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Captain cook
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Tarla Dalal was once a mother, now she is a brand. She tells DEEPA ALEXANDER about her latest series on recipes for health
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Photo: Mohd. Yousuf
WHY IS Sartre smelling of savouries, you wonder as you browse at a leading bookstore in the city. After a while you give up all pretence of looking for a suitable tome to peruse and follow your nose. It takes you to the other end of the store, to the cookbook section, the home of sugar and spice and everything nice.
Peaches, paneer, teppanyaki and tandoori. Ounces, litres, grams and teaspoons. Bake, bind, puree and pour. Sprigs, slices, bunches and juliennes. For a food lover these words spell heaven. And these are the words cookbooks are filled with. Cookbooks to treasure, preserve and leaf through. And try out a few recipes now and then. Whether your favourite cookbooks are silk bound and safely ensconced on bookshelves or they wear many a dog ear and gravy stain, chances are Tarla Dalal has been responsible for conjuring up those recipes and making magic with your mayonnaise and manna out of your khana.
And the latest offering from the diminutive creator of ingenious recipes is a health series for pregnant moms, infants, children, teenagers and even dieters and diabetics.
Not male domain
She is all about aromas emanating from tadkas and masalas. And she has been swearing by them since 50 years now. For someone who has been synonymous with cuisine since decades, enquiring about why men make better chefs is tricky. "That's not true. Women are equally good. I never gave it much thought, except that when I start cooking and receive accolades for it, the success just prods me on," she laughs leaving her tiny frame reverberating with the ring. Probably the success also stems from the tremendous reinvention she has brought about in the world of food. Her reputation as recipe queen is widespread and she has written something for everyone.
At the Idea Cellular showroom clad in an orange sari and pearls and looking aeons away from someone who brandishes a ladle, the queen of quick-fix recipes says, "Anybody can learn to cook. I learnt because my husband is a gourmand and he loved continental food. He gifted me British author Marguerite Patten's cookbooks. My mother's recipes I remember by heart. My mother was my first cookbook and I treasure these recipes as her invaluable bequest. I had the kitchen to myself only during afternoons and soon everyone was surprised when new dishes started turning up at the table."
Then came a natural progression to cooking classes and writing recipe books. "There was some opposition to the cooking classes from my mother-in-law. She said it was unnecessary me doing this maharaj's (cook) job." But that was laid to rest. The classes, which started in 1966, became so popular that they were booked in advance for two years. Her instructions have been the admonishing answer of many bahus, who have been stewed for not being schooled in the ways of the kitchen.
Tarla Dalal no longer takes classes. The undisputed big ben of Indian vegetarian cooking now has the world's appetite drooling with her concoctions that have been translated into several languages.
She has dished out in the last three decades, 50 titles that have been translated into even Dutch and Russian.
Don't be open-mouthed when you discover that a lady in Vladivostok is preparing a vangi bhaat, or a Dutch dame is awaking to delectable dosas for breakfast. For gastronomes the globe over, her website answers queries and hosts an interactive session with her daily.
With a bimonthly magazine Cooking And More and a T.V. show, Cook It Up With Tarla Dalal, she has come a long way. The show not only teaches the quintessential non-kitchen person to cook but also punches in a half-hour of entertainment with the lady's tongue-in-cheek style and easy-to-make recipes. "The cookbook culture is still inherent. Those with growing children want different food and my books, the website and the show keep that in mind."
Eating out
So with an in-house expert do the Dalals ever eat out? "We do a lot. My knowledge of Mexican and Thai cuisines comes from books and from what I have eaten." On how she gets her recipes together she says, "At my office I'm helped by a couple of nutritionists and other chefs. We read at least 8-10 books on a particular cuisine. Then we scout for locally available ingredients because it is not practical to include an ingredient that is only available in these countries. And we convert the non-vegetarian to vegetarian."
A modern chef at heart, Tarla has a few myths to bust. "The fact that slow cooking, oil or ghee makes good food is redundant today. I like to simplify cooking, make it less time consuming, and healthy." In tandem with her belief she vouches for the use of modern gadgetry especially the microwave.
Ask her if she has served up for celebrities, she answers in the negative but laughs when she says some of them have borrowed recipes.
Counting dhoklas as her favourite and playing bridge and gardening as her other pastimes she adds, "I never thought I'd come this far. My son helped me market my skills. I'm probably one of those few people who cook at work!"
With cook books on the anvil, demonstrations in the city and her daily ritual with the internet, Tarla Dalal's life is full.
And she is still looking for further recipes to conquer!
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