Indian cuisine can become No.1 cuisine of the world

The unending quest for easy Indian recipes just shows that the world is awakening to the goodness of Indian food. As this year of 2011 wraps up, we are more determined to work harder in promoting Indian recipes across the world.

It would be appropriate if we sit back now and analyse as to where India stands today in terms of its cuisine. It may seem to be a distant dream in today’s context but soon a new year begins, and it may or can become a reality. India may not earn the slot at the Olympics but it sure has a cuisine that is rich in its true sense. We have offered to the world a cuisine that has in a short span of time, caught the fancy of quite a large number of people with a spicy palate.

In last so many decades, the immigrants from India have successfully given a unique taste to the world—hot curries. Over a period of time this taste has been getting more and more popular worldwide. During this period the real and the actual taste of Hot Curry has gone through a metamorphosis. The tastes have been changed at times to suit the needs of the residents of those areas and on quite a few occasions because of lack of knowledge about the right taste. This ignorance on the part of the enterprising restaurateur has impeded the growth of Indian food to some extent as the consumer, i.e., the diner has at times been served with a taste that he or she is least expecting. Satisfaction has lots to do with expectation. Whenever we have served Indian food the way it is expected to be, we have succeeded.

Now the time has come when we have to exceed expectations of the diners. On a global platform, we have to evolve ways and means of cooking Indian food to the expectations of a wide variety and range of people. It has been well established that most people eat food that they can relate to or at least the tastes they are familiar with. By no means are we insinuating that we cook food or change food to suit the taste buds of people. With the given diversity of our land, we have been blessed with unique and totally different tastes and flavours. From Meerut to Madras, from Ahmedabad to Agartala we have an array of dishes that probably would send even the most discerning of palate on a journey that can be termed as nothing but delicious. People eat food that they can relate to; for fast growth of Indian food it is imperative that we first find out the needs of the people of each International food zone and export tastes similar to what they have grown with. This way we would not only encourage regional Indian cuisine but also at the same time find right pegs for right holes.

Gone are the days when one could impress everyone with Butter chicken or Vindaloo, now International diner expects in his home territory, a kind of taste that is completely Indian and suits his taste buds also. We are not using words as Authentic Indian Food because have yet to come across a large group of people or professionals agreeing to a common taste platform. Some traditional recipes for New Years Eve….Kesari Bhaat, Kachori Chaat, Tandoori Chicken.

Indian food – let us do more

Easy Indian recipes are best followed from well written books. Indian cooking is wonderful and versatile and adapts fast to present day tastes. It can be kababs like Shikampuri Kabab, or something as flavourful as Narangi Pulav or a dessert like Gulab- e-Gulkand. These are made in a traditional manner but still live up to the standards of the modern palate that is looking for easy Indian recipes.

Time for a new year, so time for a change. Best would be to start cooking more at home. This is especially becoming important for the upwardly mobile crowd who prefers eating out. They eat out for various reasons like celebrating an occasion, or as a change for the housewife from her daily routine etc. They order dishes that are exotic not just in taste but also well presented. But then they also would like to replicate these at home some time or the other. This is where good cookery books will come in handy.

Looking at one book, Simply Indian, it caters to the health fads too. There are a number of recipes that can completely satisfy those who count their calories. Like for example Palak Shorba, Lemon and Coriander Soup, Gajar aur Kishmish ka Salad, Palak Chole, Missi Roti would rate high on the nutritional front. But ultimately while creating recipes the fundamental is ‘Taste is Paramount’. This book benefits anybody and everybody who loves food and love to entertain! You will find that the recipes in this book are such that would do your dinner table proud even in formal parties. Yet they are simple to make. These recipes can also be incorporated into daily menus thereby solving the housewife’s problem of “what to make for the next meal”. They are such that would satisfy the most fastidious of eaters.

It is well said that while cooking anything, along with the rest of the ingredients, a generous dollop of love is absolutely necessary. For that matter anything presented with love is not only enjoyed and appreciated but also reciprocated in equal measure. I also believe that all food is healthy…that is why the Almighty has created them for us. Everything is moderation is good and everything in excess can be unhealthy, this holds true even for easy Indian food.

Good fulfilling week & year

Spent the weekend with family out of Mumbai to attend the 25th wedding anniversary of my cousin. The whole family gathered for the occasion and it was great fun to be with all of them together. It is good to take a small break from work like this!

Friday saw the Christmas Cake competition in the office. The teams put up two great presentations and we had my good friend and talented chef, Anil Rohira, Corporate Pastry Chef Felchlin, as judge. After giving his valuable tips to the team, he declared a tie! Giving you the pictures here.

Mumbai had the first of its kind ‘Maha Feast’ at the Gateway of India this weekend. A very good beginning, I do hope it becomes an annual event and Mumbai will have a show case of food to demonstrate to rest of India and the world. I would like to see more of street food and live cooking next year round though.

The telecast of my recipe on Master Chef India 2 on Saturday has brought in lots of enquiries for the recipe! Well, they are on www.sanjeevkapoor.com on display for you to make and enjoy!

2011 has seen the launch of FOODFOOD, my much awaited food channel. This year now enters Week 52, and it is time to send off my greetings to all my associates and friends. This year we have researched the ancient dietitics and come up with some nice food sayings in Sanskrit. This is a fulfilling experience as something beautiful, something traditional reaches out to others and also indicates to us that we are moving ahead in the right direction in exploring avenues of food and in teaching all aspects of food.

Travel plans for January 2012. Around second week, planning to go to Bahrain for the launch of The Yellow Chilli. At present, the soft launch of The Yellow Chilli in Kathmandu has been done and what a response! There was a huge crowd willing to enter the place and the formal launch is yet to happen!

As the party mood to usher in the New Year will be setting in, I will share some easy foods that can be made for your family and friends.

Crusty Potato Fingers

Penne with Creamy Pesto and Cherry Tomatoes

Walnut Chocolate Fudge

Till I write again

Sanjeev Kapoor.

A look at the Indian breadbasket

This is in continuation of what you can find as breads when you are looking for Indian vegetarian recipes.

Bhatura: deep-fried leavened bread

A popular Punjabi deep-fried bread which is inseparable from chick peas especially in the combination of ‘chholay bhatura’. It would be more appropriate to call bhatura semi leavened as the fermentation is done with yogurt and baking powder. The downside of this bread is that is quite oily but once placed on a kitchen paper, some of the oil is absorbed.

Puri: deep-fried bread

Oddly enough the name is derived from the Hindi word puri which means complete. Be it any major occasion like a party or marriage, puris will inevitably be gracing the tables. Called the queen of all breads, many puris can be fried at one time and when there is mass preparation this is the ultimate choice. Though the puffiness settles as the puris cool down, the fact remains that the bread is soft enough to wipe off many a gravy from a dish.

Roomali roti: handkerchief bread

Now this one is an artistic presentation! The origin lies in the Mughal days. It gets its name from its texture and size, though not its shape- for it is circular and not rectangular (handkerchiefs are!). The dough is made using plain white and whole-wheat flour and kneaded well. After being put to rest for 45-60 minutes the dough is ready for further treatment. It is rolled slightly and then flicked up with the tips of the fingers so that the stretching action increases the circumference of the roti. The griddle (tawa) is to be kept inverted, convex side up, on the heat. Once the roti is placed the cooking takes seconds to complete because the roti is very thin. Roomali roti is served folded in half and then quarter. Though best had hot, in case it is to be served later the rotis should be steamed or the container placed in an oven on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. It is important to serve this bread moist otherwise it tends to become papery and of course, rather unpalatable.

Now that an extended and deep introduction has been made with Indian vegetarian recipes, let’s try out our hand at making a few more breads at home. Moong dal puri, Peshwari naan, Paneer kulcha.

A look at the Indian breadbasket

Many Indian vegetarian dishes as well as non vegetarian curries call for accompaniments like breads and these come in a large variety! Curry dishes are best enjoyed with Indian breads that come in various shapes, textures and taste. The best way to research is to order a breadbasket in an Indian restaurant. The variety served is an eye opener and then once you have sampled everything, reorder one that is your favourite of the evening. A quick run of Indian vegetarian recipes that make an ideal breadbasket follows….

Phulka: puffed whole wheat bread.
The commonest and is eaten daily with meat and vegetable curries and dals. Called the chapatti sometimes but in actual terms a chapatti is generally flat and not puffed, it comes from the Hindi word ‘chapat’ which means flat. Phulka means one that is puffed as it is derived from the Hindi word ‘phulna’. One familiar but confusing usage of the term roti baffles a few. Roti is any unleavened bread like phulka, chapatti or roomali roti.

Parantha: layered fried bread
‘Parat’ means layer, and therefore parantha is a layered fried bread the layering of which is done by folding the dough while rolling it out. Depending upon the stuffing for the filling inside, many kinds of parathans are possible. Plain paranthas are usually enjoyed with various curries. The same dough as that used for the phulka may be used to prepare paranthas. To make stuffed paranthas, the stuffing is added before folding and layering the flour. The stuffing used may be boiled peas, potatoes, cauliflower, onion or radish. For non-vegetarians, a popular stuffing use is minced meat.

Naan: leavened bread
A bread which is seen more often than rotis in many Indian restaurants. Though of Persian and Afghan origins, naan is an incomparable combination of European bread and the Indian chapatti! One might think then that the recipe will be painstaking but that is not the case. In fact, the recipe works in favour of its universal appeal. White flour mixed with yeast and other ingredients gives dough that can be rolled out and put to cook in a tandoor. The final flourish is the sprinkling of nigella seeds! One test for a good cook is that if the dough for the naan is right, they should puff up.

As our knowledge of Indian vegetarian recipes keeps getting enhanced, look up some more breads such as Aloo Parantha, Bhature, Missi Roti…

Year ending, busy days ahead…

Back from cold and foggy Delhi after a successful launch of Sura vie. Not to mention the expected delay in flights!

Anyway, a hectic few days ahead with the shoot for Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khazana from today. Will attend a Press Conference tomorrow morning regarding the Masterchef India show. I have a cook off with the contestants for the Press.

Simultaneously, Chef Harpal is making more episodes for Turban Tadka in our office studios and to add to the activity the interior decoration of the new office spaces is going ahead at full speed. I can finally see the end of the renovation plans!

More buzz as my team of chefs will be competing in the Christmas Cake Competition… look out for this space for their exciting presentations!

For you some special baked goodies….

Sticky Date Pudding
Royal Carrot Cake
Mawa Cake with eggs

Till I write again
Sanjeev Kapoor.

Indian bread basket

Indian vegetarian recipes are incomplete without talk of the staple food: the bread. Indian breads are the most nutritious around the world. Unleavened wheat dough, rolled out into thin diskettes, cooked on a flat cast iron griddle called tava and puffed to perfection form the ever popular phulka - that is the "puffed" one. Also called chapati and roti in certain regions of the country, this bread is used not only as an accompaniment but also as a utensil. Imagine a typical Indian meal without roti? Or its other versions: paranthas or puris? Northern regions of the country boast of abundant harvests of golden wheat as also wonderful variations of wheat dough and refined flour. In fact now that the world is awakening to the nutritious and fibre rich 'brown' bread we can proudly say that Indians have the best 'brown' bread that is the roti!

The first leavened bread was made in ancient Egypt, where the basic loaf was made of wheat or barley flour with the additions of mashed dates or honey for the wealthier. As India has been under the influence of many rulers it were the Persians that left behind the legacy of leavened bread. One of the few traditional leavened breads you will find in India is naan, which is also eaten in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. There are many different versions of naan: some contain yeast, some baking powder, some bicarbonate of soda and others a mixture. Some contain eggs and some milk. The contemporary variations use stuffing of keema which takes it out of the category of Indian vegetarian recipes! Naan is found only in the north of India where it is baked in the dome shaped clay tandoors which too have been left behind by the Muslims rulers. Later, the Europeans (British, Dutch, Portuguese and French) introduced their own yeast breads. The Indians called them dubble roti, which means double bread and served them with spiced dishes that had rich sauces in need of mopping up. Chapati is the first Indian bread to be made popular in the west by Indian restaurants.

As we continue the journey of the Indian bread basket being a major component of Indian veg recipe collection let us try out some different breads this weekend. Bajre ke roti with raw banana stuffing, Bayee missi roti, Khasta roti.

Indian khana – fresh sabzis everyday

Indian vegetarian recipes boast of hundreds of Indian sabzis or dry preparations that are made fresh in many many homes. Had with roti, and or dal chawal, sabzis are a must have.

Sharing with you some lesser made Indian veg recipes, which should be brought out in the open and made with more fervour.

Aaluchi Patal Bhaji : Heat 3 tbsp oil, add ½ tsp rai, a pinch of hing, ¼ tsp methidana, 5 chopped chillies, ¼ tsp haldi, 6 curry leaves. Add 8 shredded arbi leaves; cook for 4 mins. Add ¼ cup soaked chana dal, ¼ cup crushed peanuts, salt, ¾ tbsp jaggery. Add little warm water, mash when cooked. Make a thick batter by adding water to ¼ cup besan, add to mixture. Cook till it thickens. Serve hot garnished with ½ cup fresh coconut.

Baby Tindas And Pearl Onion Sabzi : Mix 1½ tbsps dhania jeera powder, ½ tsp amchur, ½ tsp haldi and 1 tsp chilli powder, salt. Stuff the powder into 400 gms scraped and slit baby tindas, 200 gms peeled, slit pearl onions. Heat 3 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp jeera, 2 slit chillies, tindas. Toss till they turn brown. Lower heat, cover, cook. Add onions, cook till soft. Sprinkle 1 tsp lemon juice, garnish with 1 tbsp coriander leaves. Serve.

Kaddu Ka Saag: In 2 tbsps oil, add ½ tsp jeera, ¼ tsp methidana. As they change colour, add 500 gm thinly sliced pumpkin (kaddu) with salt. Stir, lower heat, cover, cook till kaddu is soft. Lightly crush with back of a spoon. Add 2 tsps coriander powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp chilli power, ¼ tsp haldi, 1 tsp amchur, 1 tsp sugar. Stir. Cover, cook for 5 mins or till kaddu is completely soft and mushy. Serve hot.

Tilwale Palak Aloo: In 2 tbsps oil, sauté 1 tsp jeera, ¼ tsp hing, 4 whole green chillies and 10 baby potatoes quartered without peeling. Stir, add salt. Cover, cook for 2 mins. Add ½ tsp haldi, 2 bunches roughly chopped spinach. Cover, cook till done. Add 2 tsps coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 2 tbsps yogurt. Take off heat, add 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds. Mix, serve hot.

As your search continues for more Indian vegetarian recipes, do try these restaurant style favourites: Methi Matar Malai, Matar Mushroom, Vegetable and Paneer Jalfrazie.

Launching Lounge bar Sura Vie

Back from a business trip to US and UK in connection with my TV channel. Will settle down today, and tomorrow am shooting with the Master Chef team. Later in the week, will be travelling to Delhi for two purposes: launch of my first Lounge Bar Sura Vie and to shoot Part III of my series with CNN. Part I was done in Mumbai, Part II with Chef Rene at his Noma restaurant at Copenhagen. I intend to visit a farm before the shoot, pick up some fresh produce and cook at Sura Vie.

The weather is changing for the better, read cooler, in Mumbai. I did realize that the morning is pleasant when I landed. Well, it is not that winter is actually upon us, but definitely a pleasant change from last month’s heat. Some offices have already put up their Christmas trees as an early welcome to the festival. We are arranging a Cake Competition just before Christmas where all the chefs in my team are going to fight it out! Looking forward to some really creative cakes, some baked goodies with a difference!

December is also going to give you some chocolate stories that can be written in your kitchen and then presented to your loved ones – cakes, desserts, puddings and what not. All recipes are on www.sanjeevkapoor.com. Also relish some easy to do snacks that do not require much effort or time to prepare. Every body’s new favourite food, pasta, is also being brought you in all its variations this month, so look out!

As the week begins, try some nourishing and comforting recipes for a light dinner.

Chutney Pulao with Paneer and Corn

Chicken and Noodle Soup

Steamed Chocolate Pudding

Till I write again

Sanjeev Kapoor.

Try some dals with rice and rotis

Indian veg recipes are replete with so many varieties of food that it is rather difficult to put them all in words here. Indian diet is balanced with carbohydrates from rice and roti and protein from dals. Vegetables add their contribution to the health aspect which is further enhanced with additions like raitas and chutneys. So when it comes to healthy eating for the new year, one can safely resolve to include more Indian veg recipes in the daily diet.

When it comes to dals, there is a mineful of them. While split green gram or moong dal will be easier to find in many northern homes, split pigeon peas or tuvar dal is the main thing in south Indian sambar that is perfectly matched with fluffy idlis and crispy dosas. Gujaratis love their khatti meethi dal (tuvar dal) whereas Bengalis use split Bengal gram or chana dal in many varied ways.

So whether you are enjoying kidney beans or rajma in Kashmir or in Punjab, or you are dunking wheat flour batis in a luscious thick dal in Jaipur, drizzled with loads of ghee in true Marwari style, you are truly enjoying the wealth of dals and their protein content in your diet. Even a simple meal like a hot dal with freshly made rotis is comfort food for many in the upper stratas and a basic survival meal for those who are in the lower strata.

Dals, like mentioned before, not only make good accompaniments in various regions, they also make the base for many snacks like vadas and bhajis. One step ahead is the dessert range that can be created with dals. Moong dal ka halwa, when made with leisurely roasting of dal paste in lots of ghee, is delicious. Top it with nuts for a difference in texture. Or then have some puran polis: Gujaratis use tuvar dal as stuffing, and Maharashtrians use chana dal. Both versions are traditional and require a skilled hand!

Indian veg recipes and their full description will require more pages. In the mean time, do enjoy these offerings made with different dals using different techniques: Baked Moong Sprout Wadas, Cabbage Chana Dal, White Dhokla.

Indian sabzis: Best for main course

A tour of Indian Vegetarian Recipes will bring you the special sabzis (dry vgetable preparations) that are made in every region of India. Starting north, be in Amritsar this season and you will enjoy garden fresh cauliflower cooked tenderly with potatoes in what is called Aloo Gobhi. Try it with hot rotis slathered with ghee and a bowl of yogurt. Very very yummy!

In the search for Indian Vegetarian Recipes if you reach Ahmedabad in Gujarat you will get the green treasure of Undhiyo, that is resplendent with so many seasonal beans and seeds and baby brinjals, baby potatoes, raw bananas, loads of fenugreek and coriander greens and also tender green garlic.

As one keeps travelling and stays for a few days in south (though ‘south’ could mean any of the many states that make the Deccan) you will find different offerings from different cuisines of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & Kerala, all with their superb use of spices and vegetables. Chidabbaram Ambat made with ridgegourd from Tamil Nadu, Kaikari Ishtew with Appam in Kerala, greens as Soppina Palya in Karnataka are just a few to be mentioned!

When in Bengal try the Chorchori which is an amalgamation of all types of veggies, tempered with different oilseeds. It is a delightful use of all small bits of vegetables that remain in the fridge over the week!

Indian Vegetarian Recipes will also include all the restaurant style dishes that one can savour now. All you need is a good guide or cookbook that can help you create vegetarian marvels in your kitchen!

Happening week!

Saturday and Sunday were really exciting days as I was judge at a cook-off with the contestants of Master Chef India. The shooting of the episodes was not only hectic but took two days to complete. Well, I am really looking forward to these episodes as the challenge before them is what it is supposed to be, a challenge with a capital “C”! Do watch out and enjoy!

Late Sunday evening attended the wedding of good friend Sanjiv Deshmukh’s daughter. It was held at my erstwhile place of employment, The Centaur at Juhu. I was quite happy to go there.

The week gone also had me in Delhi on Friday for the Inaugural session of the Franchise India Summit 2011. My key note address was focused on Thought Leadership as also New Age of Growth Entrepreneurship. I included my thoughts on genesis and dynamics of the Indian restaurant industry and the essence of growth from a single restaurant to a chain and how franchising is the way forward.

As this last month of 2011 begins, some of you might actually be feeling that, ‘lo, another year gone’! Let me remind you that time is meant to go on…it is how we use our 24 hours in the day that matter. So, in case you do feel so much about the year ‘going’ send it off with many great dishes that our website www.sanjeevkapoor.com is presenting in its renewed appearance now! Enjoy some peaceful cooking at home and try out these seasonal offerings.

Undhiyo

Gajar Gobhi Shalgam ka Saag

Green peas kachori

Till I write again.

Sanjeev Kapoor.

Indian veg is the best!

Indian vegetarian recipes are unmatched in their vast repertoire. For every region, there is no dearth of recipes that use flours, dals, spices, herbs and vegetables to give many courses: aloo parantha in Punjab is also as famous as Puri aloo – both using flour and potatoes but in varied forms! The flour can be sautéed in ghee and made into a sumptuous halwa with sugar or jaggery. The potatoes can be cooked in gravy or with jeera in a dry preparation. So now we have a dessert and a main course too. Use the flour to make rotis that accompany the sabzi! That’s what I mean: the versatility of core ingredients in Indian cuisine gives us a huge scope.

Indian vegetarian recipes are not to be undermined when it comes to healthy techniques of cooking. We can have steamed delights like Idli and Dhokla for snacks, as also baked goodies like Handvo. Move over to the tandoor or grill, and you will discover a pandora’s box of vegetarian kababs. Dwell for a minute here and click on Arbi Seekh Kabab and Paneer Taash Kebab to check these out.

Snacks and starters like these can vie for attention with some of the fried ones. Well, having fried foods is not banned, it is just that you have to counter the calories they carry with exercise and of course, also practice moderation in your eating habits. You can fry these Hara Bhara Kababs but also shallow fry them. In a bowl add 4 boiled, peeled and grated potatoes. Add 10 leaves of blanched and chopped spinach, ¾ cup blanched and crushed green peas, 2 tbsps dhania leaves, 2” chopped ginger, 3 chopped chillies, ½ tsp jeera powder, salt, 2 tbsps cornflour. Mix well. Divide into 24 portions, shape into balls and press lightly between your palms, roll them in a little cornflour, deep fry till done. Best served hot.

Try another one called Phuljhari Kebab - Mix together 3 boiled-mashed potatoes, 1½ cups boiled corn, 12 shredded spinach leaves, salt, 3 tsps chaat masala, 3½ tbsps cornflour well. Pat the mixture around 8 breadsticks, roll in 1 cup rice flakes till well coated to make phuljharis. Deep-fry in hot oil till crisp and golden. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot.

As time goes by, we will keep extolling the values of Indian vegetarian recipes but in the meantime, try this recipe of Matar Paneer Samosa at the weekend.