Ranveer Brar
Chef, food stylist and judge on season four of MasterChef India
What treats do you have in store on Flavours of Ramadan? I am planning to whip up flavours representing where I come from, that’s Lucknow, and flavours from the family I was born into, that’s Punjab. I am [also] trying to highlight food from erstwhile Punjab, the Punjab before partition [of India], so one will see influences of Lahori and Amritsari food.
Will viewers catch you and Kunal Kapur cooking up some magic in the kitchen? Yes, absolutely! Kunal and I go back a long way; we have cooked together in three hotels, but this is the first time it’s happening on television. Viewers are sure to be treated to some good fun. We cooked some dishes together, spiced with a lot of nostalgic conversation. So I am particularly looking forward to that episode.
What would be your perfect Ramadan menu? The perfect Ramadan menu would start with a dose of sugar to immediately kick in the energy, dates are best; followed up with proteins, fruits. I personally would like to see a lot of colour on the table because colour is nutrition and you need it after fasting the whole day. After the first few days, however, my iftar would become subtle, less loud basically.
What is your earliest memory of an iftar feast? I was five to six years old. We lived close to a neighbourhood called Subhani Khera [Lucknow], where most of my friends lived. The first iftar would be at my friend Shahbaaz’s house. I cannot forget the flavours of those kebabs and how everybody just came together, purely to celebrate the joy of eating.
Your expert tip for someone planning to cook a Ramadan feast at home? Save energy and prepare tasty food. If you are planning an iftar, try stuff that requires longer marination and less cooking. After a daylong fast you wouldn’t want to be tired strenuously cooking. Use tender cuts of meat that require less effort. One-pot stews are another option that can be left to slow-cook.
What’s been the most memorable meal you’ve cooked? It was a 17-course meal for the then captain of the Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce. Being an NBA fan myself and still a Bostonian at heart, it was pretty exciting when he called and wanted this arrangement to propose to his girlfriend. It is easily one of the most memorable experiences and it was an exciting menu, too. Obviously, the answer was a yes.
What is the most rewarding and the most frustrating part of being a chef? The most rewarding is the immediate gratification you get, when people’s eyes light up as they eat your food. The frustrating part on the other end of the spectrum is, when people expect the process of cooking good food to be at the push of a button.
If not a chef, what then? A travel or wildlife photographer. I also paint and sculpt in my free time.
What is comfort food? Khichdi, anytime, any day, with its best mates — papad, pickle and curd.
Pick three chefs you would host for dinner. Tough one, but I would pick Thomas Keller, Mossimo Bottura and Gaggan Anand.
If you had to open up a restaurant in Dubai what would it be? Definitely not an Indian restaurant! Everywhere I look there’s an Indian restaurant and various shades of it, some little Indian, some more Indian, some conventional, some unconventional. I wish to do something that’s more offbeat, maybe open up a bar and say I don’t serve food! Let’s see...