CHEF
Can you tell us a bit about your career and what brought you to Indian food?
As an Indian and a professional chef I have been nurturing the dream of making Indian cuisine the number one in the world. My cookery shows, food channel, cookbooks, website all are created with the aim to glorify the richness of our food culture and to keep alive the traditions of Indian kitchen. After graduation, till mid-1992, I had donned different hats as a chef in ITDC Group at various properties. I had developed a fine sense of entrepreneurship while my stint at Shamiana, first upscale Indian restaurant in Wellington, New Zealand. In 1992, I returned to India to join Centaur Juhu, Mumbai as the youngest Executive Chef ever. Soon after, I received the offer to host Khana Khazana. This is 1993 and I did not know then that the history of Indian Television was about to get a chapter on India’s longest running show in all categories, that Khana Khazana would be aired nonstop in 150+ countries and be awarded for many consecutive years! I use the platform of TV to put forth my passion for Indian recipes.
Why did you think of coming up with a 24 hour channel like FOODFOOD in India?
Market in India, right now, for a food channel is at its height. Because in India, there are three things which are considered as great as religion – cricket, cinema and food. Cricket is well represented but not food. It is not that I decided to launch a food channel like FoodFood overnight. I was mulling over the concept for over five years because I had this firm belief that if one comes up with something which is different and unique, it will definitely succeed in a big way. We have received a fantastic response to our channel since its inception. The opening has been especially phenomenal and it would not be exaggeration on my part, if I were to state that we have had four times the response than our nearest competitive channel in India. If you ask me, in terms of statistics, I would say that the response is five times that of some of the biggest channels have had, as far as their viewership is concerned.
Whythe channel is called FOODFOOD?
We wanted to intrigue our viewers with the title. Thus, decided onto FoodFood! I want to reiterate that the channel is not just about food but also lifestyle. FoodFood is a complete channel which is very relevant to Indian viewers. The USP of the channel is that we do not repeat any old shows which havebeen done to death earlier but air absolutely fresh programmes. And I don’t think so that there isanother channel in the world that can boast of this. Today, the viewer is extremely smart and is not at all in a mood to eat stale food, no matter how good the food is. The USP of our channel is that it showcases all the emotions of food, fun, games, travel and health.
“Market for food channels is at its height in India, as three things are considered great as religion-Cricket, Cinema and Food.”
In what way is FOODFOOD different from Khana Khazana?
Let me reiterate that I did not part with bad blood. I have no complaints that they have launched their own food channel because I feel that the more the food channels come, the more the people benefit out of them, which makes me happy. If some other channel is helping me build my brand, I am happy and have no complaint. The fact is that I will be happier if there are more channels in India which are ready to devote to cookery shows and spread awareness about food in TOTO.
Do you go in for in house productions alone or also open for outside productions?
Though we take care of all productions where food is at the core, we also outsource to big production houses, besides our own in house Khana Khazana Productions to take care of the shows. It all depends on the expertise that a show requires, besides the costs involved in making it. As far as in house shows are concerned, we have more of instructional shows where more learning could be provided to our viewers by us.
“If I am called to be a celebrity guest or judge on a show like say Master Chef on Star, I’d be open for that.”
Are your shows too TRP driven?
The shows that we run on our channel are more content driven and through our shows, we try to create loyalty and affinity with our viewers, which, in several ways, is quite different from the viewership of the GEC channels. Even now, I am proud to state that the average time spent by a viewer on our channel is quite high when you compare that with the biggest of the GEC channels. The truth is that though we do not need to worry about garnering TRPs for our shows, from the point view of the ads, we feel that we need to be relevant in that space as well. Because in the long run we have to not only sustain ourselves in the market but also see to it that we are not making losses.
What is your prime time programme strategy as a channel?
The biggest plus point that our channel has is the fact that it is for the first time that a channel has been devoted wholly to cookery. As far as prime time is concerned, I’d say that for us its more in the mornings and early evenings, because by late evening, more people want to see the saas bahu shows on GEC channels. To wean away the viewers from watching these shows, we introduced more of lifestyle programmes in the evening.
What is your ad strategy?
There is no end to madness! Our belief is to connect at ground level than through hoardings. The number of viewers may be small, when you compare some of the GEC channels individually, but then the bond that our viewers have is huge. Initially, we had more viewership in big cities. But now we have distributors to beam our channel in tier 2 and 3 cities as well. The North has also caught up with FoodFood in a big way and we’ve had a great response. I should confess that the ad response to our channel is fantastic. We, as a strategy are creating more associates, by creating more partners instead of going for just straight ads.
To what extent does FOODFOOD depend on Bollywood celebrities?
If I am called to be a celebrity guest or judge on a show like Master Chef on Star, I’d be open for it. I am also open to team up with producers of films if they want to promote their films through our shows as it is the trend today, as if we can help and also get helped in the process, I feel there is no harm.
What are your future plans?
We are a credible channel with expertise. We are also looking at dedicated shows on beverages on our channel because like I said earlier, ours is not a channel which is just dedicated to food alone. We are constantly thinking of making the channel bigger than others. Today, the reach of my channel is much more than what it was earlier. We are already strong in the United States and Gulf. Apart from this, we are constantly looking for distributors out of India to expand internationally. We are shooting on HD and I am also looking at a complete 360 degree approach in the near future, where we plan events, awards functions, release of books, etc through our channel.
PURAN SINGH DA TARIWALA MURGH
INGREDIENTS INGREDIENTS
750 grams chicken, cut into 16 pieces on the bone,¼ cup oil, 2 one-inch cinnamon sticks, 5 green cardamons1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 black cardamons4 medium onions, sliced, Salt to taste1 tablespoon ginger paste, 2 tablespoon garlic paste1 cup browned onions, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chilli powder, 5 teaspoons coriander powder4 teaspoons garam masala powder, 1 cup fresh tomato puree 1 teaspoon green cardamon powder, 8 green chillies, chopped½ cup + 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves,1½ inch ginger pieces, chopped, 1 teaspoon red chilli (deghi mirch) powder
METHOD:
•Heat the oil in a deep non stick pan, add the cinnamon, green cardamons, cumin seeds and black cardamons and sauté for two minutes. Add the onions and sauté till lightly browned.
•Add the salt, ginger paste and garlic paste and sauté for two to three minutes
•Add the browned onions, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, four teaspoons coriander powder and three teaspoons garam masala powder and sauté for two minutes.
•Add the tomato puree and chicken and sauté for four to five minutes.
•Add the green cardamon powder and sauté for two to three minutes more. Add the green chillies and half cup coriander leaves and sauté for five minutes.
•Add two cups water and mix well. Cook for ten minutes on medium heat.
•Add the ginger, remaining coriander powder, red chilli powder and remaining garam masala powder and mix well.
•Take the pan off the heat, remove the chicken pieces and strain the gravy into another deep non stick pan and add the chicken pieces.
•Grind the residue and add to the gravy and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for four to five minutes.
•Serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves.
SHAAM SAVERA
INGREDIENTS INGREDIENTS
For spinach covering2 small bunches (500 grams) fresh spinach leaves, blanched, drained and pureed, 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera) 5 garlic cloves, chopped, 1 inch ginger piece, chopped 2 teaspoons green chilli paste, 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder,3 tablespoons cashewnut powder, Salt to taste8 tablespoons roasted chana powder, Cornflour for dustingFor kofta filling, ½ cup grated cottage cheese (paneer),¼ tablespoon green cardamom powder, ¼ tablespoon white pepper powder, Salt to taste¼ tablespoon cornflour, Oil for deep fryingFor gravy ¼ cup oil, ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera)2 cloves, 2 black cardamoms10 green cardamoms, 1 inch cinnamon stick1 medium onion, sliced, 8 garlic cloves, chopped1 inch piece ginger, chopped, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder5 medium tomatoes, halved, ½ tablespoon red chilli (deghi mirch) powder, Salt to taste¼ cup butter¼ cup broken cashewnuts1½ tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)½ tablespoon green cardamom powder1 teaspoon honeyFor garnish2 teaspoons fresh cream½ ginger piece, cut into thin strips1 green chilli, seeded and cut into thin strips
METHOD:
•For the spinach covering, melt the butter in a non stick pan. Add the caraway seeds and sauté until they begin to change colour. Add the spinach puree, garlic, ginger, green chilli paste, green cardamom powder, coriander powder, cashewnut powder, salt and roasted chana powder and cook, stirring, till dry. Spread it out on a plate and set aside in a refrigerator to cool completely.
•For the kofta filling, mix together the paneer, cardamom powder, white pepper powder, salt and cornflour and mix well.
•Divide into eight equal portions and roll into balls. Keep them in the refrigerator till required.
•For the gravy, heat the oil in a deep non stick pan. Add the caraway seeds, cloves, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cinnamon, onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric powder and sauté for five to seven minutes.
•Add the tomatoes, red chilli powder, salt and one cup water and cook, stirring for five minutes. Add the butter, cashewnuts, kasoori methi, green cardamom powder and honey and mix well. Let the gravy simmer for ten to fifteen minutes on medium heat. Set aside to cool.
•Grind and strain the gravy into a bowl and discard the residue.
•To make the koftas, heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Divide the spinach mixture into eight equal portions. Coat each paneer ball with a portion of spinach and roll into a round ball. Roll the balls lightly in cornflour. Deep fry on medium heat for three to four minutes. Drain on absorbent paper and set aside to cool slightly.
•To serve, pour the curry into a serving bowl. Halve the koftas horizontally and place them on the top of the gravy.
•Garnish with a swirl of fresh cream, ginger and green chilli strips and serve.
