Shivani Unakar visits a university kitchen in Bengaluru to understand how scientific intervention can be applied to pressing challenges in our food system.
How much scientific intervention does our food really need?, I wonder, as I make my way to the Scientific Kitchen, a food innovation lab at the University of Transdisciplinary Health Sciences (TDU) in North Bengaluru.
I’m here to meet Dr. Gurmeet Singh—food scientist, innovator, and Head of the Centre for Ayurveda Biology and Holistic Nutrition at TDU—who gives me a reality check. “Today, there is really no such thing as unprocessed food,” he says matter-of-factly. The freeze-dried instant coffee, homogenised vegetable oil, or whey protein isolate in many of our pantries, that’s ultra-processed food. But a vegetable that’s chopped, blitzed, or cooked, is also food that has undergone processing. Even the seeds it grew from have been bred and selected for certain qualities. Simply put, our food system is already so entangled in industrial processes that nearly everything we eat has felt the effects of scientific innovation.
So, what if we could apply that same scientific thinking toward some of the most pressing challenges of our food system today: nutritional security, cost efficiency, and accessibility of solutions rooted in local, cultural contexts? That is Dr. Gurmeet’s vision for the Scientific Kitchen.
TDU was originally established in the 1990s as the Foundation for the Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT). Its goal was to research India’s traditional health and wellness practices with the same rigour applied to modern science.
Located at the far end of its quiet, tree-covered campus in Bengaluru’s Yelahanka, sits the Scientific Kitchen. At first glance, it appears like a standard industrial kitchen, with white walls, stainless-steel counters, and large exhaust hoods. But a closer look reveals a dizzying array of equipment from a variety of food production settings.
There is a mixer grinder, a two-burner stove, and other common pots and pans found in home kitchens. A tandoor, a flat-top grill, and an idli grinder allow testing for commercial Indian eateries like darshinis and dhabas. There’s an industrial microwave and Merrychef oven, like those used by Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), as well as a Rational Combi oven and sous-vide machine found in high-end restaurants and five-star hotels. All of these also share space with lab-grade tools like a calorie meter and a pH meter. Every possible use-case scenario has been considered in setting up the kitchen’s infrastructure.
As with most research laboratories, this infrastructure is brought to life by the research interests of the faculty. Dr. Gurmeet, along with assistant professor Dr. Shridevi Gothe, Dr. Swasti, Dr. Shilpa, MSc and PhD students enrolled at TDU, as well as visiting interns from food technology institutes around India, all work towards a shared aim: developing food-first solutions for health and sustainability. Their research begins from TDU’s extensive databases, which span wild foods and medicinal herbs, regional and indigenous food practices, Ayurvedic life sciences, and contemporary food technology.
In the Scientific Kitchen, these insights are tested and adapted into practical applications, such as fortified foods for nutrient deficiencies or wellness support, alternative proteins in culturally familiar formats, and scalable processing of climate-resilient indigenous crops into value-added products.
For instance, one ongoing experiment at the lab explores formulations for a cognitive wellness supplement using brahmi-infused ghee. The use of this herbal infusion to support memory and brain function is rooted in Ayurveda, and reinforced by modern pharmacology, prompting the lab to explore contemporary adaptations. “When medicinal ingredients like brahmi, or turmeric, are used to fortify food, we must understand which molecules present in them are actually beneficial, and how those can be isolated, delivered to, and activated in the right systems within the body,” explains Dr Gurmeet. To do this, it is also important to consider the most effective vehicle for those molecules; which, in this case, is the ghee.
The initial prototype of this supplement was in the form of gel capsules. However, testing showed that it would take seven capsules per day to deliver an effective dose, making it both impractical and unappealing for regular consumption. In response, the researchers shifted the format to small shots of a ready-to-consume beverage, in which miniscule droplets of the brahmi-ghee are emulsified. This formulation is currently being tested for palatability and efficacy, to allow for the daily recommended dose of brahmi-infused ghee to be more easily consumed by potential users.
“Texture, consistency, and the droplet size of such emulsions also play a critical role in the delivery of the desired molecules. Which is why we’ve invested in a range of equipment for homogenisation and emulsification” says Dr. Gurmeet, pointing them out one by one. A familiar home-style Sumeet mixer grinder (that costs around ₹5,000) sits beside a high-end Vitamix blender (around ₹1 lakh), which sits by an industrial homogeniser (around ₹8 lakh). These each have their utility in various other experiments. But it is a high-pressure homogeniser (around ₹30 lakh) capable of creating nano-droplets, that is used to create highly stable emulsions like ice creams, mayonnaise, or the emulsified brahmi drink supplement.
In another project, iron-rich compounds are extracted from green leafy vegetables and incorporated into a chip-like snack. By fortifying a format that children and young adults already enjoy, the product boosts iron intake without demanding major dietary shifts. The Scientific Kitchen refines seasoning, crunch, and nutrient retention to ensure the snack is both appetising and beneficial.
The Dal Analogue
Alternative protein technology is one of the lab’s key areas of interest. “Demand for protein is growing disproportionately compared to what our food is currently able to provide. On average, people need to consume far more protein-rich foods than they currently do, to meet recommended daily allowances (RDAs),” Dr. Gurmeet tells me.
We already see this discourse reflected in the array of protein-fortified food products available in the market today, from whey- and plant-based protein powders to celebrity-endorsed protein-fortified snacks. While these products may cater to the lifestyle and wellness choices of a few, there are many others in the country still trying to meet their basic nutritional needs—a challenge made harder by rising food prices.
One of the lab’s prototypes that is close to release is a protein‑fortified dal analogue, born from these dual crises of protein deficiency and soaring prices of pulses. While it is designed to look, taste, and cook like traditional tur dal, it delivers 32 grams of protein per 100 grams consumed, and costs just ₹70 per kilogram to produce. (Both significant, when compared to the 20–24 grams of protein and ₹150/kilogram market price of traditional agricultural tur dal).
Proteins provide the body with amino acids, which make up our hair, nails, skin, bones, muscle, and immune system. But not all protein is made equal. Which is to say, different protein sources can contain different proportions of amino acids, and to get “enough” to meet basic needs, we must consume all nine essential amino acids—a complete amino acid profile. This is another consideration in the design of the dal analogue.
Its journey begins in the lab’s pilot plant, where a pulveriser separates the macronutrients (carbohydrates, fibre, fat, and proteins) from a variety of grains such as wheat and soy. The isolated proteins are recombined into a dough with a complete amino acid profile and then extruded into granules that mimic the look and feel of tur dal.
Back in the Scientific Kitchen, researchers test cooking time, taste, and texture. While boiled on its own the analogue does not perfectly replicate traditional dal. But when simmered using familiar recipes with spices and tadka, it achieves a surprisingly close likeness, Dr. Shridevi tells me.
One of the lab’s prototypes that is close to release is a protein‑fortified dal analogue, born from these dual crises of protein deficiency and soaring prices of pulses.
There are trade‑offs, however. Micronutrients like vitamins may be lost in processing. But as Dr. Shridevi notes, “People eat dal to meet their protein needs, not necessarily for vitamins, which they can get from many other food sources.” In that sense, the product is designed for a very specific purpose.
The dal analogue is set to be piloted through a partnership with The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s mid-day meal programme. The programme has come under significant criticism for its refusal to serve eggs on grounds of religious dietary restrictions. And the debate around Akshaya Patra’s vegetarianism, and the influence of religious beliefs on public policy, is ongoing and fraught.
But what stands out as interesting is that the problem statement for this innovation came with specific constraints: it must be plant-based, cost-effective, scalable, and culturally familiar.
“What excites us,” says Dr. Gurmeet, “is not merely invention, but relevance.” In the food system, no challenge exists in isolation. To create contextually relevant solutions, one must consider various constraints.
Bridging the Last Mile
At present, the Scientific Kitchen supports 22 such projects in various stages of development and testing, some of which are ready to be introduced to the market through industry partnerships. Each is guided by the same framework: Identify a context-specific challenge, apply scientific, design- and systems-thinking, prototype in the kitchen, refine through lab testing, and prepare for real-world application.
Problem statements arrive from diverse sources—government partners, school nutrition programmes, wellness institutes like TDU’s i-AIM hospital, chefs, or the students’ own research questions.
Once prototypes clear lab and pilot trials, the lab explores partnerships for distribution and impact. In Wayanad, Kerala, for example, TDU has partnered with the MS Swaminathan Foundation, to provide ongoing technical support to local Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in testing, developing and process value-added products that provide farmers with a source of additional revenue.
In the food system, no challenge exists in isolation. To create contextually relevant solutions, one must consider various constraints.
Another partnership with Jungle Lodges & Resorts focuses on training chefs to integrate wild edible herbs into their menus, using recipes developed at the Scientific Kitchen. Conferences with institutions like the University of Greenwich support alternative protein research, and joint courses with institutes like Srishti Manipal Institute of Design, and ATREE, in Bengaluru deepen transdisciplinary education around food futures. Through such partnerships, the Scientific Kitchen serves as the backbone for research and innovation in the broader Indian food landscape.
“At the end of the day, food is a multi-sensory experience,” reflects Priya Joshi, co-founder of Foodwize and advisor on the lab’s education and outreach programmes. While deep academic research can often feel inaccessible to other stakeholders, “the kitchen helps us step back from over-intellectualising food, and reminds us that, at its core, food is a source of nourishment and joy.”
And perhaps that’s the real question. Not how much science our food needs, but what kind. Here, scientific intervention isn’t about extraction or excess. It’s about developing solutions that are grounded in culture and context, and using technology to expand what’s possible for the future of our food.
Shivani Unakar is a food researcher and creative practitioner based in Bengaluru. Her work explores the intersection of food, people, and place—and how they shape identity, culture, and systems at large.
