Rocky and Mayur’s new TV show will feature late-night eating joints in four cities. Rocky Singh talks to DivyaKaushik about ‘cravings’ they are catering to and their book that lists the variety of regional food in India
You need to add a word between ‘midnight’ and ‘cravings’ else it sounds very wrong,” says Rocky Singh in his familiar tongue-in-cheek tone and before anyone could get ideas, he laughs out loud and says, “It is food. The new show is about ‘midnight food cravings.’” After their much famous show, which is now almost synonymous with their names, Highway On My Plate (HOMP), the duo of Rocky and Mayur is returning to the small screen with FoodMad on NDTV Good Times. Considering that they have travelled the length and breadth of the country, scanned every nook and corner, we wonder if there was anything remaining to be explored. “A lot!” exclaims Rocky, “We have such a huge variety of food around us that even if we claim that we are the guys who have eaten maximum food across India — 80,000 kilometers over five years, over 500 restaurants and eateries, an average of five dishes per visit, so 2,500 different recipes with fewer than 20 repeats — there’s still food, there are still eateries to be discovered from the vast treasure that we have in India.” Rocky also reminds us of his open challenge, “Anyone who claims that he has eaten more food than us in India, prove it to us and will get one lakh rupees.”
If you have been following Rocky and Mayur on social networking sites, you would know that the two have been taking inputs regularly from their fans on places which come alive only in the night. All those inputs helped them choose the places to visit and feature in FoodMad. Rocky explains, “All of us crave for different things in the night. We got all weird responses from people. We expected chocolates, ice creams, kebabs and rolls to be topping the list and so they did. What surprised us was people telling us that they crave for mithais at midnight. And some of them stock all sorts of mithais or go out to the sweet shops just to have different mithais. So we came up with 17 kinds of cravings and asked for suggestions for the places where we can get stuff to satiate those cravings. We have travelled across four cities, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru for the show. like HOMP was a kind of discovery and a journey, this is different. This is more like a guide to people who are fond of eating late nights. Through the show we are giving them options to eat out late night. For example, if someone is travelling to Delhi and doesn’t want to eat at five star hotels, we will be suggesting them places where they can find food of their choice. Some of our fans told us about these dhabas at Qutub Institutional area. There are not only students and BPO employees eating at these dhabas, but the place is visited by people from across Delhi since many years.”
Rocky and Mayur also came up with the book, which is undoubtedly a must have, if you believe in travelling only to taste food from different regions in India. One must credit the duo to bring to foray the vast variety that we have in regional food in India. First through their show and now through their book, they have made a beginning to document the tradition and diversity of regional cuisine in India. “We are the only country where food changes with every kilometer we travel. Nowhere in the world will you find people using over 125 spices and herbs in a single dish. So our book is an attempt to introduce people to diversity of food that exists in regions. For instance, each region in Gujarat is known for different kind of cuisine. Kathiawadi cuisine is prominent in cities like Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar and Porbandar. Kathiawadi cuisine is a unique mix of flavours and textures. Also, the food is mostly vegetarian and is quite spicy and salty. Pulses, pickles, potatoes, onion, garlic, milk and milk products are integral to Kathiawadi cuisine. Surat is famous for wide variety in snacks.
Five star hotels are definitely not the place to taste the food of real India as the chefs cook with restrictions. It is the small eateries that have such amazing recipes and flavours that can just bowl you over. The book is a comprehensive account of places that have never been listed before,” says Rocky.
After Highway on My Plate:The Indian Guide to Roadside Eating, the two are already working on their second book.