His specialisation is South Indian and North Indian cuisine with an experience of over 20 years in India and abroad. Sous chef Yadaiah Bandaru, The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, says, “My journey to where I am now has been worthwhile so far, and motivates me to push a little further.”
First stint
That is an unforgettable memory; I was 18 years old with no knowledge of kitchen and was directly allocated in the curry section.
Kitchen @home
My kitchen at home is like any other homely kitchen but as a chef I always insist on timely cleanliness and hygiene. Home style cooking has its own style and methods. However, sometimes we slightly go wrong on the proportion of the ingredients.
Like to go back to
My family and I always like food at Kangan, the restaurant at Westin and I make it a point to visit here time and again.
Favourite part of being a chef
I think the most important ingredient is passion, you need to be passionate towards cooking to succeed as a professional chef.
Most difficult preparation
I would say pootharekulu, you need to have patience and expertise to make this traditional dessert.
Guilty food pleasure
I love to have fried dishes like punugulu, mysore bajji, cut mirchis, wadas -- I have grown up seeing these dishes since my childhood, and it’s hard to give up.
Food trend
Healthy and nutritious dishes are the new mantra. It might need to modify our traditional recipes as people tend to go for light, low calorie, healthy and yet tasty food.
Underused ingredient
Ragi - “pearl millet” which has a greater nutritious value. It can be used for dosa, idlis, pulao with vegetables, breads, pudding etc.
Recipe
Lamb with Gongura is part of Andhra cuisine. It’s tangy taste infused from the gongura leaves is finger licking good with rice or roti.
Gongura Mamsam
Ingredients:
Method