CHENNAI: When asked to prepare a dish during the first round of the MasterChef Chennai contest, Kavitha Bothra decided to prepare a sponge cake made from semiya payasam, blueberry sandesh and carrot cheese kheer. This got her selected as one of the ten participants to enter the second round, where they were to prepare two dishes with a secret ingredient, which was pumpkin. Kavitha eventually won the competition, which was held in February this year.
“I love fusion food and creating unique food. I try to make dishes that haven’t been made before, recipes that people have never tried. I base what I want to prepare on foods I’ve eaten before or tried when I travel,” said the 40-year-old. She explained that she bases her dishes on Chinese, Mexican and Mediterranean cuisines. Some of the dishes she makes are pani puri pizza, guacamole vada and rasam made from dates, raw mango and tomato. She has also made puran poli waffles, pesto and beetroot tart with hung curd, and Mongolian pav bhaji.
On her cooking process, Kavitha said, “Whenever I eat something interesting, I have this urge to come home and improve the recipe. I need to try out my recipe within seven to eight hours. I can’t explain how I get certain ideas, but most of the recipes I try turn out to be delicious. I never compromise on taste, and I try to make it as healthy as possible as well.” She began experimenting with her cooking seven years ago. Kavitha credits her innovative nature to her background in jewellery designing, and finds cooking to be another creative outlet.
She also runs a catering service, From the Kitchen of Nutrilicious, out of her home kitchen and another kitchen in the apartment opposite her house. She believes in beautiful plating and presentation to compliment the food. Kavitha hopes to open a café in Kilpauk soon, and provide customers unique and interesting combinations. For details, contact lovenutrifood@gmail.com or call 9884989000.
Recipes
Ingredients: Basmati rice: 1 cup, Butter: 1 tbsp, Cabbage: 1 cup, Bell peppers: 1 cup, Onion: 1 small, Garlic: 1 tsp, Chilli flakes: 1 tsp, Cheese: 1 cube, Olive oil: 1 tbsp
Method: Stir fry the rice in butter and add double the quantity of water and cook the rice. Then add olive oil and fry the finely chopped onion. Add the bell peppers and cabbage. Stir for a few seconds. Then add garlic and chilli flakes. Lastly, add the cheese and salt. Garnish with coriander and serve hot.
Roasted Pumpkin, thyme and peas soup
Ingredients: Pumpkin: 1 cup, Peas: 1/2 cup, Thyme: 1 tsp, Onion: 1 small, Garlic: 2-3 cloves, Carrot: 1, Olive oil: 1 tbsp
Method: Finely chop all the vegetables and arrange in a baking tray. Sprinkle a little olive oil and place all the vegetables in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the mixture cool and grind it in the blender and then add a little milk, add pepper and salt and serve hot.