JOIN USNoted chefs are now creating sumptuous dishes for airlines to ensure that your taste buds are tantalised even when you are amidst the clouds. What’s more, you can actually recreate those fancy business-class meals in your own kitchen, writes Preeti Verma Lal.
Every person, be it a gourmand or a frugal eater, knows about the quartet of taste: sweet, sour, bitter, salty.
This is no rocket science and is ground-level reality. But did you know your taste buds behave differently at higher altitudes? This might sound like freaky science, but the moment you step into an aircraft, your noise dries up and your sense of smell starts fading. At a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, your taste buds vanish and cotton mouth sets in.
Is it surprising then that for many years, airlines have been sedulously studying the science of high-altitude food? And it is to beat this insipid mid-air food syndrome that Qatar Airways hired four Michelin-starred Master Chefs to redo the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s business-class menu.
Nobu Matsuhisa, Tom Aikens, Ramzi Choueiri and London-based, Indian-born Vineet Bhatia, each a master of his cuisine, spent months tweaking their favourite recipes for the moneyed business travellers. For them, it was not merely about spices and flavours – they dug into science to prepare dishes best-suited for long-haul flights.
For example, on a 16-hour flight across 12,731 km from Doha to Dallas, there’s fish kebbeh, thyme-roasted chicken breast, mushroom paratha, classic Arabic mezze, mustard and dill salmon, spinach-paneer tikki on the menu.
For Vineet Bhatia, the only Indian who runs two restaurants with Michelin stars, rustling scrumptious dishes for the airline was like a detour from his childhood dream. “I got into the kitchen by mistake, I wanted to be a pilot,” he admits. It isn’t an easy run though.
Due to pressurised aircraft cabin, the dishes need to be picked carefully. Stronger flavours through herbs, spices, seasonal ingredients are absolute essential. So, Vineet hunched over recipes, picked lessons from science of airline food and pulled rabbits out of his toque.
But to savour his spinach-paneer tikki, pineapple korma, flaky vegetable parcel, or Nobu’s signature block cod, you’ll have to pull out wads of money to buy a business-class ticket.
It can burn a huge hole in the pocket. Wish you could cook a business-class meal at home? You can now. Vineet shares some of his recipes. Take the recipes into the kitchen. Boil, poach, beat and braise. Then, grill, fry, bake and simmer. Get the dish on the table and dig your fork into the sumptuous fare. Fly high, business-class style, in your own home, minus the jetlag and expenditures.
Pineapple korma
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil:15gm
Mustard seeds:2gm
Garlic, chopped:5gm
Ginger, chopped:2gm
Green chilli, chopped:2gm
Onion, chopped:25gm
Curry leaves:1gm
Turmeric powder:0.5gm
Pineapple, small, peeled and
diced into 1 cm cubes:290gm
Thick coconut milk:280gm
Jaggery:15gm
Salt:to taste
Method:
In a pan, heat vegetable oil and add the mustard seeds. As they splutter, add the chopped garlic, ginger, green chilli, and onion and curry leaves, saute for a minute. Add the turmeric powder and pineapple dices, saute for another minute and then pour in the coconut milk. As the mixture comes to a boil, add the jaggery and salt and stir.
Vegetable oil:20gmMustard seeds:3gmGarlic, chopped:10gmGreen chilli, chopped:3gmGinger, chopped:6gm Onion, finely chopped:30gmCurry leaves: 1gmAssorted vegetables(carrot, beans, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus), boiled and diced:530gmTurmeric powder:0.5gmCumin powder:0.5gmCoriander powder:0.5gmRed chilli powder:0.5gmBrown coconut, grated:50gmLemon, juice:9gmCheddar cheese:50gm8 sheets filo pastry, cut into 6 inch squaresMelted butter, to brush:10gmFresh coriander, chopped:30gmSalt : to taste
Method:
Heat vegetable oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. As they splutter, add the chopped garlic, ginger, green chillies and onion, saute for 30 seconds and add the curry leaves and the vegetables. Sprinkle in the powdered spices – turmeric, red chilli, cumin and coriander, saute for a minute and add the grated coconut, lemon juice and salt.
Toss the mixture, remove from fire and cool in a tray and add cheddar cheese. Place four filo pastries on the table and lightly brush with melted butter and sprinkle some coriander leaves, place another four filo pastries on top and seal them together. Spoon the vegetables on the filo and make an envelope. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degrees for four minutes or till the pastry turns golden.
Spinach-paneer tikki
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter:25gmCumin seeds:2gmGarlic, chopped:10gmFresh ginger, finely chopped:8gmGreen chilli, finely chopped:3gmRed onion, chopped:35gmSpinach, blanched & chopped:225gmPaneer, finely grated:100gmRed-skinned potato, peeled, boiled and grated:135gmGaram masala powder:1gmFresh coriander, finely chopped:10gmPlain flour, for dusting:30gmVegetable oil:50gmSalt: to taste
Method:
Heat butter in a pan and add the cumin seeds. As they splutter, add the chopped garlic, ginger, green chilli and onion. Saute for a minute and add the grated paneer and potatoes, saute for two more minutes and add the chopped spinach, garam masala powder and salt, mix well.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Mix in the coriander and check the seasoning. Shape the mixture into circular discs, about 2 x 6 cm, and chill in the fridge until firm.
Lightly dust the cake with flour. Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and fry the tikki on both sides until golden.