'Fifteen of them are traditionally Chinese, including sweet dim sums which Indians have never tasted before. What we have found out is that Indians like the boiled dim sums,' Kumar said.

Dim sums and dumplings are not difficult to make at home as all the ingredients -- barring a few like the rare 'oxidised saliva of the swallow or the swiftlet bird' and some exotic mushrooms -- are available, at least in large cities, the chef said.

The Hyatt dim sum and dumpling spread, priced between Rs.550 and Rs.2,500 per dish, is based on traditional recipes from the northern Chinese province of Dong Guan -- which is famous for its sweet dumplings.

'One of Dong Guan specialities is the sweet dumpling -- small glutinous rice balls stuffed with condensed milk and oatmeal and topped with fried peanuts,' chef Clarence Jiang from China, who specialises in Cantonese dim sums and Dong Guan dumplings, told IANS.

Indians like steamed dumplings with mushrooms and lotus stems, observed the chef.

'I love making them here in the capital because the response is good,' he said.

In the non-vegetarian section, most of the local guests Jiang catered to opted for the 'steamed vegetable dumplings with shrimps -- a combination of asparagus and sea shrimps in a small case of sweet rice'.

Self-taught, Jiang, who belongs to a family of traditional Chinese chefs, has been making dim sums and dumplings since he was 15.

Dim sum, say the chefs at Hyatt, is linked to the ancient tradition of Yum Cha or drinking tea in China, which dates from the Silk Route trade. There were tea houses along the road side where farmers and traders would exchange notes over tea and dim sums.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)