Chef Sanjeev Kapoor admits that thinking of 100 recipes for his new book was tough. But only because he had over 300 in mind that should ideally be in the 100 Favourite Hand-Picked Recipes, which he added to his repertoire of publications. "Maybe I’ll publish another top 100 next year," he laughs, adding, "I thought of the idea a year ago, around the time we were launching our channel. We wanted to create a book like this in tandem with our shows."
Kapoor adds that the list includes more than just his personal favourites. "Of course I was influenced by family and friends when selecting the recipes," he reveals. "In fact, the picture on the cover has a pasta dish, which my show director Girish loved so much that it’s turned him into a cook. So I thought that was important because I wasn’t just writing for my own pleasure, but to create something that people would want to use as well."
At a time when eating out or ordering in is de rigueur, Kapoor aims to lure people back into their kitchens. "Today people are running away from cooking in their kitchens. I want to make a healthier India, and the first step is to get people interested in cooking once again," he opines, adding that he’s consciously focused on simple recipes in the book. "If the recipes are too exotic, that scares amateur cooks away. The idea is to give them something simple, that is fun to prepare, and yet elicits a ‘wow’ from the people they’re cooking for," he says.
And has his cooking channel, FoodFood, settled the battle of the sexes in the kitchen once and for all? "I think so," he responds, "Our viewership is now an even 50-50, with both men and women taking equal interest in cooking."
Veg ribbon salad
Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini, trimmed n 2 medium carrots, trimmed n 2 medium cucumbers, trimmed
Salt to taste
5 medium black olives, stoned and sliced
Dressing:
2 tablespoons vinegar,
1 tablespoon soy sauce,
1 teaspoon brown sugar,
1/4 teaspoon red chilli flakes,
3-4 fresh basil leaves and salt
Method:
Cut the zucchini, carrots and cucumbers lengthways into thin ribbons with a potato peeler or a manual slicer. Sprinkle a little salt and set aside for five minutes.
Process the vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, chilli flakes, basil leaves and salt to make a coarse paste in a blender. Transfer to a bowl.
Squeeze the cut vegetables gently to remove excess liquid.
Add vegetables to the dressing in the bowl and toss well.
Serve, garnished with olive slices.
Dressing:
2 tablespoons vinegar,
1 tablespoon soy sauce,
1 teaspoon brown sugar,
1/4 teaspoon red chilli flakes,
3-4 fresh basil leaves and salt
Method:
Cut the zucchini, carrots and cucumbers lengthways into thin ribbons with a potato peeler or a manual slicer. Sprinkle a little salt and set aside for five minutes.
Process the vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, chilli flakes, basil leaves and salt to make a coarse paste in a blender. Transfer to a bowl.
Squeeze the cut vegetables gently to remove excess liquid.
Add vegetables to the dressing in the bowl and toss well.
Serve, garnished with olive slices.