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All those who dread to enter the kitchen, can take courage from the words of Sanjeev Kapoor, the famous exponent on Indian cooking. Kapoor says, "Most people have inborn skills which, in all probability, they have not honed. I think cooking is one of them." We saw the master chef cook three dishes in a jiffy for a photo shoot. Professional and charming, Sanjeev sure knows the way to every woman's stomach. Eighteen years ago, Sanjeev began his sojourn into the world of food by doing a diploma in catering from Delhi. For the last nine years, the 36-year-old has been hosting an extremely popular food show, Khana Khazana on television. The moustached and mirthful Sanjeev shares one of his favourite recipes and more with the readers of Sunday Mid Day.
Sanjeev Kapoor's thought for food
In the morning I like to drink a good cup of tea made from a special combination of Earl Grey and Taj Mahal tea leaves. Usually, I like to eat some rusks or light crackers. I like to drink masala tea once in a while but tea with lemon grass is a strict no-no. Lemon grass is best used in Thai food.
My breakfast is usually fruit. Till about two months ago, milk was a must, but I was told to avoid milk. I like to eat whatever fruits are available, like papaya, apple, pear, melon and banana.
Twice a week we eat south Indian food like idli, dosa and uttapam. We have amma at home who cooks very well, and no I have not trained her, look at her age.
Food at home is usually vegetarian. Recently, we started eating brown rice. I also relish puliyadore rice (tamarind rice). Dal is a must everyday.
When I go abroad I like to shop for different types of biscuits. I prefer sweet biscuits to salted ones.
Being a chef one learns to eat everything. One learns to respect food and when one does that, one finds good in everything.
Dinner I prefer to eat at home, preferably early.
We eat out thrice a week. Restaurants go out of their way to make sure that every thing is perfect for us. And mostly they don't present us the bill. It can be embarrassing, especially when you are fond of the restaurant. One avoids eating there because they don't charge you.
With wife Alyona and daughters
I can eat chaat and golgappas anytime.
The first time I cooked for my wife Alyona, was before my marriage.
At home I cook very often. In fact, I regularly cook for my friends.
My company Khazana doesn't own restaurants but we share our expertise. We are consultants to Yellow Chili in Ludhiana and Amritsar, Grain of Salt in Kolkata, Khana Khazana in Dubai and Blue Cilantro in Mumbai.
I consider the restaurant business as bad business. There are at least 5,000 places in India where people are using my name without my knowledge and I can't do a thing. Even my books are being pirated!
My mom is vegetarian. In our home, unlike most Punjabi households, males are most welcome in the kitchen. We don't subscribe to the notion that ladka kitchen mein nahi jayega.
My father is an excellent cook. Non-vegetarian food is his forte. He makes excellent mutton stew. My brother and I would help him all the time without realising that one day cooking would become our profession.
I was exposed to international cuisine during a stint at an Indian restaurant in New Zealand.
When I started my show Khana Khazana I was determined to keep my recipes as simple as possible. My efforts have paid off.
My wife Alyona a Gujarati, cooks sometimes but I guess she's really lucky because I cook more often than she does!
I like my chocolates milky and bitter with a sprinkling of nuts. Lindt, Ferrero Rocher and Cadburys are my favourites. Belgian chocolates are the best.
In Indian sweets I relish gulab jamuns and malai rabdi. I also like cheesecakes and brownies. Naturals ice-cream is an all-time favourite.
The food and dessert at Nobus, a Japanese restaurant in London, are excellent. They serve three ice-creams — a plain simple lemon on lemon sorbet, green tea sorbet and mixed spice sorbet (garam masala) — wrapped in seaweed and fried with chocolate cigars. I loved eating at the Blue Elephant in London and Windows to the World in Auckland. In Dubai, Khazana is my favourite restaurant. Trader's Vic serves excellent Polynesian food. In Singapore, I enjoyed eating food on the wharf. I have eaten the best Chinese dimsums there. I love the street food in Bangkok. In South Africa, the Mabule Game Lodge served a dish called 'potchiki' a kind of a mutton stew. It's like a non-vegetarian undhiya cooked in a cast-iron pot placed on a wood fire.
In Mumbai I like to eat at Mahesh Lunch Home, Goa Portuguesa, Ling's Pavilion and Blue Cilantro. Sometimes, I eat at Pizza Hut.
My mocktail should be fruity. A kiwi and mint cocktail is delicious.
It is so easy to please my wife but I have no time. I would love to take her to Seychelles and cook special food for her. She deserves the best.
A tip Present the recipe in a very simple way so one says, "I can do it".
Saffron and spinach casserole
250 gm macaroni, boiled
1 big onion, finely chopped
15 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100 gm French beans, blanched and cut into diamonds
1 medium zucchini, blanched and cut into diamonds
150 gm broccoli, blanched
bunch spinach, blanched and pureed
2 medium carrots, blanched and cut into strips
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp refined flour
1 cups milk
A pinch grated nutmeg
1 cup grated cheese
Pepper, freshly crushed to taste
Salt to taste
A generous pinch of saffron
Keep the blanched vegetables aside. Heat butter and lightly saut refined flour. Gradually add milk and stir continuously so that no lumps remain. Add nutmeg, some cheese, salt and pepper powder. Heat butter in a pan, add chopped garlic, saut till golden brown. Add chopped onion and saut again till golden brown.
Add blanched fresh beans, blanched broccoli, zucchini and salt and saut well. Add some Mornay sauce, milk and mix well. Add spinach puree and freshly crushed pepper, grated nutmeg and mix well. In an ovenproof dish, pour the green vegetable mixture. In another pan, heat butter and saut carrots. Add boiled pasta, some Mornay sauce, milk and mix well. Add salt and saffron. Cook for sometime. Add freshly crushed pepper. Spread grated cheese on the green vegetable mixture and then pour the carrots-pasta mixture over it. Again spread a layer of grated cheese and bake for 5 to 10 minutes in a preheated oven till the cheese melts and turns golden.
Sanjeev Kapoor's thought for food
In the morning I like to drink a good cup of tea made from a special combination of Earl Grey and Taj Mahal tea leaves. Usually, I like to eat some rusks or light crackers. I like to drink masala tea once in a while but tea with lemon grass is a strict no-no. Lemon grass is best used in Thai food.
My breakfast is usually fruit. Till about two months ago, milk was a must, but I was told to avoid milk. I like to eat whatever fruits are available, like papaya, apple, pear, melon and banana.
Twice a week we eat south Indian food like idli, dosa and uttapam. We have amma at home who cooks very well, and no I have not trained her, look at her age.
Food at home is usually vegetarian. Recently, we started eating brown rice. I also relish puliyadore rice (tamarind rice). Dal is a must everyday.
When I go abroad I like to shop for different types of biscuits. I prefer sweet biscuits to salted ones.
Being a chef one learns to eat everything. One learns to respect food and when one does that, one finds good in everything.
Dinner I prefer to eat at home, preferably early.
We eat out thrice a week. Restaurants go out of their way to make sure that every thing is perfect for us. And mostly they don't present us the bill. It can be embarrassing, especially when you are fond of the restaurant. One avoids eating there because they don't charge you.
With wife Alyona and daughters
I can eat chaat and golgappas anytime.
The first time I cooked for my wife Alyona, was before my marriage.
At home I cook very often. In fact, I regularly cook for my friends.
My company Khazana doesn't own restaurants but we share our expertise. We are consultants to Yellow Chili in Ludhiana and Amritsar, Grain of Salt in Kolkata, Khana Khazana in Dubai and Blue Cilantro in Mumbai.
I consider the restaurant business as bad business. There are at least 5,000 places in India where people are using my name without my knowledge and I can't do a thing. Even my books are being pirated!
My mom is vegetarian. In our home, unlike most Punjabi households, males are most welcome in the kitchen. We don't subscribe to the notion that ladka kitchen mein nahi jayega.
My father is an excellent cook. Non-vegetarian food is his forte. He makes excellent mutton stew. My brother and I would help him all the time without realising that one day cooking would become our profession.
I was exposed to international cuisine during a stint at an Indian restaurant in New Zealand.
When I started my show Khana Khazana I was determined to keep my recipes as simple as possible. My efforts have paid off.
My wife Alyona a Gujarati, cooks sometimes but I guess she's really lucky because I cook more often than she does!
I like my chocolates milky and bitter with a sprinkling of nuts. Lindt, Ferrero Rocher and Cadburys are my favourites. Belgian chocolates are the best.
In Indian sweets I relish gulab jamuns and malai rabdi. I also like cheesecakes and brownies. Naturals ice-cream is an all-time favourite.
The food and dessert at Nobus, a Japanese restaurant in London, are excellent. They serve three ice-creams — a plain simple lemon on lemon sorbet, green tea sorbet and mixed spice sorbet (garam masala) — wrapped in seaweed and fried with chocolate cigars. I loved eating at the Blue Elephant in London and Windows to the World in Auckland. In Dubai, Khazana is my favourite restaurant. Trader's Vic serves excellent Polynesian food. In Singapore, I enjoyed eating food on the wharf. I have eaten the best Chinese dimsums there. I love the street food in Bangkok. In South Africa, the Mabule Game Lodge served a dish called 'potchiki' a kind of a mutton stew. It's like a non-vegetarian undhiya cooked in a cast-iron pot placed on a wood fire.
In Mumbai I like to eat at Mahesh Lunch Home, Goa Portuguesa, Ling's Pavilion and Blue Cilantro. Sometimes, I eat at Pizza Hut.
My mocktail should be fruity. A kiwi and mint cocktail is delicious.
It is so easy to please my wife but I have no time. I would love to take her to Seychelles and cook special food for her. She deserves the best.
A tip Present the recipe in a very simple way so one says, "I can do it".
Saffron and spinach casserole
250 gm macaroni, boiled
1 big onion, finely chopped
15 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100 gm French beans, blanched and cut into diamonds
1 medium zucchini, blanched and cut into diamonds
150 gm broccoli, blanched
bunch spinach, blanched and pureed
2 medium carrots, blanched and cut into strips
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp refined flour
1 cups milk
A pinch grated nutmeg
1 cup grated cheese
Pepper, freshly crushed to taste
Salt to taste
A generous pinch of saffron
Keep the blanched vegetables aside. Heat butter and lightly saut refined flour. Gradually add milk and stir continuously so that no lumps remain. Add nutmeg, some cheese, salt and pepper powder. Heat butter in a pan, add chopped garlic, saut till golden brown. Add chopped onion and saut again till golden brown.
Add blanched fresh beans, blanched broccoli, zucchini and salt and saut well. Add some Mornay sauce, milk and mix well. Add spinach puree and freshly crushed pepper, grated nutmeg and mix well. In an ovenproof dish, pour the green vegetable mixture. In another pan, heat butter and saut carrots. Add boiled pasta, some Mornay sauce, milk and mix well. Add salt and saffron. Cook for sometime. Add freshly crushed pepper. Spread grated cheese on the green vegetable mixture and then pour the carrots-pasta mixture over it. Again spread a layer of grated cheese and bake for 5 to 10 minutes in a preheated oven till the cheese melts and turns golden.
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