Down Foodpath: Happiness is homemade

Having worked in the city for 10 years, I’ve learnt that people love coming to restaurants and feel like they are dining at home. They want to rekindle those memories and truly enjoy the dishes.

That’s probably where my interest in specialising home cooked curries came into being.

I don’t have any formal education in culinary arts. I didn’t want to be a part of this world at all. But somewhere I started to converse with people in the culinary world and they told me how it actually worked.

I loved how they care for each ingredient. The way a chef cares about the dish he prepares from scratch was amazing to me. Everything has a certain way to be handled, measured and prepared. That’s the only way a perfect dish can be prepared. I, too, wanted to be someone who could do that so I joined the industry. I learnt everything I had to by asking and learning from others.

Growing up, I was the youngest in the family. My mother was always in the kitchen preparing something exciting for us. Many years later, I still call her up and ask her for recipes. I use that as an inspiration and give it my own twist.

While I want to keep the dishes authentic, I think giving it own my flavour to it help enhance its flavour.

I also like making desserts. My most memorable dessert created is the layered Nutella and Ferrero Rocher cake that I made it in front of a live audience once. Since then, I have had many requests to make it. Till I left my old organisation, I used to have a regular set of customers who came just to have the dessert too.

That’s probably what I love about being a chef. The experimentation never ends.

I love holidays and festival seasons as I get to recreate the popular dishes and make it my own. The joy when the customers have it and tell me that they enjoyed my preparation, I know that I have done justice.

Today’s recipe of ‘Koli Chatti Curry’ is something I learnt from my friend’s grandmother in Tamil Nadu. I went there to attend a wedding and I saw the grandmother make the curry. I fell in love with it and I knew that I had to learn how to make it.

I’ve had a lot of tasty dishes in my life but nothing beats this flavour. Since the dish is prepared in a matka, the clay pot gives a flavour that a regular vessel doesn’t. The coconut-based spicy chicken curry prepared with coconut oil is a must-have.

Pratap Kumar CA
Executive Chef at The Pearl - Gourmet Food

Koli Chatti Curry

Koli Chatti Curry

Ingredients

• Onions, 100 gm
• Tomato, 50 gm
• Green chilli, 30 gm
• Curry leaves, 5 gm
• Coriander leaves,
• 20 gm
• Ginger garlic paste, 20 gm
• Black pepper, 5 gm
• Red chilli whole, 10 gm
• Coconut grated, 50 gm
• Coconut oil, 20 ml
• Whole garam masala, 10 gm
• Salt, 10 gm
• Turmeric powder, 2 gm
• Country chicken,200 gm

Method

• Cut chicken on bone in cube shape.
• Marinate with chilli powder and ginger garlic paste. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
• Take grated coconut, green chilli, coriander leaves, black pepper whole, red chilli whole, blend them together to make a fine paste.
• In a matka, add coconut oil and keep it on low flame. Add chopped chilli, onion and saute it on low flame until it turns light golden brown
• Add the marinated chicken and cook for 7 minutes. Now add the homemade masala paste.
• Cook for 12 minutes. Finally add garam masala and stir for 2 minutes.
• Add coriander leaves for garnish.