‘Maharashtrian cuisine layers textures better than others’

Nagpur: Maharashtrian cooking is underrated, mainly because it does the layering of textures better than other cuisines, said author Krish Ashok. Having tasted the signature Nagpur dish Tarri-Poha on his visit, Ashok pointed out the flavourful blend of different layers it serves.
He was speaking at the run-up event of the Vidarbha Literary Festival (VLF) organized at Mimosa Hall, Chitnavis Centre, on Saturday. TOI is the official media partner for VLF.
Ashok is the author of ‘Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking’. The book is an exploration of Indian cooking ingredients and techniques by a science nerd. The session centred around the book and Ashok’s journey with cooking, with a dash of his humour that had the audience in splits. It was moderated by self-taught chef and psychologist Kanishka Singhee.
Explaining how his relationship with cooking started, Ashok said, “When my mother got promoted at her job, she had to pick one of her three children who would cook without burning the house down. Being the eldest son, I was her safe option. That’s when I began cooking daily.”
Speaking about the writing process for the book and the research behind it, he said, “I like breaking things down to the first principle, and also Excel sheets. So I have documented all observations and data points from my experience of cooking daily for the past 15 years.” He said the records even include how a dish turned out when the proportions of ingredients were tweaked.
A software engineer by profession who has also dabbled into music, Ashok spoke about striking a balance between all of his pursuits. Putting the term ‘strategic laziness’ into perspective, he said, “I found out the core set of things I’m good at and applied them to all of my interests. Software engineering is about breaking complex problems into simple parts. I follow the same principle in cooking and music.”
In his opening remarks, VLF secretary Sachin Jahagirdar said that at the VLF events, any book on sale can be bought at a discount of Rs100, in addition to the offers provided by Crossword. VLF patron Anand Sancheti spoke about the significance of literature in the city. The event was hosted by volunteer Arushi Nayak.