What did you have for dinner last night?
I live with a group of girls and cook almost every night when I go back from work. Last night, I had a delicious home-cooked pork curry spiced with Sikkim chillis, with steamed rice. Of course, it was shared by everyone.
What are you reading now?
Beyond Religion . I absolutely love this book. It doesn’t really teach any particular religion, but focuses on values. The language is simple and I keep going back to it all the time. It has helped me through both good and tough times.
What's your favourite recipe book?
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto. I love this book as it marries classic Japanese cooking techniques with Western ingredients. The resulting recipes are amazing, both in terms of technique as well as flavours. The book presents fantastic images, so I’m able to draw inspiration for my recipes and presentation styles too. Many of the dishes which I cook for our buffet have elements inspired by it.
Next vacation? What do you plan to eat there?
I would love to visit Thailand and plan to binge on the street food. I am a huge fan of Oriental flavours and the various layers of Thai cuisine intrigue me. Plus, it’s Thailand! It’s the perfect place to let your hair down and experience a new culture.
Best meal?
I grew up in a quaint part of Himachal Pradesh. We would have our meals at school every day. Lunch was usually rajma with steamed buns, or dal-chawal. Every year, on the school’s anniversary, all the kids would be tremendously excited because a feast was in store. We would get mutton stew with glass noodles, delicious potatoes and steamed rice. To date, those are the best meals I have ever had. I just have to close my eyes and the memories come flooding back. It was one of the things that inspired me to specialise in Asian cooking.
What about the worst?
I moved to Chennai about seven months ago. I love South Indian food and was glad that I could finally taste some authentic dishes in the city. I decided to try a small eatery as I was assured they are the best way to indulge in authentic food. It was not at all the experience I expected. There was way too much coconut in the curry and way too much sugar in the dessert. I felt rather let down.
Places you eat at most often?
Most often, I cook for myself and try to create new recipes. But I really like Mast Kalandar and I am always excited to go to food courts. You get to try so much under one roof.
Lessons learnt in the kitchen?
Patience. It’s the key to everything in the kitchen. This is an especially important lesson for me because Asian cooking has so many subtle elements to it. I have seen that the demand for Asian cuisines has shot up over the last few years and guests are very interested in trying out new flavours. In fact, this has led us to introduce Asian dishes as part of the buffet every day. However, guests always have special requests when it comes to spice, sauces, vegetables etc. I customise the recipe based on their requirements. If you are not patient, you are bound to make mistakes.
Any secret junk food confessions?
I can survive on chaat. Give me some good chaat any time of the day and I will happily devour it. Dahi Bhalla, Pani Puri, Dahi Puri and Sev Puri are my favourites. They have to be super spicy though. Spicy enough to make you cry. That’s the only way to eat chaat !
Last meal on earth: what would you choose?
Beef stew, stir-fried Bok Choy, steamed rice and spicy chillies on the side. This meal, which I have very often, takes me back to my village. We had our own little garden growing up and hardly bought any ingredients. My mother would cook with the vegetables in the garden.
