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Light and delicious bites

Haute cuisine For Anjum Anand presentation of food is important

Anjum Anand is on a mission to prove Indian food is easy to prepare and is light as air. The London-based chef and food writer says on the phone: “In each episode of my show ‘Indian Food Made Easy’, I help friends and family plan and prepare an entire meal for different occasions. In one episode, my friend, Alex is planning to have the boys over to watch the final of the FA Cup. Usually what they would do is order Indian takeaway. I persuade Alex to prepare a meal at home. So I show him how to make an easy, quick, macho meal. Another time I persuaded Elisha Carter who runs a health spa in Somerset to put Indian food on the menu as it too can be light and healthy. I designed the menu with avial, dal and bhindi.”

In the series, based on her bestselling book, Anjum discusses every aspect on Indian cooking from the search for the perfect samosa to “pairing Indian food with wine.”

The busy wife and mother says the idea for the series came from the fact that “not many in the UK cook Indian food. Suddenly you are not living with mum, you don’t know how to cook Indian food and you are longing for mum’s cooking.”

Anjum believes in the need to preserve the culinary heritage of a region. “While it is good to be exposed to and experiment with different cuisines, it is also necessary to preserve the legacy. The heritage has dwindled. There are aspects of, say, Kashmiri cuisine that have just vanished into oblivion.

To all those who believe that the only way to cook, is to follow a recipe fanatically, Anjum says: “It depends on how familiar you are with the cuisine. If you have cooked the particular cuisine before, then you can adjust or substitute ingredients as per taste and availability.”

Not a great fan of gadgets, Anjum’s mantra is “to go with what you have. You can always adapt. Like I made khandwa once in a muffin tin! People who cook know what to have. One thing I have discovered is, a hand blender is a good thing to have for Indian cooking.”

Presentation, Anjum says, is important as “food needs to look good. It could be simple things like a pomegranate or rose petals garnish that make the dish look appetising. Even the tableware makes a difference.”

Of chefs turning superstars, Anjum laughs saying: “Don’t you think it is time they came out? Ours is a celebrity- obsessed culture and not just chefs, but even doctors, psychologists are all now taking centre stage. The other thing I have noticed is the less you cook, the more food shows you watch!”

Anjum feels the filmi avatars of chefs have been fairly accurate. “There is so much pressure in the kitchen and so I know where the temper is coming from. However, I have worked with chefs who are incredibly calm and deliver consistently. But I guess the diva style makes for better television right?”

Indian Food Made Easy will air on Discovery Travel & Living every Saturday at 8.30 p.m. with a repeat every Sunday at 12 noon

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