The Foodie File
Madhur Jaffrey
This Delhi-born most visible face of Indian cuisine has been telling the Brits how to cook their quail for years now. She’s perhaps the woman most responsible for introducing Indian spices to the West, (or just Britain) and paving the way for fusion food.
Camellia Punjabi The innovative marketing director of Taj Group of Hotels revolutionised the way hotels saw their food. She introduced food festivals, changing menus and experimented greatly with exotic culinary trends.
Namita Punjabi The woman who made Chutney Mary as talked about as the QE II also owns Veeraswamy — the world’s oldest surviving Indian cuisine joint outside of India. She’s catered to royalty and put Indian food on the list of ‘to-be-seen-eating’ foods for the upper crust.
Karen Anand Cordon Bleu and a love of fusion had a lot to do with Karen’s gourmet labels. She brought gourmet pickles and preserves onto the shelves of supermarkets and painstakingly explained to the Indian eating public what fine food really was.
Rashmi Uday Singh If the mass of food lovers in India were a football team, Rashmi Uday Singh would be their Beckham — foodlines, food guides and just food, whether catered, budget bites, made to order or fine ‘n’ swanky, Rashmi went for it all, and along with her so did hundreds of Mumbai’s residents.
Farzana Contractor Editor of India’s first wine ‘n’ dine magazine along with enthusiastic foodie husband, the late Berham Contractor, her magazine Uppercrust made Indians and some of the foodie world realise we actually do take our food pretty seriously. The magazine regularly brings together gourmets and chefs in a serious bid to look at different foods.
Sanjeev Kapoor The man who brought exotic cuisines to the fingertips of the most staid and sit-at-home housewife, Sanjeev Kapoor’s amiable style of presentation beat all the ‘Yan Can Cook’ episodes hollow when it came to penetration of Indian homes. Whether filming in Mauritius or tackling some unpronounceable dessert, Sanjeev makes it appear all so easy.
The Old Vs The New
The traditional recipe for Rabadi Ingredients: Milk 1 litre Sugar 6-7 tbsps Method 1 Heat the milk. 2 After the first boil, let it simmer till the milk thickens to a little less than half its original quantity and turns light brown. 3 Add sugar and once it dissolves, wait for five minutes before switching off the stove. The Rabri is ready.
The new age recipe for Rabadi Ingredients 1/2 tin sweetened condensed milk 1/2 litre milk Method 1 Stir half the contents of the tin into the half litre of milk until well mixed. 2 Heat until the milk thickens. 3 Garnish with slivers of almonds and serve.
Photograph courtesy La Brallentine Glass