Yesterday, at Narita airport in Japan, I encountered an interesting new product: The Naan Dog.

I was intrigued. It spoke of innovation, globalization, and adaptive palates all at the same time. The Naan Dog product was clearly fusion, though I wasn’t sure what had fused with which.

The Naan has clearly become a common enough product that people understand the word – even in Japan. And “dog” implies that all English-speakers would understand the word to mean a sausage, derived from the American “hot dog,” rather than as something canine.

Naturally, I ordered one. It was a sausage on a mini-naan – exactly as pictured – garnished with Japanese curry sauce (derived from the British version of Indian curries) instead of the traditional ketchup and mustard. So I’d say its roots are Germanic-American/North Indian/ Japanese-British. [ETA: Or maybe Pakistani, as much as Indian. The “naandog” in decorative script border at the top of the poster may have been designed to resemble Urdu.]

It tasted pretty much as you’d expect. Not bad, for an innovative fast food eaten standing at a counter at an international airport.

Edited to Add: My friend Srilata wanted to know if it bore any relation to Slum Dog.

Naan Dog Millionaire? Could happen. Even if only a yen-millionaire.