Back to our roots…

Ayurveda is the in-thing now!

Wrapped up a successful schedule of Sanjeev Kapoor’s Kitchen day before yesterday. Must mention that this had been one of the best schedules till date, with loads of exciting themes and some enthusiastic fans calling up and talking to me! Kudos to my team, one more time, who put up a great show.

The most interesting part was the Ayurveda special episodes. I am deeply attached to this subject as it is one of India’s gifts to the world, for a healthy living. So, what better could I possibly do, than to propagate the wonders of this marvel through my recipes.

Ayurvedic cuisine is already making a mark on the world map. Hence, as a true Indian, it becomes my responsibility as well to promote it at its best. So, cooked up a few recipes like Amle ka Sherbet, Barley Khichdi, Lal Maath ki Sabzi, etc., to go with this theme. I also made it a point to talk about a few Ayurvedic herbs with actual illustrations during the course of the episodes, just to give all the viewers an idea about this precious genre of science. This is just the beginning and will definitely work on this subject more and more.

I think introducing Ayurveda in today’s fast-paced and strenuous lives will not only reduce the lifestyle related diseases amongst people, but also get in some discipline, leading to overall mental peace.

For this reason only, I’ll also be concentrating on the subject of Ayurveda for my presentation at World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) 2012 in Daejon, for which I will be flying to South Korea on May 1, 2012. Looking forward to this trip, as always, as this side of the globe has always amazed me in some or the other way and has offered me something great everytime. Besides this, meeting and interacting with other top-notch professionals from the culinary world will be a bonus! More on this to follow…

Also, latest is CNN International’s series ‘Fusion Journeys’ which begins its broadcast from April 23, 2012. In this there are 3 films of 5 minutes each of my journey to meet Chef Rene Redzepi of Noma fame in Copenhagen. These films will be broadcast during ‘Connect The World’ every Monday, Wednesday and Friday late in the night. Follow the link to get more of this: http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/fusion-journeys/index.html.

On the office front, today I will be busy with a shoot for People’s Magazine and my team has already started the work to help me dish out an exhilarating mango recipe. Thrilled! Also, Turban Tadka shoots are getting over today.

This is it for now and I shall keep my fans and followers updated with more and more on the Ayurveda front as well as every other happening in general.

As for now, not fully Ayurvedic though, here are some healthy Indian recipes you can try…

Adrak Kali Mirch Chai

Bajra Khichdi

Baked Moong Sprout Wadas

Till I write again
Sanjeev Kapoor

Snack attack

Indian snack recipes are something always in high demand! Be it the universal samosa, or the pakoda, the  idli or the dosa, snacks like these are mini meals when accompanied with the appropriate beverage, which in most homes would either be a cup of hot tea or cup of frothy coffee.

 Indian snack recipes are also the ones that have been the most experimented with! If you are not looking for the usual potato or keema stuffed samosa, look for a recipe like Mini Chinese Samosa which is not only a fusion of two cuisines but also fast becoming an added attraction in wedding buffets. Well , wedding buffets do take the cake when it comes to a glorious display of Indian snacks, served hot and live! You can settle at the dosa counter, or the chaat stall and then decide to give the heavy main courses a complete miss. Kala Chana Matka Chaat is something one could make at home and also use to grace the party tables. Kids simply love the Chinese dosa or the Spring Dosa, so make these a Sunday special.

So travel the length and breadth of India browsing for Indian Snack recipes and you will surely include the Punjabi Samosa in your tasting, or the kachoris in Marwar, the Bhutte ke Khees in Indore, the appams in Kerala and the puchka in Bengal. And oh yes, the all time favourite of Mumbaikers, the vada pao. It comes across as the most popular street food and there is really no other contender which can comes close to this common man’s snack!  Other popular ones are the Bhel puri, which can be altered to the Sprout Bhelpuri or something creative like the Bread Bhel Puri.

While it is easy to digress from one mouth watering snack to another, let us now leave some space for the incoming greatness of non vegetarian Indian snack recipes….

Watch me with Chef Rene on CNN’s Fusion Journeys from tonight

CNN International series ‘Fusion Journeys’ – part culture show, part travel show – begins its broadcast in the week beginning April 16th 2012. In this there are 3 films of 5 minutes each of my journey to meet Chef Rene Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen. These films will be broadcast during ‘Connect The World’ every Monday, Wednesday and Friday late in the night. For full details here is the link www.cnn.com/fusionjourneys

CNN has done this programme beautifully portraying it as a chef’s journey to a location of his choice. I had an absolutely memorable time with Chef Rene Redzepi. He serves Nordic food at his world-renowed restaurant Noma and we had to go out of town to look for new ingredients, whether it was the seabed or riverbanks and forests. I was totally impressed by Chef Rene’s quest for perfect ingredients and his Smoked Quail’s Egg is something that I would love to introduce in my new restaurants. The soft boiled quail egg is smoked over hay, and is presented in a small egg shaped dish, served with a side of radish in edible “mud” ( it is created with roasted malt and hazelnut on herb cream). We exchanged many notes and I enjoyed teaching Chef Rene some of my dishes. Before I left he served me one if his three prized possessions – orange flavoured ants. These are local ants with a citric flavour and not normally put on his menu. To catch these incredible series that successfully illustrate cultural fusion, tune in to CNN international tonight.

Loads happening in our kitchens with an absolutely new menu being evolved for The Yellow Chilli outlets. Trials of the recipes are happening, day in and out, and chefs are busy.

My partner, Fudkor, who make Khazana Pickles held a puja at their new factory near Katraj in Pune today. My colleague Rajeev represented me on this auspicious occasion. All the very best to Mr Dipen and Mr Kapasi and Khazana Pickles! More people will be have access to these pickles now.

Leaving for New Delhi tonight as I have a shoot at Noida tomorrow. Will be accommodating some media meets alongside.

As there is abundance of summer gourds in the market, how about some tasty preparations using them?

Tondli Bhaat

Kaddu aur Alu ki Sabzi

Lauki Kofta

Till I write again

Sanjeev Kapoor.