‘You have been awarded a Padma Shri’

25^th January, 7.02 a.m, I was still in bed and my phone was vibrating by my bed.  As a rule, I never keep my phone by my bed side, don’t know why I had kept it that day. Also, it is always on silent mode. Alyona was up and about as she was getting ready to go for her UK visa, she heard it and got me to pick it up. The caller identified himself as Mr Chauhan, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, he said ‘Badhai ho. Bharat sarkar ne aapko Padma Shri dene ka nirnay kiya hain.’ I thanked him and disconnected the call. Alyona asked, a trifle worried as only during emergencies does my phone ring at that hour. I reassured her that everything was fine and the call was to tell me that I had received the Padma Shri. Now the first thing that came to my mind was that, someone was playing a prank, after all one doesn’t expect government offices to start functioning so early in the morning! I then checked the number on truecaller and sure enough it showed up Mr Chauhan’s name with the right designation. But I needed more proof. I logged on to the Ministry of Home Affairs website and Mr Chauhan was featured there as Joint Secretary. As a last measure, I called him back. I told him I was calling to reconfirm the news. He laughed and said it is confirmed, it’s not a prank, you have been awarded a Padma Shri. Now I knew it was happening for real!

In the last 6-7 years, friends, well-wishers and people I know would ask me when I was winning the Padma Shri, honestly I didn’t have an answer to the when, because there have been very few instances of people in the culinary category being awarded, a matter that has come up at many forums I’ve attended. I have also spoken about this at many high end forums about the need of recognition for chefs. Year after year awards had been given for excellence in the field of arts and science and for me, cooking is definitely one of the greatest art and science. So I won’t say that the news came to me as a shock, somewhere deep down I was expecting it to happen sooner or later. Interestingly for the last few years, every 25^th January, I would get many calls telling me that my name should’ve been on the list and that I should have got the Padma Shri.

This 25^th January, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing for another reason. As my mother always said, you will get what you deserve. Patience pays!

5 fascinating facts about inflight food

They say a lot of things in life are mediocre and love shouldn’t be one of them. Being a chef and foodie I believe the word love can easily be replaced by food in this context. Food should never be mediocre – even when you are on a flight. Being on the panel for Singapore airlines for more than a decade I can assure you that serving food 30,000 feet above ground level is a different ball game all together. There are a number of challenges you need to prepare for to make sure every flyer has a great experience – and this struggle is something a lot of people are unaware about. So here are 5 first hand inside facts about the fascinating world of inflight food.

Taste test

Your taste buds are almost 30% less sensitive at that altitude than at ground level and that is the main reason why in-flight food doesn’t taste as good as regular restaurant food. To overcome this chefs have been known to taste food for an in-flight menu in pressurized cabins, similar to how it would be on a flight and rework the dishes till the desired taste is reached.

Process and protocol

Inflight food has way more processes and protocols than restaurant food. The production base, location, mass production facility, portion sizes, cooking techniques, storing and reheating temperatures, transportation, flight destination, kind and number of passengers and the types of meal options – are all factors that need to be considered. For an in-flight service, everything needs to be planned down to the T. Since all these processes are interlinked, one small glitch could blotch up the entire flying experience for the customer and you definitely don’t want that!

Time lapse

There is always a big gap between when the food is made and ultimately reaches the passenger. So you need to think about the food being on flight for a couple of hours before being served to different passengers at different intervals. Menu planning involves carefully selecting ingredients and techniques that will remain delicious and look good even after going through all the processes and procedures.

Heated situation

Not much cooking actually happens inside an aircraft, mainly because you can’t reach that kind of temperature with an open flame inside an aircraft. Nothing that will change form, when reheated or needs extreme high temperatures to cook, will work. For example – Leafy greens like spinach won’t retain the bright green colour, prawns might get chewy and deep-fried food like potato chips etc. won’t be crisp like they are supposed to be.

Pilot plot

This one is probably the most fascinating fact – pilots on a flight are served different meals and aren’t allowed to share. This is done as a precaution to prevent food poisoning, allergy or sickness from the food. Even in the times of auto pilot mode, at no point in a flight you want both your pilots to be unwell.

The next time you are on a flight these thoughts will definitely cross your mind and make you look at airline food in a whole new light!

Lastly I must add that if you ever fly Singapore Airlines make sure you try the Ruchithali which is something new we have come up with for economy class flyers to experience the fabulousness of Indian food the way we do in India – even when they are 30,000 feet about ground!

Till I write again

Happy flying, happy cooking and happy eating!

Do the detox!

The festive season in India is in full swing and it’s really a hard time to stick to your fitness goals! Even if you do manage to get the will power to keep away from the delicious mithais and calorie laden snacks, you will always have relatives and friends cajoling you to eat at first and then literally stuffing them into your mouth! Balancing out all that junk you are going to eat is only possible if you inculcate a few healthy food habits that nourish your body and nullify the effects of all those evil goodies!

Here are 5 of the simplest detox solutions I indulge in and you should too!

Drink away!

Start your day with detox drinks and then you are free to eat what you want throughout the day! Burn fat, get glowing skin and shiny hair just by gulping a tumbler of infused waters like Strawberry Lemon Detox Water or nourishing beverages like a Wheatgrass Juice, Lauki Juice, Coconut Green Tea or a khatta-meetha Jaljeera. Nourish yourself inside out – one glass at a time.

Oats are ‘Owesome’

Oats are not merely a breakfast staple anymore, you can very easily turn it into a fulfilling lunch and dinner! Rich in water soluble fibre it fills up the tummy and keeps it that way for a long time, urging you to eat again only once it is digested. Also, whenever looking for an instant energy boost, opt for oats! Homemade oats and dry fruit bars are your best bet during the festivals. You can add dry fruits, saffron and cardamom and other such desi ingredients to your oats bar and I promise you won’t be missing the mithais too much!

Yogurt will sort you out!   

When eating yogurt or curd, your body automatically is in a probiotic paradise – this healthy bacterium strengthens the digestive system as well as boosts the immune system protecting the body from various types of infections. Pretty useful to cure hangovers too! Make a smoothie out of it – add dry fruits, fresh fruits, spice powders, honey, veggies, oats and actually any ingredients you want or have a bowlful of it just like that and you will be sorted!

Spice it up!

Spices don’t just help you counter all the mithais when it comes to taste it also counters the negative effect they have on your body! Spices like turmeric, cinnamon and ginger top the list of my detox favourites! You can make the most of the benefits from all three by drinking a cuppa of good old haldi wala doodh (or should we say turmeric latte at night before sleeping – add a bit of honey too! Cumin is another favourite – just boil it with some water and kadi shakkar/mishri and sip on it through the day – easy, peasy and delicious!

Be a fan of fruit!

Fresh fruits are by far the oldest and best way to nourish your body! On a detox diet chart pomegranates, berries and other deep coloured fruits are a favourite. A high anti-oxidant content is assured in all, most of these are also rich in fibre, vitamin c while being low in fat! Pineapples come a close second because of a component called ‘bromelain’, that improves the body’s immunity system. Check out this article on sanjeevkapoor.com to know how to glam up your fruit platter.

These for me are some of the simple and most organic ways to detox, so you can enjoy your festivities to the max!

Happy cooking!!

Happy eating!!