CHENNAI : A Human Resources professional, Yogita Uchil is one adventurous home chef. Her black rice risotto, zucchini pasta and chocolate lemon cake are a few dishes that give us a taste of her ingenious culinary process. The city-based food blogger walks us through her delectable journey and tells us how she has embraced different cuisines.
Yogita’s first brush with cooking was when she was just 10 years old. “I was born and raised in Goa, and later our family shifted to Mumbai. My mother was an amazing cook and I learned from her. When in Mumbai, I started making different chaat items. The first dish I ever made was pani puri which I served to my family and a Marwari friend. That’s when I realised that I could cook. Sometimes, even when I didn’t know what I was doing, it turned out well in the end,” she laughs.
After marriage, Yogita shifted to Chennai in 1998, and that’s when she disocvered a myriad of cuisines. “My husband is a Keralite, I am a Mangalorean who was born and raised in Goa, I lived in Mumbai and then came down to Chennai. So, to me it was a beautiful journey of understanding and making different kinds of food,” she shares.
Reminiscing her days in Goa, where the whole family used to sit together for breakfast to devour the neer dosa, a special preparation by her mother, she says, “My father was specific that we all dine together. So everyday, breakfast and dinner was eaten together. Food has always been close to heart,” she shares.
From Mumbai’s chaat and Mangalore masala dosa to Kerala-style fish curry and Chennai’s trademark sambhar, Yogita does it all the authentic way. “I don’t buy my sambhar powder. When we were in Mumbai, my mother used to make her own sambhar podi. I still follow her recipe. I make all my spice powders — from jeera, pepper to coriander powder — by myself. It adds a unique and fresh flavour to the dish,” she says.
Yogita is a globetrotter, and travelling the world, exploring different cuisines, has made her bring new flavours into her own kitchen. “Whenever I come back from a trip, I make it a point to recreate a dish or experiment with a particular flavour. Sometimes I observe a person making a dish, other times when I don’t have access to the preparation of a dish, I eat, taste, feel the flavours and try making it at home. My 15-year-old son sometimes gets disappointed that I make everything at home. ‘When will we eat outside if you make everything at home?’ he asks,” laughs Yogita.
From making lasagna sheets and guacamole at home, she’s on a perpetual quest to discover and explore different dishes. “I love seafood and I make it a point to buy fresh produce from the market, wherever I go. Here in the city, I go all the way to the beach in the morning and buy fresh fish off the net from the fishermen. I am very specific about my seafood... specially with the entry of cultured seafood, I am very careful about what and where I buy,” says the chef who makes lip-smacking mathi fry. “Everyone at home loves mathi fry...it’s a dish we enjoy as a family,” she adds.
The home chef cooks a new dish every day and documents her journey on her blog. “Sometimes it raises expectations at home…to make something new every day. But, I like a good challenge,” she says.
For details, visit: yogitasjourney.com
Black rice risotto
Soak a cup of black rice overnight. Cook the rice in a pressure cooker with three times the water for 10 whistles and five minutes on slow fire (black rice takes longer to cook). Open the cooker when the pressure has settled. If you are making a mushroom risotto, saute mushrooms in a pan with 3-4 tbsp of butter, add the rice, cheese and salt and saute till they blend well. You may replace mushrooms with prawns or cooked chicken.