It takes a master to create flavours divine using innocuous vegetables. The trick lies in fleshing out stellar members of the plant kingdom and giving them a rather ritzy twist to court your palette. Chefs Mukhtar Qureshi, Vicky Ratnani, Saransh Goila, Saurabh Udinia and Amrita Raichand let out some of their secrets of how to cook up great dishes.
Nawab of Kebabs
“Nadru is also known as kamal kakri or bhey,” says Mukhtar Qureshi, master chef at Neel in suburban Mumbai. He picks plain vegetables to create a sheer palate serenader. “I get the nadru from Kashmir for its freshness and succulence. It is first reduced to a very fine mince. Then it is cooked on slow flame for three to four hours in milk and then sauted with onions, nutmeg and cardamom. I never use spices from Mumbai, only those from north India and freshly hand-pounded. Finally, the binding of the kebab is done using roast chana and mawa.” Nadru ke shammi. Soft, fragrant, melt-in-your-mouth kebabs, inspired by the shammi kebabs of Awadh. Qureshi style. In the first bite you can’t even tell that it’s not made of meat.
Challenge Cheat: Getting the best quality bhey is crucial.
Shilpi Madan for New Indian Express