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Photo: P. V. Sivakumar

TURN ON THE HEAT But not too much because meats lose their flavour if overdone

There is an invisible, magical element in our kitchen. It makes dishes reach magnificent heights or fall like a first-time soufflé. Most cooking disasters can directly be traced to it. You never really “see” it or measure it, but you know it’s indispensable. It’s heat. Yep, that something you keep adjusting as you cook. Even salads have to be served at the right temperature so the juices don’t run too much.

Heat changes the chemistry of what you cook. It changes the texture and flavour. Even 5-10 degrees can alter the taste. How many of you will accept a lukewarm cup of coffee? You are frustrated that the kadai takes forever to heat up, the oil cools the minute the vadai goes in. Potato burns outside but remains hardcore. You feel sapped of energy standing in the thermal landscape. And because heat flows in and out, a perfectly made dish can taste flat if there’s delay in bringing it to the table.

“Absolutely!” said Manuel Mitra, Executive Chef, Le Royal Meridien, rushing out of the kitchen to serve a treatise on how he controls temperatures in his pantry. His steak is turning, so meat is what he begins with. “The best meat is half done, though it’s cooked to the customer’s preference. When you overcook meat, vegetable or pasta, it absorbs a lot of water and begins leaching when you add the seasoning. Rice does not absorb flavour when overdone. Cook whole chicken at 200 degrees for 45 minutes. Chicken at low temperatures is rubber. Grill for 10 minutes. Cook pork at 160 – 170 degrees over a few hours. Turn the temperature on high, it’s as good as wood. Beef and lamb generally at 200 degrees, but it’s what the guest wants. If he wants it rare, no matter. I can serve it with an excellent sauce.” He’s not happy that Indians love their food overcooked. “Cook veggies in different conditions and they complain they are not cooked. My veggies cook at 60 -70 degrees C. I sauté them and keep them ready and add the sauce in the end.”

Soup? “Add sweet corn kernels to water at boiling temperature,” said Sakthivel, Sous Chef, Le Royal Meridien, checking if I caught the joke. Chicken soup simmers, reduction brings out strong flavours. Boil to clarify scum in meat soup. Boil fish only for eight minutes. It has maximum rancidity. Grilled fish? 200 degrees is normal. “When you fry fish, reduce heat and leave it for a few minutes. It gets cooked fully. Leave it to rest.”

“I learnt fish cooking from my grandma,” he said, throwing the hard-earned degrees to the wind. “Prawn takes longer to cook, but you need to stop when it’s almost done. Or it gets harder. If shank and mutton are not tender, she would say, “It’s already dead, don’t kill it anymore.”

Mitra is surprised baking even enters the discussion. “Precise temperature,” he declares. If it’s 200 degrees C, it must be exactly that. The gluten and the flour in the mixture can change the temperature. The oven has to be pre-heated. Or your cake will be fluffy at the top and lumpy at the bottom. Cake drops are all about temperature and proofing time. It’s the right oven, right temperature and the right time needed. The best ice-cream flops if it is not cold enough.”

“Cooking is heat management,” said 79-year-old Andal Rangaswamy, author of a cookery book. You can only nod after the helpings at her multi-item feast. “Milagu rasam to methi paratta, the general mantra is heat: high – medium – low. Take mysore pak. You start stirring at a high temperature, cook besan on medium heat, slow down burner and wait for the bubbles to form before pouring it out.”

Stir vegetables from time to time so the heat reaches all sides of the pieces equally, she said. Pickles need a high temperature to start with. “Keep stirring the mixture gently till done. You know how the halwa is made. For best results, press the murukku into very hot oil, but reduce the heat and allow it to get completely cooked. The innards should be well done, right?” Choose the right vessel so it gets heated quickly. “We all learn about heat levels over the years, don’t we?”

Cover with a lid while cooking.

Cook green veggies quickly to retain colour.

On medium heat, keep turning the contents.

Check your cooking appliances. Are they efficient?

Save fuel bills by soaking dals.

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