CHEF :Vikramjit Roy :Konnichiwa Chennai!

The Hindu :Shonali Muthalay: May 17,2013

Chef Vikramjit Roy of the city’s first contemporary Oriental restaurant Pan Asian, talks to Shonali Muthalaly on his years in Japan mastering the cuisine and reinventing it for an Indian palate

There’s a rhythm in the kitchen. The soft sound of a heavy knife slicing through zucchini. Thumps from pots being lined up on searing stoves. The steady sizzle of saucepans. All veiled in a cloud of warm, wet steam. Quietly padding through all this, in chocolate brown Crocs, is Chef Vikramjit Roy. With a resume, that lists stints in Tokyo and Delhi’s feted ‘Wasabi’, 

Chef Roy is working on simultaneously strengthening and re-inventing Japanese food in India. His latest move, ‘Pan Asian,’ is possibly his most significant contribution so far. Set in the gargantuan ITC Grand Chola, this is Chennai’s first contemporary Oriental restaurant and the ITC’s first step towards creating a national ‘Pan Asian’ brand.

It’s 11 a.m., and his team is already busy in the open kitchens, designed like a chain of islands in the massive restaurant. As Chef Roy leads us to his ‘studio’ he points out the empty picture frames hung along the exposed brick walls.

 “The idea is to imagine whatever you want in there,” he says, with a dramatic wave. Poet-artist-chef? This gets more surreal every minute. We climb a flight of stairs to the chef’s studio, from where people can “look down at the restaurant, and feel special”. How special? “We charge anything between Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 50,000 a plate.” Rs. 50,000? “That’s nothing,” he shrugs, “I’ve done a meal for 1.5 lakh a plate in Delhi.”

Back downstairs he hands me a chunky cup of tea. “Kitchen chai... Hot, sweet, strong.” As we settle down, he describes how he rode his Harley to Tranquebar last week, just to eat podi idlis. “I heard about a guy who makes really, really fantastic podi idli there. So I just had to go.” Hmm. Not that la-di-dah then, despite the designer studio, and Emperor’s-new-clothes picture frames? Clearly, Chef Roy, is just as enigmatic as his food.

Lessons for life

After graduating from IHM (Institute of Hotel Management), Kolkata, Chef Roy began working with the Oberoi in New Delhi in 2003. He eventually moved to Tokyo to pursue his interest in Japanese cooking. “It was to work in a hotel called Okura, which has two restaurants, each with two Michelin stars. Sazanka specialised in sushi and Y

amazato in teppanyaki. I was a mid-level chef, so I naturally assumed I would be cooking there… Then, I was told my job would be to carry fish from the market to the hotel.” He did this for almost a year. “I hated it at first. Waking up at 3 a.m., going to the market, and then working in the kitchen all day. And through it all, I was not allowed to cook. My mom would call from Calcutta and say ‘I hope you’re doing well’ and I’d lie and say ‘Yes’. It was a bad phase.” He pauses, then adds earnestly, “But that is what made me what I am. I finally understood that in Japan, you need to prove your mettle. Only then will they have confidence in you, and give you the opportunity to learn.”

The lesson that made the biggest impression, however, was to do every job with passion. “Over here chefs will complain if someone says they’re vegetarian. Over there, you should see the love, care and exuberance they bring to anything they make. Even if it’s a simple mountain potato, they will poach it, grill it and serve it perfectly… I’ve seen Japanese chefs do 23-course menus that are completely vegetarian, and nothing will be similar.”

After living and working in Japan “on and off for eight years,” Chef Roy ended up in Delhi, courtesy Chef Masaharu Morimoto. “I had worked with him in Napa Valley, so when the Taj group decided to open India’s second Morimoto in Delhi, I was called in.” 

Convincing Delhi that there was more to Japanese food than sushi was his biggest challenge. “To them it was all raw fish. So I worked on creating food that customers could connect with, without compromising on authenticity. Something like tamari glazed Chilian sea bass, for instance. Good simple flavours, but styled differently. Or I would serve fish Carpaccio topped with hot oil. Since its cut really thin, customers felt like it was cooked. Gradually, they started experimenting more.”

He continues, “In 2007, sushi in India was filled with cream cheese, spicy mayonnaise, cucumber… To me sushi should be basic. A nigiri sushi for instance is just rice and fish. The rice should have adequate vinegar, the nori should contribute umami and what stays with you after you bite in should be the flavour of the fish. Nothing more. Nothing less.” 

His style of cooking follows the same rules, except he brings in unexpected global flavours to detract from the starkness, and add an element of surprise to make food fun. “I like to combine unexpected elements. The Japanese don’t believe in mixing flavours: For them simmered eggplant should taste like simmered eggplant. So if I say, lets add a buckwheat crumble, and serve it with some dehydrated pineapple on the side, they won’t like that. But Morimoto gave me that freedom.”

Chef Roy’s philosophy is simple. “I want to connect. But I don’t want to be like someone else. I want to create food that shows my personality.”

MY Chennai :I am… M. Gnanasekeran - Fruit Seller

The Hindu :Aparna Karthikeyan :May 26,2013

Gnanasekeran recalls buying four big mangoes for one anna when he came to Chennai 50 years ago. “You got so much fruit. You could barely eat all of them. Now, look at the prices!” he says, pointing to the pile of golden Banganapalli mangoes in front of him. “Rs. 40 a kilo. But the season has not been very good — not enough fruit, so the prices are high. At least if it tasted exceptionally good, customers wouldn’t mind paying a few rupees extra,” he says.

Standing outside his shop in the Mambalam market, Gnanasekaran tells me his family grew cotton and corn in Virudhunagar. 

But lack of money and opportunities bought him to Chennai, where he initially ran a grocery store, and now sells fruits. “I buy the fruits from Koyambedu market wholesale, and retail them here. I go there at 6 a.m.”

Gnanasekaran sells two varieties of mangoes — Banganapalli and Sendhura. “People who want expensive varieties, go to the A/C shops. There they will pay Rs. 100 or Rs. 200 a kg for fruits. Here, it is value for money.”

But given how quickly fruit perish in the searing heat, he rues that, often, he has to sell them for a pittance. “They become wrinkly and the juice dries up. I just want to get rid of them, even if it’s at a loss.”

A woman with a red towel wrapped around her head, haggles with him until he gives her three fruits for Rs. 8. 

Then the 70-year-old tells me about his family. “I have two sons and two daughters. One son sells cool drinks; the other is an electrician; both daughters are married. All of them live near my house in West Mambalam. I’ve always lived there; what has changed is the rent. From Rs. 10 and Rs. 15, it has leapt to Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 6,000 now!” Even at the market, the private stalls are rented for several thousands. 

But since it’s just outside the railway station, and close to T. Nagar bus stand and Ranganathan Street, there is no dearth of customers.

Besides the retail customers, some women buy mangoes from him and resell it elsewhere. “Recently, I upgraded to digital scales,” Gnanasekaran smiles. But the woman with the red towel quickly wipes the smile off his face. “What mango is this? No taste! Here, take these back, give me my money!” she shouts at him, with two mangoes in her hand. “Oh, you ate one and now you want to return the rest? Go away, take your money,” he tells her, as she walks away muttering something about sour fruits. And Gnanasekaran looks at me sadly, and says, “Such people come only here. Can they do this in a big shop?”

(A weekly column on men and women who make Chennai what it is)

How to make…Pulikaachal

Pulikaachal

The Hindu :Pradeep Chakravarthy :April 18,2013

Pulikaachal is the paste that is mixed with rice to make tamarind rice. A specialty of the Iyengar community it finds mention in 10th Century inscriptions and the literature of the 4th Century A.D. I learnt this recipe from my aunts, who were chefs extraordinaire!

What you need

Tamarind - a fistful

Fenugreek – 1 tbsp

Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp

Chillies, dry - 25

Gingelly oil - to cook

Bengal gram – 1 tbsp

Black gram – 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 2 tbsp

Curry leaves – 10

Asafoetida – 1 tsp

Groundnuts and cashewnuts lightly roasted - 2 tbsp

Turmeric – 11/2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Cooking instructions

Soak a fistful of tamarind, preferably a year old, in a glass of warm water for three hours.

Strain the tamarind to get a concentrate, where the water consistency is a little thick.

Dry roast and powder a tablespoon each of fenugreek and white sesame seeds and keep aside to cool.

In a large deep pan heat gingelly oil and roast 25 dry chillies. If you want it really spicy, after roasting, crush them and keep them separately. If you want medium spice crush half and keep the rest as it is.

To the heated oil, add the Bengal gram, black gram, mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. When these have roasted, add the tamarind water. Add a few tablespoons of ground nuts and cashews and allow them to get fried in the oil.

On a low flame let boil and as the oil separates, add the dried powder, chillies, turmeric powder and salt.

Keep stirring till you smell the flavours and the paste thickens.

Pulikaachal can be eaten as a dip, chutney or mixed with hot rice. Don’t refrigerate — it will lose its flavour and consistency.

Pradeep Chakravarthy is a management consultant and historian, with three books to his credit. 

He also co-hosts a channel on YouTube that explains Sanskrit and Tamil literature.

Veg egg! Soon, plant-based eggs for vegetarians

Veg egg! In a good news for vegetarians, a US company says it is developing nutritious eggs from plant materials as substitutes for chicken eggs.

E T : PTI | 26 May, 2013, 03.24PM

NEW YORK: Veg egg! In a good news for vegetarians, a US company says it is developing nutritious eggs from plant materials as substitutes for chicken eggs.


For decades, egg substitutes of various types have been around, however, more scientific methods could finally produce new products that actually taste good, said Josh Tetrick, CEO of Hampton Creek Foods, a company based in San Francisco, California, that is developing plant-based egg substitutes. 

People have come up with egg and meat alternatives, with decidedly mixed results. But only 8 per cent of plant species have been explored for food alternatives, so there could be many others that would work to replace eggs, Tetrick said. 

To achieve better results, Tetrick's company is deconstructing the egg systematically,'LiveScience' reported. 

Eggs have some amazing properties, such as the ability to enable oil and water-based foods to mix permanently. So the company is analysing hundreds of different plant-based compounds to determine how well they emulsify. 

Scientists are making hundreds of "microcakes" with candidate replacements in test tubes in order to replace eggs in baked goods. 

They are also analysing the protein content and molecular weight of many different compounds to make sure they can replace the nutritional benefits of eggs. 

Hampton Creek Foods, so far, has created a powdered egg product for baked goods. It was convincing enough that billionaire Bill Gates tried a muffin and couldn't tell the difference, the report said. 

The company's next step is to make a satisfying scrambled egg. They have already found a plant from Asia that coagulates, or turns solid, with heat, the process that scrambles the eggs. 

According to Tetrick, production of eggs and other livestock is environmentally taxing. Livestock consume more food than it would take to feed the 1.3 billion people who go to bed hungry every night, and are responsible for 51 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions due to flatulence and land needed to produce their food, he said.

Light grocery bags, heavy on the wallet

Prices of vegetables have shot up this month. Photo: K. Pichumani


The Hindu : k Lakshmi and deepa H ramakrishnan :Chennai : May 21,2013

With prices of vegetables, meats and seafood shooting up, residents are eating less and haggling more

Summer is when pickles are made in most homes. Tomatoes, lemons and chillies used to be sold for a song, and were perfect for pickling. Not any more.

“Every year at this time, I would buy about 3 kg of tomatoes for Rs. 10 and make two sets of pickles. This week, one kg of tomatoes costs around Rs. 40. It is simply not affordable anymore,” said K. Jayanthi, a resident of West Mambalam.

Prices of vegetables have shot up this month, with the relentless sun and lack of rain affecting crop yields in States that traditionally send their harvest to the city.

While the cost of the commonplace ginger has more than doubled from Rs. 80 to Rs. 200 per kg, prices of other vegetables such as carrots and beans have also risen.

Over the past few days, the Koyambedu market has received only 3,500 tonnes of vegetables daily, as against the usual 4,500 tonnes.

Traders said the city gets ginger from Kerala, Mysore, Gudalur and West Bengal. “We receive only 30 tonnes of ginger daily, while the demand is for about 60 tonnes,” said S. Chandran, a wholesale merchant.

The hike in transportation charges has also added to the cost of vegetables, he said.

While some residents have decided to shop at the Koyambedu wholesale market for slightly better deals, many others are cutting down on consumption.

Kavitha Kesavaram, a resident of Mahalingapuram, said, “A bunch of coriander costs me Rs. 15 now. Earlier, I used to get it free with the curry leaves and other vegetables. I also spend double the usual amount on frozen seafood.”

Kitchen gardens have come in handy for some. S. Praveena, a resident of Korattur grows tomatoes, bitter gourd and greens in her garden. “I save around Rs. 30 a week,” she said.

Fish, chicken cost more

Fresh fish too, has become more expensive due to the 45-day ban on mechanised boat fishing. “The city consumes around 100 tonnes of fish a day, but the catch has fallen by 60 per cent. This past week has been bad for non-mechanised boats too, as the sea was rough after cyclone Mahasen,” said a fisheries department official.

Non-vegetarian residents are now seeking solace in eggs. According to M. Ashok Kishen, assistant manager, National Egg Coordination Committee – Chennai, around 50 lakh eggs are sold in the city daily and this number increases by 5-10 per cent during the ban season, which translates to an increase of between 2.5 lakh and 5 lakh eggs a day.

“The retail price of eggs varies from area to area. Though the ideal retail price is Rs. 3.25 per egg, it is Rs. 4 at supermarkets. The city gets eggs from Namakkal, Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Bellary,” Mr. Kishen explained. Of the 50 lakh eggs sold, estimates reveal that 10 lakh eggs are consumed in bakeries, hotels and Tasmac bars.

Other meats too, have become more expensive. The price of chicken has gone up from Rs. 170 per kg last month to Rs. 210 per kg this month. Though mutton has remained at Rs. 400-450 per kg for sometime now, not many people buy it because of the high price.

Commodity Price in May Price in April

Ginger Rs.175 Rs.80

Tomatoes Rs.35-40 Rs.30

Carrots Rs.40 Rs.35

Beans Rs. 70-80 Rs. 60-70

Eggs Rs. 4 (each) Rs. 3.25 (each)

Prawns Rs. 400 Rs. 250

Nethili fish Rs. 180 – 200 Rs. 100-120

Seer fish Rs. 700 – 800 Rs. 650

*Retail prices in kg

Cooking up a trend

Chef Damu. Photo: R. Ragu


The Hindu :Geeta padmanaban: May 20,2013

Geeta Padmanabhan discovers the ingredients that go into making cookery shows on television a hit with the young and the old

Almost every TV channel I surf has a cookery show — morning, noon or afternoon. On one, a gentleman creates dishes with leaves, flowers and seeds. On another, the host clarifies caller-doubts while stirring fruit biriyani. One cook serves up songs with spicy curries. 

Celebrity chefs cook with confidence while novices rush to finish only-half-hour dishes in tight contests. Hosts in Julia Child’s “stand-and-stir” - type shows assure me that cooking is no big deal. A breakfast show has a modern-art canvas — everyone can make them, though I am not sure they will eat them.

I watch, mesmerised. And I'm not alone. “I want to be a chef!” says 10-year-old T. Raghav, whose favourites include Nigella Lawson and Donna Hay. “Master Chef is a cool show!” he declares. 

Twelve-year-old Karuna mostly watches competitive shows (Chopped, Iron Chef), not straight up “how-to-cook” ones, while her mother loves those anchored by celebrities such as Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray. 

There’s a lot of banter and joking on the set, so it is all entertainment, she says. “After Aarti Sequeira became “Next Food-Network Star”, we watched Aarti Party for a while, but lost interest. We could easily look up her recipes on the Internet.”

Strange, this television-cookery show boom. People watch, even when they have no interest in food, much less in trying out dishes.

 We need to imagine their aroma, spice and crunch — it’s like watching diners enjoy crisp masala-dosa while we wait, with our empty stomachs rumbling. Most of the dishes can’t be made in average kitchens.

 We don't have tools that perform culinary miracles, we don’t know where to get the ingredients, can’t remember tips. They are for foodophiles, not everyday cooks!

Why do we watch? Is it the recipes, cooking traditions, creativity, techniques in close-up? Or is it the fantasy, can't-get element, since the food is inaccessible? Maybe the sight of food comforts, combats loneliness. Of course, chef-vs-chef contests are TV-drama — of frittered cutlets, heartless judges, ticking clocks, bloody chopping-boards, elimination threats, perpetual emergency. The Foodistancontest was about national pride — old rivals fighting their battles “with forks, knives and skillets”.

Food-Science students and alumni of MOP Vaishnav College answer the question enthusiastically.

 “Wholesome family entertainers,” says Sonali Divya, who finds them amusing, appealing and appetising. “Love the judges’ vocabulary,” she adds. The programme opens doors to multiple cuisines, says Spriha Pandey, reminding you how these shows helped Sanjeev Kapoor (Khana Khazana) and Tarla Dalal spread the aroma of Indian cooking across the globe.

 Sushmitha .S says, “I have learnt much from Aaha Enna Rusi and Kitchen Super Stars. And my mom loves Damu’s show!”

Vegetarians watch non-vegetarian programmes, points out Pravallika KL. “They are a boon for newly-weds. Grandma’s recipes, rural/unconventional dishes are passed on, they encourage you to get enthusiastic about cooking rather than treat it like a chore,” says Roshini M.

“Cooking is de-stressing,” says Nusaiha Boodhun. “Men tell me they watch to get healthy solutions for ailments, home-makers say it adds to their repertoire,” says Bhargaviy KLN.

 ”I love the meal-storm, the cliff-hanger moments in contests, how do they do it in half-an-hour when I'm so pressed for time,” wonders Anju Sai Easwari.

 “I try to replicate the various cutting methods displayed,” says Roshini RP. Zanofer Nisha has tried several of the show recipes.

A multi-page menu of testimonials, but “time-pass” is my pick of the answer.

 What’s yours?

Cook Out | Mangolicious

Mango sago with vanilla cream



 Live Mint :Seema Chowdhry  :: Sun, May 19 2013. 02 42 PM IST


Chef Kapil Dubey of The Westin Gurgaon assembles a delicious mango treat

Mango sago with vanilla cream

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

500ml milk

75g sugar

100g coconut, desiccated

25g butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

K cup mango, diced

150g sago

300ml cream

Method

Soak the sago overnight. Heat the milk, add sugar, butter, coconut and soaked sago seeds. Boil until the milk thickens. Take off the heat and cool the mixture. Now whip the cream for 6-7 minutes until it becomes thick.

Take a martini glass and start layering. First put in the whipped cream, then the sago mix, the mango dices, top with cream and sago and garnish with some mango dices. Spoon some vanilla essence on top of the whipped cream and mango.