CHENNAI: My journey into the world of food and cooking began when I was in Class 6. Since both my parents were teachers and would often be busy with work, I would cook basic dishes like khichdi and burji for myself. My love for food turned into my passion when I moved to Delhi for my higher studies. I had to cook for myself and that is when I started to explore. I was exposed to a lot of fresh ingredients and spices as I stayed very close to Azadpur Mandi, which was one of the largest vegetable markets.
I decided to pursue a career in food and in 2003, I joined the Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar. It was a completely new experience for me. A new city, new cuisine and dishes like ghugni (snack), dalma (rice), and chhena poda (sweet) were all completely different from what I was used to in Delhi.
I was 18 when I entered the industry and I worked with The Oberoi, Kolkata.
There again I came across a completely new and different burst of flavours and dishes like rasgullas, sandesh (sweet), jalebis, kala jamun and much more. From Kolkata, I went straight to Kerala, in 2010 for a year, where I fell in love spices like the black pepper, cinnamon, mace, etc. We got fresh fish right out of the water. We were also part of an Ayurveda camp, wherein we had to cook food according to the prescriptions given by doctors for guests who were on medication. I also learnt to make sadhya, (means a feast), karimeen polichathu and Kerala sambar.
In 2011, I went to the US and worked at the Steakhouse. There I learnt the fine tuning of steaks with expensive meat products. I also got the opportunity to work for the Carnival Cruise Lines. I travelled to different parts of Mexico, South America and Europe, where I got my hands on the best tomatoes, wines and cheese. I have been with Marriot Chennai since May 2017.
I am so glad to have got such wonderful opportunities to travel to different places and explore so much of food, because it has really helped me grow as a chef. I have noticed that Chennai has a mixed set of cuisines, like Udipi, Chettinad, Andhra and so on.
I am yet to master South Indian cuisine, but I am quite confident about the North Indian cuisine. Butter chicken, mutton rogan josh, chole, rajma chawal and karimeen pollichathu are some of my best dishes.
Meen Pollichathu
Ingredients
Cleaned fish steaks/filet: 20 pieces, 1 kg (measured after cleaning)
Turmeric powder: 10 gm
Pepper powder: 20 gm
Small onion: 200 gm
Crushed ginger: 50 gm
Crushed garlic: 50 gm
Green chilli: 20 gm
Chilli powder: 50 gm
Coriander powder:
50 gm
Tomato: 200 gm
Coconut milk powder: 20 gm
Salt: 20 gm
Curry leaves: 5 gm
Coconut oil: 30 ml
Banana leaf: 1 big
Method
Make gashes on both sides of the cleaned fish. Marinate the fish pieces with turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes. Fry the marinated fish pieces till it's half done.
Heat oil and add sliced small onion. Add crushed ginger, garlic and chopped green chilli. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add chilli and coriander powder. After 2-3 minutes, add a tablespoon of hot water and mix well. Add chopped tomato, curry leaves and salt and mix. Add a few drops of hot water and cook till tomato becomes soft.
Add ¼ cup of medium thick coconut milk and mix well. Cook till the masala becomes thick.
Clean the banana leaves and wilt it slightly by placing it on the gas flame and flipping the sides.
Put masala on the leaves and place the fried fish atop it. Cover it with another layer of masala. Wrap the leaves and make a parcel. Tie it with banana fibre or cooking thread.
Roast the wrapped fish on a hot tava, flip and cook till both sides are done. Keep it covered for another 5 -10 minutes and open the parcel and serve.
Method
Marinate the chicken leg in hung curd, salt, lemon juice, garlic-ginger paste, garam masala, fenugreek powder, chilli powder and roast in clay oven.
Make tomato gravy using ripped tomato, fennel seed, cashew nut, khoya, whole spices, salt and garam masala.
Heat oil in a pan, add chopped garlic and chili powder. Add shredded chicken and tomato gravy. Add salt, garam masala, sugar and fenugreek powder with chili powder. Give a final touch with cream and butter and serve hot.
Ingredients
Chicken leg: 200gm
Curd: 50gm
Garlic: 10gm
Ginger: 10gm
Garam masala: 10gm
Red chili powder: 10gm
Fenugreek powder: 10gm
Mustard oil: 10ml
Lemon: 1 piece
Tomato: 100gm
Cashew nut: 50gm
Fennel seed: 10gm
Bay leaf: 5gm
Green cardamom: 5gm
Cinnamon: 5gm
Star anise: 5gm
Khoya: 20gm
Garam masala: 10gm
Coriander powder: 5gm
Salt: 10gm
Sugar: 5gm
Cream: 10ml
Butter: 10gm
Oil: 10ml