Soha Ali Khan Kemmu was in town with chef Kunal Kapur of MasterChef India fame to launch the Magnum brand of ice cream. t2 caught up with the duo at a workshop in Taj Bengal.
You dig Diet Coke and chocolate. Isn’t that contradictory?
Soha: Yessss! But life is full of contradictions. I consider myself a healthy person in terms of food habits. But there are certain things I make exceptions for. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink frequently so I feel I am allowed a few vices. Aerated drinks are bad for you. So I won’t advocate aerated drinks. But I do (drink it)! Chocolates are good for you. Of course, like everything else in life, you shouldn’t go overboard. Neither should you replace fruits and vegetables with chocolates but there are many things you can replace with a bar of dark chocolate, which is proven to be good for your brain and your heart. And it makes you happy.
Magnum, the ice cream brand you are launching, has Belgian chocolate on the ice cream. Isn’t that double the sin?
Soha: It’s double the pleasure! I don’t have a sweet tooth, I have a chocolate tooth. I will work out more to allow myself the pleasure. There was a time till I was in college when I used to have a bar of chocolate every day. As for ice cream, my favourite is vanilla, with its pure refreshing taste. I remember my brother (Saif Ali Khan) used to drive us two sisters (Saba and her) to the nearest ice-cream parlour in Delhi. When you bring chocolate and ice cream together, it creates a beautiful dessert. When we were in England on holidays, we used to stock up our refrigerators with Magnum’s Classic bar. And when we went for picnic to Hyde Park on a hot summer’s day, we always had it in our picnic box. My mom (Sharmila Tagore) was the happiest to hear Magnum was launching here. And when I heard Kareena (Kapoor Khan, sister-in-law) had become the brand ambassador for Magnum, I called her up to say, ‘Can we have some cartons for the house?’
Your brother, we hear, has dal-chawal-bhindi on the sets. What kind of food is laid out in the royal household?
Soha: Ha ha! When you come to our home in Delhi, you’d be quite disappointed. You might be thinking that all we would eat is galouti kebab and tunde kebab. But there’s usually some lauki, yellow dal and chicken curry with rice. That’s the Bengali in my mother — more rice than roti. And we can have that every single day. When we allow our khansama’s hands to loosen, he cooks some incredible food. Then there’s Satish who cooks for us in Pataudi. Kunal (Kemmu, husband) cooks well too.
Have you picked up anything from either of them?
Soha: I have only picked up three-four kilos! I am surrounded by people who cook well. I have never felt the need though I believe you can’t call yourself a 21st century woman unless you can cook and drive.
Kunal was in Calcutta recently for a shoot (Guddu Ki Gun).
Soha: He was here for 40 days. He likes good food. He said he liked the lemon tart from Kookie Jar.
Kunal (Kapur), would you agree that people are not making desserts at home anymore?
Kunal: World food has become easier to cook with good bakery equipment available. But the investment is considerable. People spend the maximum money on the drawing room, then the bedroom. The last corner that is left in the house is devoted to the kitchen.
Soha: Mujhe toh maloom hi nahin mera kitchen kahan hai (giggles)…
Kunal: Use GPS!
I was speaking of traditional Indian desserts...
Kunal: Oh, then you are absolutely right. Traditional Indian dessert is a dying art. Someone capable of making such desserts at home would be invaluable. That’s why we chose to include classic desserts like patishapta and sandesh to pair with Magnum ice cream at the workshop.
Soha, did you have home-made desserts growing up?
Soha: Oh yes — both Continental and Indian. It was almost regimented. On Monday, we’d have shepherd’s pie and caramel custard. On Tuesday, tandoori chicken would be followed by gulab jamun. Now I don’t think people have time to sit together and eat a three-course meal.
Kunal, which is the best ingredient for fusion food?
Kunal: Chocolate has no boundaries. Good quality chocolate seamlessly blends into whatever you put it into. There was this guy on the show (MasterChef India) who did chocolate with eggplant. I was thinking, “Maroonga khaake”. But it turned out to be amazing!
What are your earliest chocolate memories?
Kunal: Getting chocolates from grandparents for doing well in the semester exams.
Soha: I used to make a dessert by mixing mashed-up chocolates and bananas. I had named it Chocolate Snow and I sold it to everyone, including the domestic help, for Rs 2. Of course, my mother had to reimburse them later. In fact, I used to sell my mother’s used make-up kit, used lipsticks too — all for Rs 2.
If you think chocolate, who comes to mind?
Soha: Johnny Depp, perhaps because of his Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I often think of him, anyway (giggles).
What is your most abiding Calcutta memory?
Kunal: A group of beautiful girls gorging on phuchka near Victoria Memorial during my last visit.
Soha: My best memories are from my grandparents’ house in Alipore Road — learning rhymes on the knees of my grandmother. I used to call her Lal dida because of the red bindi she wore. Even after my grandfather passed away, she refused to take it off.
Soha, since the World Cup is on and you are a Pataudi…
Soha: I knew this was coming (laughs). I have a lot of respect for Dhoni as a captain. Virat is young and fiery and so much fun to watch. And I like Raina. But I am sad not to see Yuvraj in the team. He is a hot favourite and a personal friend.
DIY: Magnum Patishapta
(Serves two)
Ingredients For the batter
1 cup flour
¼ cup sooji
2tsp sugar
¾ cup milk
1tsp oil
For the filling
2 bars Magnum ice cream
1 cup khoya
1tsp cardamom powder
Handful of raspberries
2tsp chopped pistachio
Icing sugar for dusting
Method
Mix all the ingredients for the batter and make a smooth, coating-consistency batter. Let it rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, toss khoya and cardamom powder in a pan on medium heat. Remove after 2 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumble it using hands. Now heat a non-stick pan and grease it with oil. Pour some batter and spread it thick like a pancake. Turn the heat low and allow it to cook. Remove the patishapta and allow to cool. Remove the stick out of Magnum and cut into chunks. Place the diced Magnum on patishapta. Sprinkle khoya, raspberries and chopped nuts. Now fold the pancake into a triangle. Dust with icing sugar and raspberries and serve.
Sudeshna Banerjee
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
