CHENNAI: A little inspiration from his mother is all that drove Satiskumar Shanmugam to take up the art of cooking. He has been exploring his culinary skills since the age of 12. “I used to spend a lot of time with my mother in the kitchen when I was young since my father was mostly away at work. She taught me all the basics of cooking. Coming from Sri Lanka, magazines were the only source of recipes of Tamil cuisine for us. My mother collected the recipes and tried them. Tomato rice was the first dish I ever cooked and it is one of the easiest to cook,” says the 27-year-old, who prefers to cook at home rather than ordering food online. Satiskumar is also a food blogger who believes that experiencing food from different cities and countries is the best way to understand their culture.
In spite of having a full-time job as an HR Professional, Satiskumar cooks all his meals, which have at least five varieties of dishes. “When I first came to Chennai ten years back, my friends at college tasted my food and suggested that I should post my recipes and pictures online. That’s how I started blogging,” he says. Later, one of his friends sponsored to open a website for Satiskumar called tastepot.com. Now, he can cook more than 200 Indian dishes. “I prepared a Kerala thali, which consists 28 items served on a banana leaf. It took me four hours to prepare it,” he says, talking fondly of the meal that took him the most time to prepare.
The home-chef is particular about following weight loss-friendly meals. “These meals consist of vegetables on a larger scale, along with protein-rich food such as eggs and paneer. Basically, my meals have less carbohydrates and high healthy fat content, so that it is balanced. I avoid sweetened dishes as it contains lots of calories. However, I have a cheat day sometimes when I make my favourite sweets and binge eat,” he says. On a typical day, Satiskumar spends most of his time in the kitchen when he is not at work. “Since I’m on a diet, there are many dishes that I cook, but can’t eat,” he adds. Though he specialises in Sri Lankan desserts, his favourite dessert is rasgulla, which he mastered after many failed trials.
Satiskumar believes that food has to be cooked with love. “Nowadays, children don’t enjoy the food cooked at home; most families tend to have a cook at home or order food online. I think that’s where I consider myself lucky,” he says. In addition to this, cooking has taught him to be patient. “Everything from chopping to presenting the food requires patience,” he says.
His Instagram page is a mix of food, music and culture. “I learn about the origin of the dishes I cook to share it with my followers. This helps create cultural awareness. I present my dishes with authenticity,” he shares. Ask him about his favourite ingredient and he says, “Coconut is one of my favourite ingredients. I add coconut to almost everything I cook.” He wishes to open a restaurant in future and deliver home-cooked food. “If your food can put a smile on someone’s face, that is real happiness,” he says.
