BENGALURU: The city's top-notch restaurants don't see `Make in India ' as the exclusive domain of high-end tech manufacturing. In a new twist to the tale, they are making artisanal homemade ingredients like exotic cheeses, sauces and syrups using local produce than fashionably impor ting them through vendors.Chefs say it's cheaper and vouch for the freshness it lends to the city's ever-evolving diner. Hence, the Italian pesto pasta or Mexican habanero prawns now served here are as fresh as `desi'.Mexican eatery Sanchez is dishing out artisan oaxacan cheese, smokey chipotle sauce, cream cheese and lipstick spiced achiote in its very own kitchen in Bengaluru. Chef Vikas Seth says, "The idea is to keep adding dishes and creating new experiences for Bengaluru 's well-travelled diners.Most ingredients are not available here or expensive. Making them inhouse helps us learn a new art and benefits the economics of the restaurant."Explaining how the restaurant economics change by making exotic ingredients in-house, Chirag Makwana, sous chef at Toast & Tonic, says, "Importing a 500-ml bottle of Thai Sriracha sauce costs `1,000. Its ingredients like red jalapenos are available locally and cost Rs 20. It's a fresher and healthier option." Makwana thus spends his offservice hours making batches of Sriracha sauce, three varieties of mustard and cured meats.Restaurants like The Irish House are now using in-house chipotle, BBQ and habanero sauces; Yauatcha does its own Asian sauces; Sly Granny serves homemade BBQ sauce; The Leela Palace serves house soy for sushi; and Three Dots & A Dash is experimenting with spices like Creole and African Jerk.Chef Abhijit Saha , who recently has gone sustainable by using only organic ingredients and antibioticfree chicken at his restaurants Fava and Caperberry, is following suit."The choice is between economising on your manpower and freshness. Again, readymade sauces may not be fresh but offer consistency . In the name of creativity and vision, food 's originality should not be diluted. Seasonality, expertise and vigilance are mandatory," insists Saha, who quickly switches to imported canned tomatoes when Indian tomatoes fail to give the desired pizza base during off-season.Recalling mass establishments like Ranganna Military Hotel (RMH), which have been making own spice mixes and masalas freshly every morning for ages, food blogger Nikhilesh Murthy says, "Biryani at RMH won't be the same if they used off-the-shelf masala. Prepping your own spices lend unique flavour and texture, creating a USP of sorts.However, the eatery must have the expertise and equipment to make the homemade trend a success."