‘Master’ chef Vikas Khanna is at present the representative of Indian culinary culture on the global platform. Watch out for him this September as he appears in MasterChef Australia as a guest judge, a first for any Indian. In an exclusive interview, he shares with ANANYA BORGOHAIN his journey from being born with a physical deformity to being voted the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ by People magazine

“From the strong hand that ploughs, to the precise hands that sow

From the loving hand that waters and waits for the sprout to grow

…Even God’s mothers also had to run after them for this sacred chase

A new Sun brings a new cycle of love, full of gratitude and grace

It takes a million hands to feed a child…”

In this poem, I am referring to this beggar woman I saw around RK Studios where we shoot MasterChef India. I never say no to visitors who come to see me on the sets. One such day, some aged ladies came up to greet me with sweets and snacks. When I came out to receive them, I noticed this other woman quietly trying to make a helicopter out of a bread and serve her child. I could not get my eyes off the sight. I took a break of 20 minutes from the shoot and wrote this poem.”

While it could be deemed very regular to hear a litterateur read out poetry to you, not everyone can claim to have a glimpse of the creative poet in a chef. Cooking of course is a constructive pursuit, meticulous and cathartic, and having heard a ‘Master’ chef recite the above quoted lines, I have come to believe that there is not much difference between cooking and the craft of poetry. Both require the same sentiments — honesty, clarity of thought, adornment, and presentation. Chef Vikas Khanna is one such persona who carries his heart on the sleeve. He reads out to me from his then unpublished book Hymns From The Soil (Bloomsbury) as well as from his manuscript tentatively titled Utsav where he intends to capture the diverse cultures of India through their food habits. He had perfectly documented every culture with supreme caution and accuracy. He even memorised the local names of the herbs and spices and uttered them with the correct accent.

Based in Manhattan where he runs his restaurant Junoon (passion), chef Khanna is today a Michelin-starred Indian chef, restaurateur, food writer, and also a documentary filmmaker. He is the host of MasterChef India and was the first Indian chef to appear in Gordon Ramsay’s show Kitchen Nightmares on Fox. He was also the guest chef in the episode ‘The India Show’ on The Martha Stewart Show and is himself the host of Twist of Taste on Fox Traveller. Besides several such feathers in his cap, he has recently become the first Indian to appear on MasterChef Australia.

When we met a while back in the Bloomsbury India office, he showed me his research works on food, travel and culture, well treasured in his laptop. He said he had yet to travel further across the country to capture its pulse and write more, and that he had just returned from Australia. Though he did not divulge details of the trip since he was “contract-bound to not speak about it”, there was unparallel and transparent joy reflecting on his face, convincing anybody that his Australia tour was for no other purpose but to shoot for the world’s biggest cookery show. He said, “Wouldn’t that be greatIJ For an Indian to have that huge privilege!” And on June 23, he did honour India in the international forum by appearing on the show which will be aired on Star World India this September.

So where did it all begin for this chef, who, besides innumerable honours and awards, was also voted New York’s Hottest Chef by Eater and as the Hottest Chef Around by Metro New York, and of course, who has been voted by People magazine as the Sexiest Man Alive (2011)IJ “I am from Amritsar in Punjab. When I was very young, I had a belan (rolling pin) which was dearer to me than life itself. It was the most precious thing for me and all hell broke loose when one day I lost it. I thought my life had come to a dead end and I would fail in every pursuit I follow in life. I was born with a physical deformity. My legs were not aligned and I had to wear heavy wooden shoes for several years to straighten them. Back then, it was a taboo to talk about these things. Shukr hai ab logo ko samajh hai ki yeh koi bhoot nahi hai! (Thankfully, people now understand that disabled people are not ghostly). I could not walk properly and hence sought refuge in the kitchen with my grandmother. I was most attached to her and she introduced me to a new world where I could cultivate aspirations despite physical challenges.” His grandmother, fondly called biji, took him to the Golden Temple one day and asked him to make a chapati there. It was a part of the seva at the gurdwara where people collectively make food. Vikas’s biji told him, “Belan mein kuch nahi hota; yaha pe koi bhi apne ghar ka belan nahi istemaal karta, par tab bhi sahi banta hai. (The rolling pin is of no essence if you do not have it in you. People do not use their personal rolling pins in the gurdwara, but they manage to make chapatis right).” For Vikas, that became the word of God. “I was motivated and inspired. I made the best chapatis and soon everybody became infinitely fond of what I made.”

His earliest years were about breaking stereotypes, be it his physical illness, or his gravitation towards cooking, which was perceived to be too feminine and homely for a man. “I would tell my mother, “Mumma chalo na kitty party karte hai. (let’s organise a kitty party)” And my mom would retort, “Kitty party bhi koi karne ki cheez hai! (What’s relevant about a kitty partyIJ)” But I could only think of cooking. By 17, I had my own banquet and catering business, lawrence Gardens.”

Since then, he has come a long way. After he had started his professional journey, he also pursued the culinary skills formally and was trained in the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, and during the time, he went on to train under renowned chefs of Taj Group of Hotels, Oberoi, leela Group, and so on. Once his uncle took him to ITC Sheraton for a dinner buffet and he says it changed his life. For the first time, he realised that food could be art and what was spread out in front of him was the “most beautiful” food he had seen.

During that time, he also read in a news article, “Indians are the last runners in the Olympics, they are the last in cooking too.” It stung him hard. “Indian journalists had written it. Chhota dimaag hain na, kuch phans gaya toh bas reh gaya (It got stuck in my consciousness). I knew I had to change that.”

He moved to America and started with menial jobs like dishwashing at a restaurant. He was now exposed to the West, which apparently possessed the authority to validate everything else. Amidst his hard work and struggles, he soon began to miss Indian food and one day went to a restaurant to have Indian dinner. He recalls, “I asked for onions and chillies along with the meal. I got a judgmental look of disdain instead. The waiter asked, ‘What kind of an onion do you wantIJ’ I said, ‘Don’t tell me you don’t understand what I want.’ It was appalling to see the unapologetic lack of acknowledgement. Don’t we serve french fries and ketchup along with a burger for an American in IndiaIJ Why can’t I ask for an onion thenIJ Right then, I knew I had to make my mark as an Indian and spread Indian food to all corners of the world.” Today, he says that he values the influence and importance of America. “America works as an equaliser. Whatever it recommends, the world follows. I live in Manhattan and I see changes all the time. I see how things disappear and are forgotten at the drop of a hat. I want to create an art that generations after generations will remember and cherish. “Just look at what he created”, they should say,” he asserts. 

And he sure is working his way up to his optimal desire. At Junoon he says he frequently finds people breaking down and hugging him after having a meal there. He attributes it to “a connect they probably and instinctively cultivate” towards him and his work. In 2011, Vikas was honoured with the Rising Star Chef Award by Star Chefs for his role in shaping the future of American cuisine. His awards also include the Access to Freedom Award in 2005 from SATH, previously awarded to George W Bush and HRH Prince Charles, and The Shining Star Award from Just One Break, Inc, which was previously received by Christopher Reeve and Ray Charles.

He has also received a proclamation from the Council of the City of New York for his outstanding contribution to the city, and was chosen New Yorker of the Week by NY1. But most importantly, on July 29, 2011, Vikas cooked dinner for the Hindu American Seva Charities Conference held at the White House organised by Anju Bhargava, who is a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership. “For me to have reached there after years of struggle, dedication and passion was the ultimate high and zenith of happiness,” the proud chef shares.

But why is it so that we don’t hear of other Indian chefs reaching such feats more oftenIJ More so, women in this profession are believed to be lagging behind in the hierarchical, male-dominated industry. How far is that trueIJ Vikas says that it is not so and what actually happens is that “people are much behind time and not adequately updated”.

America’s most powerful chef is a black man. The executive chef of the most powerful house in the world, the White House, is Cristeta Pasia Comerford, and she is of Asian descent. One of the most famous and successful chefs of all time was Julia Child. So these are myths and women are as good chefs as the men. Besides, my friend Arti Thapa, from Gurdaspur of all places, has been invited in the Olympics for Sugarcraft, the only woman therein, an Indian.” He underlines the importance of public curiosity and acknowledgement, without which, he believes a chef cannot become globally famous.

In continuation, the chef is also known for his philanthropic activities. He launched the foundation South Asian Kid's Infinite Vision among several other such charitable pursuits. His books have found popularity too. He has authored several books, including The Spice Story of India, Modern Indian Cooking, and Flavors First.

In 2012, Flavors First won the Benjamin Franklin Award. In 2013, his other cookbooks — Savor Mumbai, My Great India and Khanna Sutra won the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. And in 2014, Return to the Rivers: Recipes and Memories of the Himalayan River Valleys, with a foreword by His Holiness The Dalai lama was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award. He now has two more books to be published by Bloomsbury India in 2015.

He says it took him four years to write his latest book, Hymns From The Soil. It is his first ever “vegetarian saga” and is filled with his poems, anecdotes, photographs and vegetarian recipes. It is dedicated to the people he observed as a child, who were barely managing to make ends meet. “I have memories of a poor lady selling chhole bhature and another called lakshmi,” he says. Talking of vegetarian food, he also adds that Americans are now opening up to vegetarian food and paying more attention to Indian vegetarian food. “These foods are of essence as they are grown in the soil. Mitti ke bina toh kuch bhi nahi ho sakta (One cannot do without soil). Even the tandoor is made of mitti, and when our warriors went to war, they were wished well with mitti ka tilak. I have been inspired by my roots”. But then how would he react to the argument that his book could be overpriced (Rs 1599) for the likes of lakshmi, the very inspiring figure he has dedicated it toIJ “I used to sell meals for 20 bucks at Amritsar. And even that hardly got sold. I decided that I would one day sell the most expensive meal by any chef, and I did that when my meal was sold for Rs 20 lakh per person. Now, wouldn’t I want the world to know more about Indian foodIJ Should I just concentrate on simplifying things, lowering costs, or on promoting it on a grand scaleIJ Given a choice, would one prefer a black and white TV or an lCDIJ I think we should move ahead. I do acknowledge that most people here wouldn’t come into my restaurant in the US since spending $200 there would be akin to spending Rs 10,000, but otherwise I too will become a joke for the Americans. For the masses, I try to reach out to them as much as I can through my television shows.”

And how does he manage to keep experimenting with food after more than 20 years of being in the fieldIJ Wouldn’t it be a herculean task to bring out newer ideas and yet maintain the nutritional value at the same timeIJ “Actually, we have 26,000 recipes in our database, but we can put only 14 on our menu. So, there is a good bank of ideas. But things and tastes have also changed over the years. Now I can’t just put up a piece of fish and put some curry over it. Now when you do it, you top it with roasted brussels sprouts and there is pomegranate sauce and star anise pho on it. The world is changing and it’s difficult to keep up. Imagine, naan has stopped being popular among the Americans and that’s a stumbling block for someone like me. There is too much awareness among them and they have developed gluten allergy towards it. Now I get coarse atta (flour for baking), no maida (refined wheat flour). Even the cakes are made of atta, with gur (solid brown sugar made of sugarcane) and no sugar. They also have akhrot (walnut) and dates, and the atta is jowar atta. If you go to Rajasthan, you will find chapatis served on the roads with butter, curd and sugar; this cake tastes like that. So you see, I have to be ahead of the loop. For further rejuvenation, I take breaks, and love to travel to Spain, Africa and so on.”

And what about other Indian ingredients, anything he detestsIJ He says that Indians use too much sirka (vinegar). “I have been saying for long that its use needs to be lessened. There are great alternatives like kokum, imli (tamarind) etc. I personally love using pippali pepper a lot. It tastes like kaali mirch (peppercorn) but smells like incense.” His book has vivid pictures of the ingredients and spices. “I went where they are prepared and these are authentic pictures.” But besides the ingredients, meals which he personally cannot bring himself to consume include the endangered species. “It’s heartbreaking to see people eating these species. I subscribe to the belief that everything on the planet has its own positioning and that needs to be respected.”

As we begin to wrap up the interview, I clumsily break a glass placed on the table. Before I could, he reaches out to collect the pieces, assembles them and neatly gets them wrapped in paper and sets out to dispose them of in the garbage bin. It becomes evident that he is not only a meticulous and talented chef, but also a perfectionist who pays attention to all details, right from where his spices are prepared to where the dishes are disposed of. That’s a transparent glimpse of how complete a chef he is.

From the chef’s kitchen

Cauliflower with ginger & Peanuts

• 2 small heads cauliflower, cut into florets
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• One 2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 4 scallions, finely sliced
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
• Take a pot large enough to hold cauliflower florets,

fill it up with enough water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add cauliflower and salt to the pot. Cover with a lid and cook until the cauliflowers are tender and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a platter and keep warm

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger, turmeric and 1/2 the scallions and cook, stirring for about a minute
• Season it with salt and pepper to taste and cook for another minute; stir in the cream cheese and remove from heat
• Pour the cream cheese sauce over the cauliflowers and serve hot, garnished with peanuts and reserved scallions

The chef recommends

Pomegranate honey tofu smoothie

• 3 cups pomegranate juice
• 1 cup soft tofu
• 2 tablespoons honey, plus more to taste
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• One 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
• Mix pomegranate juice, tofu, honey, yogurt and ginger in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth
• Refrigerate until chilled and serve garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds

The writer can be reached at ananyapioneer@gmail.com

Excerpts taken with permission from Bloomsbury