IN the tiny town of Bicknell, in the deserts of Utah, that has a population of less than 500, a Sikh boy from a small village near Jalandhar is quietly adapting the American palate to relish flavours of Punjab.
Bicknell is located in the heart of Capitol Reef Country, about 17 miles west of Capitol Reef National Park. According to the recent demographic data from the World Population Review and Data USA, Bicknell’s population is 476, of which over 80 per cent are White folks.
It was here in this typical American town that Bhinda Singh, who belongs to Hardo Pharala village near Jalandhar, started Curry Pizza in 2017.
His father Amrik Singh provided him space for a restaurant when he realised his son was passionate about food and entrepreneurship.
Bhinda Singh’s family had moved to the US in 2000. The idea to start a pizza place originated as Bhinda Singh wanted to celebrate his Punjabi roots in America and bring flavours of his favourite places from the US and Punjab together in one dish.
That’s how Curry Pizza was born, serving pizzas with a desi twist, having robust flavours of his beloved Punjab, one slice at a time.
Today, travellers driving through the desert town stop over not just for the scenery, but also for his pizzas topped with what else but all-time Punjabi favourite butter chicken, tikka masala and various other Punjabi curries and gravies, with typical spices that sizzle the palate back home.
At Curry Pizza, these curry slices have become both a local staple and a destination draw for road-trippers heading through Utah’s red-rock country.
The journey, however, was anything but planned for Bhinda Singh. “I arrived in Bicknell as a tourist only. But I could feel an immediate connect to the town, as I’m from a small town myself. I also had an uncanny feeling that this little town will be a turning point for me,” he says.
And he was proved right eventually. Before Curry Pizza, Singh had tried to explore many avenues. He had spent time working in the automobile industry, hoping for a different career path. But the culinary pull proved stronger. “Like all Punjabis, my family has a continuous love story with food.”
Bhinda Singh is not a trained chef. But, as he says, “I had the best training in the world — family training. I learnt the art of cooking from my mother and Mamaji (maternal uncle). But the love of experimenting with cuisines and flavours is my own.”
Bhinda grew up on a local rustic style of cooking, where food was always served with love, and cooking was not a chore but a way to share love with family and friends, offering food as an ultimate form of affection and care.
Today, his wife Vicky and children too are “involved in the family business”, reading about new recipes and even doing taste tests before a pizza is added to the menu.
“I believe Indian flavours can make any food great, though the secret ingredient is always love,” says Bhinda. “Our spices have so much depth that they can elevate almost anything if you treat them with love and respect.”
His passion for pizzas is infectious. His best-selling pizza is the Bhinda Singh Special — topped with chicken tikka, paneer or tofu, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, jalapenos, basil, cilantro and fenugreek over curry sauce.
When he started, Bhinda was apprehensive about the acceptance of spicy, rich Punjabi flavours in a typical American town. So he decided to tweak these flavours a little by adding some cream. “People here generally prefer food that’s a little creamier. Also, the cream helps balance the spicy Indian tadka without affecting the flavour. Over the last few years, we’ve also moved towards healthier cooking. Our food is now free from added oils, butter and unnecessary additives,” he says.
His latest inspiration comes from one of Punjab’s most beloved street foods. “I’m currently experimenting with how to play with flavours of golgappe in my pizzas. This mouth-watering street food is my favourite. I still miss golgappe from a shop in Jalandhar,” says Bhinda.
Recreating the sweet, tangy and spicy burst of golgappa water in pizza form is no small challenge, but he sees it as another opportunity to push culinary boundaries.
He’s also thinking of developing another fusion creation: pizza samosas. “I’m excited about making a pizza with our beloved samosas,” he says, about what could be the next addition to the menu.
In a town with no shopping malls and few of the conveniences associated with modern American life, Curry Pizza has become a destination in its own right.
The distance from Hardo Pharala to Bicknell stretches across continents, but inside Bhinda Singh’s kitchen, every pizza carries the unmistakable flavours of Punjab.
— The writer is a freelance contributor
