CHENNAI : Born in a family of foodies, it was natural for Roshni Roy to fall in love with food at first sight. The fourth-year architecture student from Meenakshi College of Engineering in Vadapalani draws her inspiration to cook from her family. “My mother is an amazing cook...but she cooks only Indian dishes,” says the 21-year-old. Seeing that her mother has already excelled in preparing a variety of dishes from the Indian cuisine, Roshni decided to branch out.
She started out with bagels. “The first time I made them, it was a disaster,” she laughs. Roshni was disappointed, but that didn’t stop her from exploring other recipes. She then tried her hands at making pastries at home.“It took me a couple of attempts to get the perfect batch of Danish pastries. Now, I can make mango Danish and strawberry Danish pastries with fresh cream, which according to my friends and families are the best they have tasted this far,” she beams.
Kitchen is Roshni’s happy place. She can cook at any time of the day, but she prefers making Danish pastries only at night after all her chores are done. “This sweet delicacy requires a lot of patience. As a student of architecture, I have a lot of college work. So, I bake only after that. Also, isn’t it nice to have a 3 am sweet snack?” she says.
Other than pastries, Roshni also enjoys making her own pasta. “Handmade pasta is much easier to make,” she says. Another dish that she enjoys making, but hasn’t perfected yet is French croissants. “I often mess it up, but when it does come out well and I bite into it, I feel all the trials and errors were worth it,” she says. Roshni uses OTG oven, blender and a good wok for cooking.
Croissants have opened the door to French cuisine in Roshni’s cooking adventures. “French dishes are fun to prepare, but my favourite experiments are with continental cuisine,” she says, adding that she prefers European dishes as they are not popular locally. Though baking is her specialty, Roshni’s friends and family love to gorge on her fresh margarita pizza.
When she’s not in the kitchen, Roshni can be found spending time with her pets — a parrot, two alexandrine parakeets, cockatiels and is particularly fond of her myna, which she keeps behind her kitchen, as she loves listening to its sweet music.
Honey glazed garlic chicken
For chicken
Boneless chicken breast cubed: 600g, Soy sauce: 3 tbsp, Cornstarch: 1/3 cup , Flour: 2/3 cup, Salt:1/4 tsp, Eggs: 2,
For sauce
Vegetable oil: 3 tbsp, Garlic (chopped): 2 tbsp, Ginger (chopped): 2 tbsp, Garlic powder: 1 tbsp, Soy sauce: 3 tbsp, Cornstarch: 2 tbsp, Water: 1/2 cup
Method
Chicken
Sauce
Final instructions