Food for thought-Sanjeev Kapoor

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Shruti

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Posted: 19 years ago

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Food for thought
Sanjeev Kapoor

A man whose name is legion amongst every die-hard foodie talks about his personal taste in food. In an interface with ShaadiTimes the master chef reveals his food habits, preferences and a lot more. And the icing on the cake being the two original recipes he shares exclusively with us.

What does food mean to you?
My wife says even when I am asleep I think of food... not her! So you know what food means to me.

Elaborating on the subject closest to his heart, he adds that he never says no to any kind of food. "But having said that I'm careful about how much I eat. I always eat in moderation. No, I'm not calculating when I eat but knowing so much about food I can instinctively tell how much of what is to be eaten. However I do not do any critical analysis."

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So what kind of food appeals to you?
Dil se bana hua khana! Food cooked with a lot of positive energy is appealing. And this can happen only at home. In hotels, it is blind cooking. Just like a blind date - one never knows what's coming your way. Besides they are so commercialised that it is not possible. Only family and friends can put in so much positive emotion into cooking.

Talking of his daily breakfast, lunch, dinner routine, the master craftsman says, "I breakfast like a king and this is the main meal of the day for me. My day begins with a cuppa tea. I can do without this but, as this is the only time I get to spend with my wife, I indulge in it. It is a mix of Darjeeling tea and Earl Gray with very little milk and no sugar. But I can never have tea without biscuits or some cookies. After which I have a papaya and an apple. Along with this there could be any seasonal fruit. And thanks to my daughters I have begun to have a few soaked almonds. The cooked breakfast consists of anything South Indian (twice a week) like idlis , pesarattu , appams . On other days it could be theplas (he is married to a Gujarati), palak parathas , poha or a grilled sandwich. And twice a week it is dalia.

As my workplace and home are in the same building, I go home for lunch. Lunch is very simple. Though we do eat non-veg but on an average we eat more veg food. As my mom is a veg, we grew up eating veg food. I have 2 chapatis without ghee , a dal , 1 vegetable, brown rice, yoghurt and salad (either sprouts or plain cucumber-tomato). I am a no-fuss eater and eat everything. Especially so as food being my business it is mandatory that I eat everything.

I never snack in between. At teatime I just have a cuppa of tea or coffee with biscuits.

Dinner is much the same as lunch. But thrice a week I have non-veg. Typically it is a grilled or pan-fried fish with little seasoning and spices. The kids love it this way. Dal is something I love and hence my portions are bigger than normal. I can never have just a single serving.

What is your favourite dish?
That's a difficult one. But I am partial to dosas , thalipeeth and chocolates. I have a big sweet tooth and enjoy anything that is sweet. As a rule I do not have a dessert when at home. Maybe just a small mint chocolate. But when I am traveling which is very often then I do have dessert.

Do you cook at home? And what kind of a cook are you?
Yes, I do cook at home. But only when I have invited guests, because that's what they expect. Let me confess, I am a very messy cook and take atleast 3 pots for one dish! As I am always running late I have no time for the chopping or initial preparations. But when I do have the time then I have no hang-ups about chopping or cutting the vegetables.

Which is that one dish which the kids want only you to make?
Fried eggs. Sunny-side up.

Fave eating place?
I eat out very often, more often on work. But given the choice I would rather eat with the family. I don't have any fave eating places but generally like to eat at places close to my house in Juhu. When travelling I do my research, after which I choose the right place. In Mumbai I love eating at friends' places like Goa Portuguesa for its prawn curry and Goan rice, at The Dhaba in Oshiwara for its kali dal which is not kali but white due to the oodles of cream they put in and Legacy of China.

Fave cuisine?
I have no one cuisine that I am partial to. When travelling abroad, local cuisine becomes my favourite. This always excites me as invariably I come across something new. But ofcourse, home-cuisine is my all-time favourite.

Chip-of-the-old-block:
Both his daughters, Rachita and Kriti love cooking and have indeed started very young. "When Kriti was 3, I found her in the kitchen with a knife trying to cut bhindi . I was scared as the knives in our house are very big. I observed that she did a fairly good job of atleast 5-6 bhindis. And I also noticed that she was enjoying the exercise. But what followed was even more interesting. She went to school the next day and related the experience to her friends. And the next day most of the mothers complained saying that even their kids wanted to try their hand at it. Let me add that I had permitted her to do it as she did this under supervision and I was ok about this. Today both my girls are pros at this!

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*Strawberry phirni*
*Ingredients*	*Quantity*
Fresh strawberries	12-15
Rice	4 tbsps.
Milk	5 cups
Sugar	1/4 cup
Green cardamom powder	1/2 tsp.
Pistachios (blanched & finely sliced)	8-10
Almonds (blanched & finely sliced)	6-8
Method of preparation Clean, wash and soak rice in two cups of water for half an hour. Drain and grind to a coarse paste. Dilute rice paste with half a cup of water. Wash, hull and slice two strawberries. Keep aside for garnishing. Finely chop the remaining. Heat milk and bring it to a boil. Gradually stir in the rice paste, reduce heat and simmer for three to four minutes, stirring continuously or until the milk thickens well. Add sugar, cardamom powder and continue to simmer till sugar dissolves and is incorporated well. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature and stir in the chopped strawberries. Pour this mixture into individual earthenware or ceramic bowls, garnish with sliced pistachios, almonds and strawberry slices and serve chilled. Chef's Tip: Florio Masala , a sweet dessert wine, will enhance the taste of this extremely special dish.

*Khumb matar sandalli*
*Ingredients*	*Quantity*
Fresh mushrooms	250 gms
Green peas (shelled)	250 gms
Ginger	1 inch piece
Garlic	7-8 cloves
Onion	1
Tomatoes	2-3 medium sized
Cashewnuts	7-8
Ghee	4 tbsps.
Bay leaves	2
Cumin seeds	1/2 tsp.
Green cardamoms	2
Turmeric powder	1 tsp.
Red chilli powder	1 tsp.
Salt	to taste
Sandalwood powder (chandan)	1/2 tsp.
Fresh cream	60 ml
Method of preparation Clean and wash mushrooms thoroughly. Quarter them and parboil in two cups of water for two minutes. Drain and keep aside. Wash and parboil peas in two cups of water for two minutes. Drain and keep aside. Peel, wash and grind ginger and garlic into a paste. Peel, wash and grate onion. Wash and chop tomatoes finely. Soak cashewnuts in one cup of warm water for fifteen minutes. Drain and grind into a paste. Heat the ghee in a kadai . Add bay leaves, cloves, cumin seeds and cardamom. Saut on low heat until it starts emitting aroma. Add grated onion and saut over medium heat until golden in colour. Add ginger - garlic paste and saut until it is light brown. Add cashewnut paste and saut, stirring continuously, until the ghee separates. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, tomatoes and salt. Stir and saut for five minutes. Pour water to give the desired consistency. Simmer gently for five minutes. Add mushrooms and green peas and simmer for five more minutes or until the gravy has proper consistency. Mix sandalwood powder and cream separately in a bowl. Add to the dish and mix well. Remove from heat immediately and serve. Chef's tip: Serve with hot Indian tandoor breads or homemade chappatis.

Edited by Manoj_Tina fan - 19 years ago

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Food for thought-Sanjeev Kapoor

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