Delhiite’s platter of flavours wins hearts, medals
WI was 10 when I first entered the kitchen. There has since been no looking back. JAI MEHRA, Aspiring chef
hat’s in a sharbat, you’d ask. But, when made with watermelon and infused with saffron, it’s a recipe for victory! Such was the case when Delhiite Jai Mehra, 20, presented his mocktail Dastaan-e-Dilli to a panel of experienced bartenders at the recent Aahar 2023 held in Pragati Maidan. The drink was his take on the famous Sharbat-e-Mohabbat, the taste of which is etched firmly in his mind since he took the first sip of it in Old Delhi. “I infused the taste of saffron and gulkand in the watermelon, so that when one tastes the watermelon, one also gets a whiff of paan,” he tells us.
A student of Le Cordon Bleu, Gurugram, Mehra’s version of mohabbat ka sharbat along with another concoction, Tika Puka Puka, won him a silver medal. He also bagged a bronze in live cooking, whipping up a delectable spread in under 45 minutes. “I made mushroom dim sums and umami sauce, which I call an accidental dish,” he shares, recalling how he came across the mushroom: “I was roaming the streets of INA market and spotted some beautiful mushrooms on sale. I couldn’t resist, so I took them home and began experimenting. Like a typical Delhi boy, I was craving momos. That’s when it struck me to make mushroom dim sums, which included button, oyster and shiitake varieties of mushrooms. To serve along with this, I added edible black fungus to the umami sauce, which is cooked in sesame oil and black soy, to acquire rich flavours.”
The aspiring chef, who first entered the kitchen at 10, believes in surprising everyone with unique combinations. “I took admission in DU’s Hansraj College, but quit midway and went to work at a cafe in Dehradun. The owner gave me a kitchen with full access and that did wonders for me. That’s when I started to believe I could look forward to a future in the culinary world. And, here I am,” he signs off.