JOIN USGet the salt quantity right, and any food that you prepare will become perfect,” says celebrated chef Ranveer Brar, who is known for his easy solutions and replacements if the original ingredient in a recipe isn’t available. Host of several cookery shows including Ranveer’s Café, Food Tripping etc. and a judge on a few shows, the masterchef is easy-going and friendly despite his popularity. Ranveer, who hails from Lucknow, owns food outlets in Mumbai (TAG Gourmart Kitchen and English Vinglish flagship store) and Delhi (FLYP at MTV). Soon, he will be travelling to Turkey for the third season of Ranveer On The Road, which will be a first-ever Twitter video series. Ranveer has already covered Australia and Seychelles in the previous seasons. Here, the suave chef divulges his kitchen secrets:
Since the last decade, food has become a glamorous and spoken-about topic. What has lifted this simple ‘must for survival’ ritual to the most sexy and exciting ceremony?
Food has always been an important part of our lives, more than just a source of survival. Take our festivals for instance, food isn’t just an integral part of the celebrations, it has a cultural and a scientific significance attached to it. Be it celebrating the harvest, the equinox or fasting during the Navratras, the food practices for each season come with a reason. We have only recently become more and more aware of it.
When you took up cooking as a profession, it certainly hadn’t become such a show business. So what attracted you to it?
My attraction was to food; in its entirety and in its diversity. Food to me, at that young age, represented an institution where learning never ceased. After my first tryst with cooking at a langar, I wanted to learn more and do more. My decision met with some tough opposition. I come from a family of landlords where cooking as a profession was unacceptable. But seeing my passion and dedication to pursue it as a career, my family eventually gave in, and I joined IHM, Lucknow.
Is a degree from a good institute enough to make a successful career in the kitchen or is cooking an inborn talent, which needs brushing up from institutes?
Your love for something often forms the basis for studying and pursuing it in depth, both in education and life. One’s passion and natural creativity for a chosen field of study is definitely the first rung in the ladder. When you add to that expert guidance, formalised training, theoretical understanding and hands-on experience, it becomes a whole package. What you then take away from the formal training is what will determine your future course in life.
With the popularity of cooking shows and competitions, many are keen on pursuing a career in the food industry. What is your advice?
My advice is stick to the basics at first. Get your foundation right and adhere to the 3Ps of cooking — Patience, Perseverance and Perfection. And then your talent will take you forward.
Can one learn to cook looking up recipes on the Internet or on TV shows?
For cooking at any level, one needs to get the basics right. You can follow a recipe to the T and get the dish right. But if you have mastered the basics, then you don’t just get a good dish, you can even turn it around and innovate. When you understand what you are doing, it adds to the experience.
What is the secret of your recipes?
In many dishes to enhance the aroma and taste, I use sandalwood oil, sandalwood dust and sometimes pathar ke phool (black stone flower/ kallu hoovu). I also love to roast my ingredients. I feel it gives a different touch to the food. And though a menu is decided after consultation at events for celebrities or VIPs, I make it a point to prepare some dishes of my own to give my own touch to the spread.
What differentiates a woman and a man in the kitchen? Is your food liked in your home or does the family prefer maa ka khana?
Food cooked by women is more emotionally driven. They cook with patience and that’s the reason why maa ka khana remains a favourite.