As a chef, I have regular briefings with my team. The one constant instruction I give is, “Cook for your guests like your mother would for you. Treat them as part of your family.” If it is important to put in some thought while cooking, it is equally important to cook with love; it makes a world of a difference. In all my years as a chef, I have discovered that it is important to be happy when you cook for someone.
Asian cuisine is one of the world’s most ancient gastronomies, and its influence has spread across boundaries with its complex flavours and diverse ingredients. Its cultural authenticity is recognised even today, with many early cooking techniques being passed down generations — often mother to child. Food is at the heart of culture, and its importance is celebrated every day in most homes. For many, this positive relationship with food is ingrained from an early age.
My mother and maternal grandmother shaped my love for cooking, and eventually influenced my decision to pursue it as a career. My earliest memories are of watching my mother whip up a feast with seasonal produce. She’d ensure nothing was wasted — not the seeds or peels.
I remember how my father would set out early each morning for work. My mother would always have his lunch ready — a typical six-course meal comprising rice, something bitter (like gourd, neem), lentils with vegetable fries, a seasonal vegetable curry, a fish preperation and dessert.
Childhood memories
As a child, I detested fish; every time my mother cooked it, I’d run away, I couldn’t stand the smell. Today, I love it. Some of the dishes she cooked, such as fish head with bottle gourd, potato skin fry with poppy seeds, and banana flower with chicken liver are my favourites. For birthdays, she would whip up a feast with nearly 25 dishes on the menu.
Her zeal inspired me. So much so, I’d always make it a point to whip up a meal to surprise my parents every time they stepped out for an errand. It was always the same thing — egg curry with rice. While my parents made it a point to encourage me, my sister would shoot me dirty looks. It is only recently that I learnt that it was the spice levels that earned me those looks.
As a novice, I went through my share of ups and downs; from burnt hands to singed hair.
Mumbai:May 09, 2017. NOT FOR DAILY USE; TO GO WITH STORY: "Daab Chingri", the eloquent dish from Bengal cousine prepared by Chef Vikramjit Roy for her mother Tanushree to celebrate Mother's Day. Photo:Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury.
I love to cook for my mother, she has great insight on how to achieve a balance of flavours and techniques. She enjoys it when I take one of her recipes and give it my own spin. She loves that I can turn around a dish using the same set of ingredients that she does. I now cook every day and try to make something different each time. There are still days when I go back to my mother’s recipes to get me through a tough time. From a porridge with beans that comforted me during exam time or shukto that came to my rescue when I got into trouble, there’s a long list of comfort foods.
- 4 fresh prawns
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 5 green chillies
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 1½ tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 tsp onion paste
- 50 gm coconut, grated
- 200 ml water
- Salt and sugar to taste
- Marinate the prawns with mustard oil, chilli powder, green chilli paste, ginger and garlic paste for 30 minutes. In the meantime extract fresh coconut milk. In another bowl soak the mustard and poppy seeds for 30 minutes and make a fine paste with green chillies.
- In a pan heat mustard oil and fry ginger-garlic paste. Add the onion paste and stir till it turns translucent. Now add turmeric and cook.
- Add mustard-poppy paste and the coconut milk. Stir well and season with salt and sugar before adding the prawns. Cook for 15 minutes.
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- Black salt to taste
- Sugar to taste
- 2 green chillies
- 2 gm agar agar
- Blanch the tomatoes, de-seed and puree with the remaining ingredients. Strain the mixture into a pan and heat on a low flame. Coat the inside of a coconut shell with this mix about three times, to form a thick layer. Chill.
- Put the prawns into the centre of the coconut shell and pour in the gravy till it is half filled. Garnish with dehydrated bitter gourd and seasonal micro herbs.
My mother never hand-held me when I was learning to cook. It was a more watch-and-learn kind of thing. I learned how to make my own gourmet meals. She always says, “It’s funny. I didn’t necessarily want to teach him to cook, I wanted to teach him how to eat, but knowing how to eat usually means knowing how to cook. Part of raising a kid is making sure they have the skills to take care of themselves.” And here we are.
Currently hailed as one of the country’s brightest young chefs, with his penchant for modernist cooking, surprising flavours and Jackson Pollock-inspired plating, the author is set to open his own restaurant POH (Progressive Oriental House) in Mumbai soon.
