My interest in cooking started when, as a child, I used to help my mother in the kitchen.
The first time I cooked something myself was during my pre-university days. I made ‘bhindi ki bhujia’, dal and rice, using my mother’s recipe. It turned out good and that encouraged me to continue cooking.
Later, I visited the three-star hotel that my brother was working in. I got a chance to see how the hotel industry works and was thoroughly impressed by it.
I went on to work in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata for a few years before I moved to Bengaluru.
Once here, I observed that a majority of the IT crowd likes to eat and party outside. The ones who travel abroad are open to experimenting but the ones who are more homebound, are particular to classic dishes like chicken or paneer tikka.
I love cooking with just about anything and everything. Using local ingredients like seasonal fruits and vegetables is important to me, as this also improves our health while helping our local farmers.
I like preparing healthier foods and love Pan Asian cuisine because it is not fully cooked. Indian cooking involves a lot of masala, butter and takes time.
I’m sharing the recipe of ‘Sweet and Sour Pomelo Argula Salad’, which is a personal favourite. The fruit is available across nine months in the city.
This salad with arugula, mixed lettuce, and pomelo tossed with ginger-based sour dressing will serve one.
Recipe: Sweet and Sour Pomelo Argula Salad
Ingredients
Pomelo Fresh – 250 gm
Lettuce Arugula – 100 gm
Lettuce iceberg – 50 gm
Lettuce Lollo Rosso – 50 gm
Dressing – Sweet and Sour tangy -- 50 ml
Pomegranate fresh – 100 gm
Method
Take a mixing bowl and add all the lettuce
Take out Pomelo Wedges
In the salad bowl arrange the lettuce, on top arrange the Pomelo
Pour the dressing on top of the lettuce
To prepare the dressing sweet and sour tangy
Ingredients
Sugar castor – 20 gm
Lemon Juice – .05 litre
Table salt – 2.5 gm
Finely ground black pepper – 2.5 gm
Mint leaves fresh – 5 gm
Fresh ginger – 5 gm
Fresh red chilly – 5 gm
Oil salad – 20 ml
Method
Chop the mint, ginger and deseeded red chilly finely.
In a bowl put sugar, lemon juice, salt sugar, and the chopped ingredients.
Mix the dressing properly and add salad oil.
(Chef Swatantra Kumar, food and production director, Brahma Brews)
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