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  A Kayasth table of flavours

A Kayasth table of flavours

AGE CORRESPONDENT | SURUCHI KAPUR GOMES
Published : Oct 20, 2016, 11:16 pm IST
Updated : Oct 20, 2016, 11:16 pm IST

The community cuisine comes to the table, with stories, anecdotes and history with Anoothi Vishal’s debut book

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The community cuisine comes to the table, with stories, anecdotes and history with Anoothi Vishal’s debut book

Food inundates existence. Yet, there are facets left unexplored that need more than just gusto. Writer, food critic, cook and traveller Anoothi Vishal strikes a distinctly unique note in the recipe and chef laden scenario which prevails with her new book on the Kayasth foodscape, her debut Mrs LC’s Table.

The book was recently launched in the city as she is also curating a spread of Kayasth khatirdari at the Olive Beach. “While food might be the essence of our culture, it’s more about recipes than really exploring the links and origins. Food history is something nobody in India talks about and I felt the need to tell those stories,” says the Delhi-based Anoothi. Addressing this, Vishal, a seasoned writer of Kayasth cooking decided to write a book that not only follows the cuisine through its Muslim and hinterland influences, but also explores it in a warm and very personal account — and Mrs LC is her dear Barima or grandmother!

The book is an ode to the Kayasth way of life, with 20 recipes, typical cooking styles, influences, ingredients, the difference in the tempering, the mores and customs, all from a community spread across India.

The former journalist-turned-food explorer is also known for her off the radar pop-ups in Delhi where she curates food evenings, of Kayasth fare where she herself cooks and curates to celebrate, revive, and explore. She has also done pop-ups on Greek and Moroccan food too, though Anoothi stresses, “I do pop-ups on Kayasth as I know the cuisine and bring an authentic touch to the curation.

For the others, I work with a Greek or a Moroccan who brings their expertise to the table.” Since most North Indian fare follows similar tenets, what makes Kayasth food different

“The ingredients are the same, but how we handle and make dishes is different. We do a lot of dum, bhuna, there are a lot of meat influences. A dal might have a different chownk (tempering). I explore how the Kayasths use ingredients and how these influences have evolved,” she explains about the book that tells stories about the community’s origin and its vegetarian heritage, the Ganga-Jamuni fusion, the pasanda and bharwan practices and the colonial and Victorial influences.

Of course, the warmth of her grandmother’s kitchen, even if Mrs LC did cooked only occasionally creates its own camaraderie. If the Punjabis in Patiala had their legendary Patiala peg, the Kayasths apparently did the Scotch one quite well!

“As I was already writing columns, it was something that always intrigued me. I thought about how one could find the sociology and links and how the Kayasth and ganga-jamuni culture came to be. I didn’t want a recipe book or a food book, but something further,” she explains.

She has another book on agenda. “It’s a book on restauranting and trends,” is all she reveals. “Deeply interested in experimentation, I love exploring — when I was in Denmark I did something on the gin culture. I just came back from the US and was in Nevada doing something on gin made from barn. Even my pop-ups are authentic curations. I had been to a pop-up in Melbourne held on the Yarra River, where the chef used the recycle theme. From saw boat interiors to toilets to crockery and cutlery, it was all about recycling. He also served harvested rain water, and the attention to detail was not gimmicky,” says the Kayasth girl who is curating a meal today of the cuisine her “barima” dished out, along with the Kayasth men like her father and uncle who loved to cook memories she wants to share, to give the cuisine a shot in the arm.

Bharwan Karele What Anoothi says: These was by far the favourite summer vegetarian dish. The balance of the fennel and amchoor flavour while spicing the filling is the key to executing this dish perfectly, as is also sourcing small, even-sized green bitter gourd.

Ingredients 500 gm small, even-sized green karelas (bitter gourd) 11 cup oil to fry l kg onions (thinly sliced) 2 tsp amchoor powder 11 tbsp fennel powder Salt to taste String to tie the bitter gourd

Method Scrape the karelas, slit each from the centre and take the seeds out. Rub each with salt and put on a tray placed at an angle to drain out the bitterness of the vegetable. Leave the karelas standing like this for a couple of hours. In a kadhai, heat 1 cup oil and fry all the sliced onions till brown.

Egg curry What Anoothi says: A favourite at home, this dish was my obsession through childhood, along with bhindi.

Ingredients 4 eggs 4 potatoes, the size of eggs, peeled, scored with a knife and deep-fried till reddish brown 4 tbsp oil and oil for frying 1 tbsp ginger paste 1 tbsp garlic paste 500 gm onion paste 1 black cardamom, pounded to lightly crack the shell Salt to taste 100 gm tomato purée 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder 2-3 cups water 1 tsp garam masala powder A small bunch of fresh green coriander, finely chopped

Method Boil eggs and deep-fry till golden brown. Use the same oil to deep-fry the potatoes. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil and sauté the ginger and garlic pastes. Then, add the onion paste and salt and saute it till the masala turns reddish brown. Add the black cardamom and stir fry for I minute till it releases its aroma. Add tomato purée and dry spices other than garam masala. Saute some more till oil floats on top. Add eggs and potatoes, and water. Cover and cook on dum, on a low flame, till the potatoes are well done. Adjust water if necessary to get a thick gravy. If you add water, make sure to bring the curry to a boil. Sprinkle with the garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves.