The spice of life
Back home in India, Man Mohan perfected his skills in a fine dining restaurant attached to a five-star hotel. But when Mohan moved to New Zealand two years ago, his first job was at a New Lynn takeaway joint serving $12 curries.
Did he enjoy that? “No way,” Mohan tells
Weekend through an interpreter. “I was very upset. It wasn’t really my thing.”
He’d been enticed by the lifestyle, but soon found his five-star chef skills weren’t being utilised. He also struggled to find anyone making the kind of Indian food he liked.
That changed when he was approached by the team putting together 1947, the inner-city eatery serving Indian food inspired by old-fashioned ways.
He quickly agreed to a job change. Now, in just a year, despite at 31 being the youngest chef in the kitchen, he’s risen to become 1947’s head chef, one who prioritises authenticity over shortcuts.
In Mohan’s kitchen, they make their own garam masala, a combination of nearly 20 ground spices. They make their own cheese, which hangs in a muslin cloth over a sink every night.
Preparation is key: to show Weekend how to cook his masterclass dish, Mohan’s arrived early to get everything ready in the eatery’s spotless kitchen. He’s making nawabi aloo, potatoes filled with spiced cheese. When done right, it looks like an artist painted a flamboyant boiled egg that was then cut in half.
Mohan starts by stirring potatoes that have been sliced with the insides scooped out, then boiled in turmeric-infused water. Those scoops aren’t going to waste: they’re crisping up in a pan of oil beside the pot of water.
Over at the bench, Mohan’s placed three types of dairy — cottage cheese, cream cheese and yoghurt, all made in-house — in a stainless steel bowl, which he rolls by hand with 1947’s garam masala, the crispy fried potato, and fresh chilli. Scoops of it are placed inside the potato, which are topped with onion seeds and baked, very briefly.
It’s a 40-minute process, and the results are powerful. A zingy chilli hit is soon replaced by a smooth burn, tapered by the soft potato. It’s addictive food and, half an hour later, the flavours still linger on Weekend’s tongue, calm, refreshing.
Clearly, Mohan has found a place that lets him deliver lasting reminders of home.