Chandra Mohan Prasad at his residence in Ranchi. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Not many people know that the person credited with the introduction of the CBSE curriculum in Jharkhand is also an excellent cook, especially when it comes to mouth-watering non-vegetarian dishes.

The chef par excellence has Babulal Marandi as one of his admirers. He is none other than the former human resources and rural development minister Chandra Mohan Prasad.

In the former chief minister?s words: ?Prasadji is a great cook and I have often requested him to cook his special mutton dishes, that is, till I turned vegetarian. He cooked for us even when he was a minister.?

Marandi says Prasad is not only a great cook, but also, a great host who loves to entertain. And then Prasad confirms the rumours by ranting off recipes with elan.

Prasad not only cooks well, but as far as we are concerned he does a great job in explaining the processes as well. Though he is a non-vegetarian specialist there are one or two ready recipes for vegetarians that he can whip up as well.

One of his favourite recipes is as simple, as it is delicious. For this dish, raw mutton mixed with regular spices is sealed inside a bamboo with wire. Then, it is cooked in an oven using firewood. The dish, which can be cooked only in small quantities, is ready in less than half-an-hour and tastes great, says Prasad. And it is his favourite plate of mutton. For Prasad, the aroma, the texture and the taste of the mutton cooked is at par with the best restaurants anywhere.

A passionate cook, he does not shy away from elaborate processes. His other favourites include, mutton cooked in fresh saal leaves. In this recipe, mutton is wrapped in leaves and cooked in the fire of dry saal leaves. The smell of the burning leaves gets into the mutton and that adds on to the taste.

Prasad believes the reason behind such innovative cooking methods lay in the fact that villagers did not have access to ovens.

Even now people from forest areas often cook ?bamboo mutton? and ?saal mutton? in picnics and parties. ?Food cooked on firewood tastes better than food prepared on a gas or coal oven,? says the busy politician, who regularly cooks in his free time.

The ex-minister developed an interest in cooking when he became a lawyer, but it turned into a passion when he went to Patna in 1995, after being elected an MLA from Giridih .

?I used to live alone in Patna with my family back home in Giridih. There was a cook who prepared my food, but often I used my free time by trying my hand at preparing a variety of non-vegetarian dishes,? he adds with a laugh.

Many friends and contemporaries from the BJP such as Dukha Bhagat, Abhay Kant Prasad and Ravindra Rai, were regular invitees to taste Prasad?s culinary expertise. He remembers, once Karia Munda called up to complain if Prasad will continue treating only Marandi with his dishes. This resulted in Prasad throwing a party for Karia Munda. ?Babulalji is certainly a food lover, he has tasted many non-veg items the first time at my place. They were all prepared by me,? Prasad tells.

His hobby continues to grow even when the politician is in Giridih or in his village in Maheshiadigih. Recently, he prepared mutton for all the family members during Durga Puja and soon he will throw a party for his lawyer friends who have asked for a get together.

Prasad, also credits his wife for teaching him the finer nuances of cooking. If he is at home he often helps his wife in the kitchen though she does not like his interference. But, his wife and children often demand mutton be cooked by him.

?Usually mutton is cooked by male members at family functions or festivals,? he said. And talent runs in the family, as Prasad?s brothers and children are also good cooks.

The former Giridih MLA who also loves to read utilises his free time these days by reading as many books, novels and magazines as possible. ?I love reading newspaper editorials. I subscribe to four newspapers and make it a point to read the editorials everyday. Besides, I enjoy watching the news and some special channels like Aastha, Sanskaar, National Geographic and Discovery,? he adds.

Anupam Sheshank