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The hot debate
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It’s difficult to measure, but makes a dish taste splendid or turns it into a complete disaster. Heat can change the very chemistry of what you cook
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Photo: P. V. Sivakumar
TURN ON THE HEAT But not too much because meats lose their flavour
You’ve heard the story of the stone soup, haven’t you? A hungry man knocks at a door, tells the woman of the house he has a magic stone that makes excellent soup. He slips it into hot water and asks for salt, pepper and vegetables to give
it the right zing. Finally, he declares: “My stone has made the perfect soup for you. Taste it, madam!”
There is an invisible, magical element in our kitchen. It makes dishes reach magnificent heights or fall like a first-time soufflé. Most cooking disasters can directly be traced to it. You never really “see” it or measure it, but you know it’s indispensable. It’s heat. Yep, that something you keep adjusting as you cook.
Significance of heat
Heat changes the chemistry of what you cook. It changes the texture and flavour. Even five to 10 degrees can alter the taste. How many of you will accept a lukewarm cup of coffee?
You are frustrated that the kadhai takes forever to heat up. Potato burns outside but remains hardcore. You feel sapped of energy standing in the thermal landscape. And because heat flows in and out, a perfectly made dish can taste flat if there’s delay in bringing it to the table.
“Absolutely!” says Manuel Mitra, Executive Chef, Le Royal Meridien. His steak is turning, so meat is what he begins with. “The best meat is half done, though it’s cooked to the customer’s preference. When you overcook meat, vegetable or pasta, it absorbs a lot of water and begins leaching when you add the seasoning. Rice does not absorb flavour when overdone. Cook whole chicken at 200 degree for 45 minutes. Chicken at low temperatures is rubber. Grill for 10 minutes. Cook pork at 160 – 170 degree over a few hours. Turn the temperature on high, it’s as good as wood. Beef and lamb generally at 200 degree.” He’s not happy that Indians love their food overcooked. “Cook veggies in different conditions and they complain they are not cooked. My veggies cook at 60-70 degree C. I sauté them and keep them ready and add the sauce in the end.”
Soup? “Add sweet corn kernels to water at boiling temperature,” said Sakthivel, Sous Chef, Le Royal Meridien, checking if I caught the joke. Chicken soup simmers, reduction brings out strong flavours. Boil to clarify scum in meat soup. Boil fish only for eight minutes. It has maximum rancidity. Grilled fish? 200 degree is normal. “When you fry fish, reduce heat and leave it for a few minutes. It gets cooked fully. Leave it to rest.”
“I learnt fish cooking from my grandma,” he says.“Prawn takes longer to cook, but you need to stop when it’s almost done. Or it gets harder. If shank and mutton are not tender, she would say, “It’s already dead, don’t kill it anymore.”
Mitra is surprised baking even enters the discussion. “Precise temperature,” he declares. If it’s 200 degree C, it must be exactly that. The gluten and the flour in the mixture can change the temperature. The oven has to be pre-heated. Or your cake will be fluffy at the top and lumpy at the bottom. Cake drops are all about temperature and proofing time. It’s the right oven, right temperature and the right time needed. The best ice-cream flops if it is not cold enough.”
“Cooking is heat management,” said 79-year-old Andal Rangaswamy, author of a cookbook. You can only nod after the helpings at her multi-item feast. “Milagu rasam to methi paratha, the general mantra is heat: high – medium – low. Take Mysore Pak. You start stirring at a high temperature, cook besan on medium heat, slow down burner and wait for the bubbles to form before pouring it out.”
Stir vegetables from time to time so the heat reaches all sides of the pieces equally, she says.
Pickles need a high temperature to start with. “Keep stirring the mixture gently till done. You know how the halwa is made. For best results, press the chakli into very hot oil, but reduce the heat and allow it to get completely cooked. The innards should be well done.” Choose the right vessel so it gets heated quickly. “We all learn about heat levels over the years, don’t we?”
GEETA PADMANABHAN
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