Indian cuisines restructured

CHENNAI: Having working parents teaches you to do many things by yourself; think, act, be independent... and in my case even learn cooking! If I wanted food available at home to taste better, I had to spice it up myself: My parents were very clear about that. As a result, I always tried to put a different spin on the simple but nutritious fare I grew up eating. I loved going to the market and shop for veggies and meat as well — I still do.

All of these experiences have moulded me into the chef that I am today and have also imbibed these into the cuisine that I am working on. Adaptive Indian cuisine is where pan Indian flavours are tuned to the palate of people living in a particular region...which in my case is Chennai. For example, one of my recipes involves giving a Tamil touch to the Gujarati Khichdi and Kadi (that tend to be on the sweeter side) by using millet that is so abundant in Tamil Nadu and also cutting down on the sweetness. In this way, we are manipulating the best of two cuisines without compromising on the authenticity.

I have been in Chennai for over eight months now and have tried my best at conceptualising dishes that reflect the ethos of Adaptive Indian cuisine. One of the ways I have tried to do this is by celebrating local produce, influenced by Chef Rego, a popular chef based in Goa, under whom I worked for a few lucky months. He was so passionate about the local Goan ingredients that it rubbed off a little on me too. As a Goan born and raised in Mumbai, it was a different experience for me, albeit one that connected me back to my roots.

Why do we Indians look at the West for inspiration when it is right here in India....in the myriad flavour combinations that we take for granted! What I am trying to say is we can take something as humble as the pumpkin and give it a makeover. One of my dishes is a masala khakhra with a pumpkin dip that many people keep coming back for. When you first suggest the use of vegetables like pumpkin, people ask me ‘Why?’. But when they see that something fantastic can be prepared with it, they love it.

I think one of my favourite dishes of all time has to be the Goan Kingfish curry, particularly because it is my grandmother’s recipe. It is simple, the ingredients are few, but it is so very comforting!