with its condiments while expanding into higher-value, protein-based retail.
Hyderabad as a tasting room for India’s regions
The city’s hotels and restaurants have increasingly leaned on pop-ups to introduce niche regional cuisines in curated, time-bound formats. For chefs from outside Telangana, Hyderabad offers: - A large, curious dining base familiar with spice yet open to new profiles. - Hospitality venues equipped to handle small-batch menus and chef-led storytelling. - Media and social amplification that helps translate limited-time events into long-term e-commerce traffic for branded products.
For the city, such events diversify the culinary calendar and spotlight how regional Indian food can be interpreted beyond stereotypes. Exposure to Northeast ingredients—especially ferments, wild aromatics and distinct mustard traditions—stimulates demand for retail condiments and encourages local restaurants to experiment.
What was on the plate
- King chilli with a mango chilli honey, designed to showcase heat coupled with sweetness and acidity.
- Smoked beef accompanied by kasundi and king chilli, highlighting the mustard-forward backbone of the region.
- Select applications of fermented taro patis (anishi), used sparingly to provide body and umami.
What to watch next
- Bhutan rollout: Early export traction could inform SKUs, pricing and packaging for other Himalayan markets.
- Smoked meats packaging: Success will depend on shelf stability, regulatory compliance and maintaining texture after transport.
- Collaborations: More hotel pop-ups or chef residencies can accelerate product sampling and feedback loops for future R&D.
The business angle
Condiments offer an efficient way to scale regional cuisines beyond restaurant footprints. With e-commerce as a backbone and hotel partnerships as marketing, brands like Saucy Joe’s can build category awareness while managing costs. If smoked meats come online, the brand’s basket expands from sauces to pairings, lifting average order value and deepening customer engagement.