Bare essentials

The more intricate dishes are being dropped from Indian menus at home. Chef Anjum Anand in her new television show puts forward techniques to prepare traditional recipes in a less involved process, writes Mathures Paul

Contrary to popular belief, chef Anjum Anand is on a mission to prove that anybody can cook Indian food. The celebrated chef is back with a new television series that provides a new approach to classic Indian dishes. In each episode of Indian Food Made Easy on Discovery Travel & Living she looks at a different side to Indian cuisine before helping one of her novices plan, prepare and make dishes for a particular event. Anjum speaks to experts who reveal the secrets of tandoori cooking, how to make the perfect samosa, bake delicious naan and make Indian cheese. Mango kulfi and smooth and luxurious shrikand satiate the sweet tooth. Dosas, paneer with spinach and raita preparations complete what is a balanced meal. Part of the programme is also a look at certain Indian preparations that contain valuable ayurveda medicinal properties.
Anjum Anand grew up in London but has also lived and studied in Geneva, Paris and Madrid. After gaining a business degree she decided to develop her interest in Indian cookery and, in particular, making her native food lighter and simpler to cook. She has worked across the world in innovative restaurants such as Café Spice in New York, the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, and the Park Royal Hotel’s Indian restaurant in New Delhi, but her love is delicious and stylish food that is simple enough to cook at home.

Most Indian preparations take hours…
Cooking Indian food is not as complicated as most people think. It is easy and quick to make and exceptionally healthy. I consciously cut down on the cooking stages and the meal can be prepared in half its original time. I am sure Indian audiences will appreciate my show since nowadays people don’t have enough time to cook elaborate meals.
Also I think I cook for people of my generation. I want food to be tasty but also healthy and easy or quick to cook. I believe most Indian books contain recipes that have been handed down from one generation to the next. My recipes are rethought solely for this generation, from dinner party dishes to meals in a hurry to meals that you can eat on the go.
I think about what people like to eat at different times of the day and in different situations. I try to use ingredients that are easy to find. I try to have a range of dishes in the book, not too much of any one kind of thing and not too much fried food. I try to include lots of easy-to-cook dishes as well as more impressive dinner party ones.

How did the show come about?
First, as Indian food often seems difficult to the uninitiated it always help to watch someone do it to realise that it is actually not so difficult. TV really is the best medium to convey the message of Indian food can be easy to cook and it is beautiful and not just another “brown curry”.
I ensure that it doesn’t have 200 ingredients, for people are scared of cooking Indian food. They look at a recipe and they see six different spices, onion, garlic, ginger, may be some coconut, may be some tomatoes, may be some yoghurt plus the vegetable or the chicken, and this makes them very nervous. So, when they see it visually and they see how it can be done, they may try to cook it. And it is always that visual impact, you never have to say things in words because you know once you see it, you remember it.

You grew up in India, lived in Geneva, Paris and Madrid. Your travels must have influenced your cooking…
The food I grew up on was indistinguishable from food cooked in the homes of my relatives in India. Food travels well and doesn’t necessarily lose anything on the journey from its home.
I have spent lots of time in India and have eaten many, many meals there and understand proper Indian food. What I choose to do with that knowledge, however, is influenced by my environment and many of the dishes have a twist. It may be that by the next generation the knowledge would be diluted. It would be a shame. Overall my flavours are authentic, my technique not so.

By cutting down on steps, are we sacrificing on taste?
These days I find that the more complicated the dish, the less it is cooked. And we need reasons to cook more, not less. Unfortunately, even in India, I have noticed that the more intricate or complicated dishes are being dropped from family menus. I remember learning to make seviyan from my grandmother but nobody makes them anymore. The same can be said of our mithai, which were at one time made by the women of the house on special occasions and were delicious. Now, only specialist sweet shops sell these beautiful bites and I find most of them too sweet and not so fresh.
Whether we like it or not, many traditional food do not seem relevant in the modern world and with the younger generations. I am a traditionalist and a purist and I love the idea of cooking everything from scratch at home but I work and have little time for complex procedures.
I do cut down on steps that are superfluous. Occasionally, I do the same with a spice that seems to be unnecessary. It is the world we live in, everything has to be quick and easy. However, I do not believe that dishes suffer because I only take out something which is not adding much to a dish in the first place.

Indian food does not go down well with spa or weight treatment instructors…
I think Indian food has both heavy and light elements. Paneer, butter masala and parantha are just north Indian dishes. there are also many lighter dishes that are part of the mix ~ idlis, appams, dhoklas, steamed fish Bengali style etc... Actually, I consider paneer to be healthy, especially if you are a vegetarian as it is full of calcium and protein but no one is saying eat it at every meal.
I do not think we should be eating food that is fat free as that is not good for our body. We need fat to function. What I do believe is that we can cook our dishes in a moderate amount of oil and still have a great flavour. We do not need to add cream and butter to everything and we do not need to deep-fry everything. I am very proud of India’s culinary heritage and do feel it is a very healthy cuisine when eaten properly.

You have a house in Kolkata... Do Bengali preparations have the potential to become as popular as chicken tikka masala?
I am not sure if it is rated high among celebrity chefs. I have met and had the pleasure of eating the food of one celebrated Bengali chef in the UK and it was truly fantastic, I would absolutely recommend his food to everybody. But, I am not sure if it will ever be as popular as chicken tikka masala, not because this is better but as it has been on every Indian restaurant menu for decades and proper Bengali food is still unknown. I am hoping the food from all the regions are given a chance in this country, I think they all have wonderful experiences to offer.