I’m nervous, because I know the people in the audience are serious about cooking and have been doing it for a long time!” chef Vicky Ratnani told t2, before going up on stage for ‘Vicky Goes Global Desi’, a culinary conversation hosted by Young Ficci Ladies Organisation at JW Marriott. Excerpts from the chat between chef Vicky and YFLO Calcutta chairperson Puja Goenka...
On how he got interested in cooking...
Long before I started cooking, I used to love eating. I was also famous for eating other people’s tiffin. (Laughs) There was something about food which I always loved long before I’d even dreamt I’d be a chef. My family would visit hotels as a kid, travel for food. So the whole thing about good food got inculcated and I decided to join hotel management not to become a chef but to get into the hotel business. But my teachers encouraged me, and I think from my second year in college I started cooking really well. I thought it’s better to do something more skillful. And as I got good at it, I got an opportunity to travel. This is how it began!
On travelling the world with a shipping line....
I think travelling taught me everything. Working almost 16 hours a day, seven days a week, six months in a row taught me how to work with different people and under pressure. But travelling the world, trying new cuisines and learning different cooking techniques and seeing the world through food was one of the best experiences. I’m very lucky that I was the personal chef for Nelson Mandela. No one was allowed to see him — not even the captain — except me. I think besides top nationalities, dignitaries and families, the travel bit and working for or catering to such a different clientele every week added a lot to where I am today. I mean, who gets a chance to travel around the world seven times?
On his TV show Vicky Goes Veg...
I did a show called Gourmet Central before Vicky Goes Veg which did very well and I thought there’d be a season two, but NDTV asked me to do a vegetarian show instead. A 52-episode show with no eggs, nothing! I didn’t know what to think because as a chef most of the times we are working with meat, fish and eggs.
On being innovative with vegetarian food...
I could not think beyond non-vegetarian the moment I thought of a dish. So I actually turned vegetarian for three months in order to start thinking vegetarian. Those three months also taught me how many things you can do with vegetables. Because I did a lot of western cooking, I adopted a lot of roasting, braising and poaching. Gluten-free and veganism are putting a lot of people out of business now! At least in my restaurant, we have a lot of people who have turned vegan, they’ve stopped eating meat. So why not look for regional ingredients? My aim was to bring regional produce to the international taste.
On his new show Vicky Goes Desi...
In Vicky Goes Desi, I’ve cooked with makhana (fox nuts) and also black rice which is very healthy and full of flavour. In the show I made flour out of it and made pancakes with it. There are a lot of world influences.
Three tips for Indian women...
Don’t think olive oil is expensive. Cook seasonally. Avoid processed food and think outside the box.
Two myths about cooking you’d like to break...
Cooking is very difficult. It’s not. And there’s a lot you can do with vegetables... even if you don’t eat, you should start eating them!
BLACK RICE RISOTTO
Ingredients:
• 10 cups vegetable broth
• 3tbs olive oil
• 1 pound white mushroom, thinly sliced
• 1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, diced
• ½ cup black rice
• Sea salt to taste
• ½ cup dry white wine
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4tbs butter
• 3tbs finely chopped chives
• ¹/³ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Method:
1. In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.
2. Warm two tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until soft (for about three minutes). Remove mushrooms with the liquid and set aside.
3. Add 1tbs olive oil to the skillet and stir in the shallots. Cook for a minute. Add rice, stirring it to coat with oil, for about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden colour, pour the wine. Stir constantly until the wine is fully absorbed.
Add half cup broth to the rice and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth half a cup at a time, stirring continuously, till the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, for about 35-40 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in mushrooms with the liquid, butter, chives and Parmesan.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
