Pleasures of the Palate
Five food and drink obsessions that carry a license to thrill
Ingredients
I am currently obsessed with parsnips and turnips (chukandar and shalgam); I have always had an obsession with the underdogs, which started with beetroot about 15 years ago. then it moved to cauliflower, lauki, and now it is turnip and parsnips. I can’t get enough of it; I am doing a bruschetta with roasted turnips and ricotta mousse. In Stella, our restaurant in Windermere, UK, which is going to open in may this year, my favorite dish is ravioli filled with parsnips, pistachio pesto and heirloom tomatoes. In Cittamani, my first restaurant in Italy, the new menu has aamchoor infused tandoori parsnip salad. I use parsnip and turnips for puree, soup, chips, fries and recently even tried a dessert with it, which honestly, wasn’t a great success.
The Tech hit
I am also reliving my inner child and have bought many gizmos and toys for my kitchen; once I have tried them in my home kitchen, the restaurants will acquire them soon as well. My favourite is something called Peres, which is an electronic ‘Nose’ to check whether meat fish and poultry is fresh or not.
Moved by cheese
I am a good Marwari so my favourite cheese is stracciatella; the gooey part inside the burrata. When I am in Italy, I eat this every day for breakfast with tomatoes.
Spice mix
When it comes to Indian food, I need to use hing whereever possible; I know some people hate it and it is also known as devil’s shit, but I use it in more or less in everything. Another spice mix I love is panch phoran; maybe it’s my Calcutta upbringing. I use it in the dough for rotis, sprinkle it over rotis, use it in kadi. So if I have these two, I am set where spices are concerned.
Tasting stars
I am getting older so champagne is my preferred drink, and my favourite currently is Jacquesson 740. In fact when I was compiling the Cittamani wine list, my staff told me that it was not an easy champagne to sell since not many people know it but I promised that I would buy a bottle every time I was in Milan, if they cannot sell it, well, so far I think I have bought half of it. I am not a spirit drinker but have always loved a good gin and tonic, my current favourite gin is GINIU, from Sardinia; it’s full of juniper, herbs with a touch of lemon.