Cheese with a twist

Down foodpath

Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a chef. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t think of this career possibility. So I enrolled myself in a hotel management course in 2006. It’s been a rollercoaster journey since then, in the greatest way possible.

My interest in cooking started when I was in school. My mother often went out of town and my dad and I used to take over the kitchen. We spent most of our time experimenting with ingredients and creating something delicious. We didn’t do anything too extravagant but we made our own versions of Indian and Continental dishes.

In school, all my classmates wanted to either become a doctor or an engineer. Thankfully, at the time I finished school, the hotel industry was booming. I thought it was a great opportunity to step out of the box and try something new. It has always portrayed itself as a glamorous world after all. There was also chef Sanjeev Kapoor who was telling us on television channels that your love for cooking can also take you places. Today I’m glad that I stuck to my decision.

But a lot has changed since then. The young chefs today have an ample number of options to choose from. Even though there is still very less room for mistakes, if one takes it positively, they can definitely learn from them as well. The commercial kitchens have also changed over the years.

When I began my career, I found the facilities in the kitchen to be superior to what I used to have at  home. But these have also been upgraded over the years. So there’s actually very less room for the newcomers to complain these days! 

The only advice I have for  youngsters is to work hard and never miss an opportunity to learn. It can be by watching others or from your own experimentation.

Being in the foodie city, the customers are also very open to experimentation and it is important for the chefs to also leverage that.

Being a multi-outlet chef now, I’ve also seen a massive change in the way food is presented today. However, no matter how fancy a meal you are used to making or having, nothing beats the good old ‘dal and chawal’. It’s still my favourite comfort food and something that I will never get bored of.

Nevertheless, the innovative version of the dishes today always has a story to tell. It could be the way it is prepared or where it is made.

The recipe that I share today is that of ‘Paneer Burraahh’. It is a simple dish that we have all tried but with my twist to it, it offers a new dining experience for you. The dish is thick, creamy and has the right flavour that you can enjoy at any time of the day. You can try it at home and enjoy it with hot ‘roti’ or rice.

Paneer Burraahh

Recipe

Ingredients

Amul butter, 1 1/2 tbsp
Amul cream, 2 1/2 tbsp
Cashewnut, 100 gm
Garlic, 4 cloves
Ginger, 1 tsp
Green chilli, 1
Degi mirch powder, 2 tsp
Kasoori methi powder,
1 tsp
Paneer,  120 gm
Refined oil, 2 tbsp
Sugar, t tbsp
Salt to taste
Tomato, 5 medium-sized

Method

Cut tomato into four pieces and put them in the aluminium vessel.
Mix all ingredients, except cream and butter.
Add some water to make the gravy.
Boil it till tomato gets boiled completely.
Grind all
mixture finely.
Add paneer to the gravy and cook till gravy gets little thick.
Add cream and butter to finish.
Sprinkle kasoori methi powder and drizzle some cream for garnish.


Gaurav Raghuvanshi
(As told to Anila Kurian)