When Chef Pravin Lad takes over a restaurant’s kitchens, he has just one agenda in mind — to marry different flavours harmoniously. Lad, a senior sous chef at Zenzi, the restobar in Bandra in Mumbai, is brimming with recipes from around the world. A routine day is spent tossing up French, Thai, Japanese, Mediterranean and Indonesian delicacies in a restaurant that is a popular haunt with Mumbaikars. He loves the challenge of his job at Zenzi and likes to keep out of the limelight and let his cooking do all the talking.

“Each day, the restaurant is filled with different kinds of people with varying tastes. There are also regulars who keep coming back for more of the same — their favourite dishes,” he says.

Pravin has been part of Zenzi’s journey since 2004. He completed a three-year course from Chefair Flight Catering in Mumbai in ’97 and gained hands-on-experience at Gordon House in Mumbai where he worked between 1998 and 2000. From there it was on to Tea Centre where he stayed till 2003 drumming up Continental and Italian cuisine.

What’s the toughest challenge he faces on a daily basis? “Getting the ingredients right for a fusion dish. The cuisine has to be creative and well-designed and the flavours and ingredients must be compatible.”

Besides fusion he also likes to cook Italian dishes like Ossobucco which has lamb legs served with Thai and Laksha (coconut sauce) and the Five Spice Duck which is duck breast cooked in five-spice powder, dark soya sauce, sweet soya sauce and served with pickled pasta. Another signature dish is the vegetarian Siciliana which is cooked in a base of tomato, creamy cheese and mushrooms. “I am very intrigued by Italian cuisine and the fact that it hardly ever employs hot spices,” he says.

On the other hand he likens French cuisine to an art form. “French cuisine celebrates innovations,’’ he says.

Here he shares some recipes that are close to his heart and also carry the promise that they are very easy to prepare.

FETA AND POMEGRANATE SALAD

Ingredients

300gm feta cheese
A dash of lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
110gm almond flakes
4 small handfuls of mixed rocket, spinach and watercress
2tbs olive oil
1tbs sesame oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pomegranates, seeds only

Method

Put the feta in a shallow dish, squeeze the lemon juice over it and add the garlic. Marinate for about three hours. Toast the almonds in a medium grill until lightly browned. Toss the rocket, spinach and watercress in a large salad bowl with the olive oil, sesame oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. Crumble in the marinated feta and add the pomegranate seeds and toasted almonds. Serve straightaway.

CHICKEN AND PRAWN DIMSUM

Ingredients

100gm peeled prawns, chopped
225gm chicken, finely chopped
50gm Chinese cabbage, finely chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
1 egg, beaten
2tbs cornflour (or cornstarch)
2tsp soy sauce
1tsp sesame oil
1tsp oyster sauce
24 wonton skins
Oil for deep-frying

Method

Mix the prawns, chicken, cabbage and spring onions together. Mix the egg, corn flour, soy sauce and sesame oil along with oyster sauce. Place spoonfuls of the mixture on to the centre of each wonton skin. Gently press the wrappers around the filling, tucking the edges together but leaving the tops open. Heat the oil and fry the dim sums until golden brown. Drain well and serve hot.

BROCCOLI WITH UDON NOODLES

Ingredients

4 mushrooms
4tbs peanut oil
8 ounces of firm tofu
4 dried red chillies, each broken in half
3 garlic cloves, minced
1tbs fresh ginger, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
1½ cups of won bok (Chinese cabbage), shredded
1 medium carrot
1lb udon noodles
1 head of broccoli , broken into florets
1tbs sesame oil
1tbs black bean sauce
1tbs sugar
1tsp soy sauce
1 (10 ounce) can bamboo shoots , chopped
2tsp rice vinegar
2tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Method

If using dried mushrooms, soak them for 15 minutes in warm water. Discard the centre stem. Chop the mushrooms into small, bite-sized pieces. Peel and slice the carrot into juliennes. Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Slice the tofu into three slabs. Heat two tablespoons of peanut oil in a pan. Fry both sides of the tofu slabs until lightly browned. Remove from pan and let the tofu slabs cool on paper towels to drain any oil. Cut the slabs into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat the remaining peanut oil in a wok or large pan. Add the chillies, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for a minute, then add the onions and cook until it’s slightly softened — for about about 3 minutes. Drop the udon noodles and the broccoli into the water (let this cook while you are stir-frying). In the wok, add the cabbage, carrot juliennes and mushrooms. Stir-fry until the cabbage wilts. Drain noodles and broccoli in a colander, then add to wok. Stir in sesame oil, black bean sauce, sugar, soy sauce and bamboo shoots. Stir-fry for two minutes. Turn off heat. Remove chillies. Stir in vinegar and lemon juice. Stir in tofu cubes (stir gently so as not to break up the tofu). Serve in bowls garnished with sesame seeds.