New Delhi, Aug 5 - Food on international flights from the country is becoming more of a home-away-from home experience for frequent fliers. You can now tickle your taste buds with a shahi Indian Thaali, gajar (carrot) halwa stuffed in pancakes and grilled masala lobsters. Menus on airlines are acquiring an Indian taste.

'The palate of Indian fliers is changing. What do people expect when they are travelling out of India? Food which is more restaurant style, stylish but Indian because 10 days later they will be back to home-cooked traditional Indian food,' celebrity chef and television presenter Sanjeev Kapoor told IANS in the capital.

Pointing out the changing culinary demands of the passengers flying out of the country, Kapoor said 'research carried out among frequent fliers in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and New Delhi showed that there was an increase in regional preferences'.

'People travelling abroad from north India prefer south Indian breakfasts. Most passengers look for a combination of regional cuisines and fusion food as part of their breakfast, lunch and supper platters. It could be chicken done Chettinad style, pulao north Indian style, any kind of dal and an innovative curry of kadhi and baby corn,' he said.

Kapoor, who is on the International Culinary Panel for Singapore Airlines, said that passengers are willing to experiment with desserts.

'The desserts should be a bit out-of the-box, but a little less sweet as fliers are more concerned about their health. Moreover India is one of the diabetic hot-spots,' he said.

Kapoor has created a new range of airline desserts that combine traditional Indian sweets with popular western concepts.

'Instead of the usual fruit, pudding, custard, ice-cream or yogurt, why not serve something like carrot (gajar) halwa in a pancake casing, apple halwa cased in short crust pastry served with dates stewed in maple syrup and maple ice cream; desserts that are a fusion of India and the west,' the chef said.