Lucinda O'Sullivan's Ireland

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Sunil Ghai of Ananda writes about winning the 2009 Food & Wine Chef of the Year Award, his food philosophy and developing his new menu.

When I won the 2009 Food & Wine Chef of the Year, it was the first time that any Asian had won the award. It will always be very special and very emotional. When we were at the ceremony – eight of us, including Asheesh Dewan, the owner of Ananda and the Jaipur Group – we were short listed for a few but never made the final cut, I was quite disappointed. The only award left was the best chef in Ireland & best restaurant which would have been the longest shot and well out of reach .Drink up and head out was the thought that came to mind. Best Restaurant in Ireland was bestowed to Chapter One and I thought Ross Lewis would win the Best Chef award as well. Then Norah Casey, the owner of Food & Wine and Harmonia, announced my name. I had to pinch myself and checked with Saji and he asked me to get up and head out. It was great. Asheesh was in almost in tears, he was so delighted. I can't even put it in words. It was like a dream come true.

I have been cooking in Ireland for nine years but after that award I feel as if I have achieved true recognition in Ireland. It was a great, great achievement and it meant that Ananda was not just an ethnic restaurant, we are a mainstream restaurant now. We are a far cry from a curry house, we are a fine dining Indian restaurant. Now people who come to the restaurant know about Ananda but also about the food philosophy behind it. They want to try new things, they want to see what's on the menu, they want to ask you a few things. This is what you need, a bit of interaction with the customers. It gives me immense sense of pride, it makes me want to showcase what we can do.

The terms I would use for our food philosophy are fresh, seasonal, local – and modern. Your dishes should be single flavours. In Western cuisine you use dill, oregano, thyme, rosemary, tarragon and chives. We use cumin, coriander, chilli, star anise, cardamom, black cardamom, cloves, black pepper and cinnamon. These are our herbs. I try to do one or two flavours, that's it, not more than that, in one dish. When four people have are eating four different dishes, they can taste each other's food and know each dish is very different. You don't want to overpower the dishes with spices.

The next menu, which is coming up soon, is going to be totally, totally different. We started working on it two months ago. I'm going to use cold and hot combinations this time. If you order sea bass you might get a little bit of savoury ice cream with it. If the sea bass is mild you might get a chilli ice cream with it, with coconut and olives. I don't know how people will react to it but I have to take that step, I have to take bold steps. So far I have decided on two dishes. One is a combination of tomato and okra. There is a dish called Bhindi, which is a kind of Okra Bhaji, and I am going to break that down and have some sorbet with it. I'm going to try that on the menu in the next few weeks. That's not to say that I'm not going to do Lamb Rogan Josh, that I'm not going to do Prawn Jalfrezi. We don't refuse a request. Requests from our guests are more than welcome. If they want that, I'll cook it. I am here for everyone and their requests but sometime like all chef’s we like to showcase our creativity as well. If I give you Chicken Tikka Masala my way and you don't like it, I'll cook it the way you want but try and eat our versions once. It might be different, but on the bright side it might be better.

You can do a menu in one night, it is not rocket science. But if you want to do a really good menu with everyone knowing what they are doing it takes at least six months. The kitchen is not a one man show. It is your team that does everything for the customers. I am not the one who uses the tandoor. Our curry section is done by one of the most talented young chefs. Desserts are done by a veteran chef who taught most of us our pastry skills . All I do is give them direction and they implement my vision with their skills. If I stand alone in the kitchen I won't be able to feed 100 people. My colleagues were over the moon when we got this award. They feel good that they are working with somebody who is acknowledged not just by the customers but also their peers in the industry . It's a motivation for them that some day they can also be at the same stage in their careers . You need a good committed team behind you.

The restaurant would not be the same without Saji Mathew as he heads the front of the house. They warmth of his welcome covers up many a sin in the kitchen and I am very fortunate to be working with him and his team. Ananda is like a family, where the parents are there to help you with the decisions. I tend to look for collective decisions as opposed to cracking whips. Coming from the largest democracy in the world it’s the way we have been brought up, so everybody chips in with their Ideas. Unlike most chefs playing Godfathers I would be happy to be just like a loving father. Everyone said to me before heading to Ireland in 2001 that London was the place to be but I am proud to be in Ireland and the opportunities’ it has afforded me. I wear my sprig of Coriander alongside the Shamrock proudly.

This is one of the easiest recipes to make using simple spices and one of the popular dishes from the streets of India. The ingredients you can always find in every kitchen. I really love this dish, I have picked green peas for the stuffing but you can pick your own favorites ingredients for the stuffing.

Aloo tikki

With spiced peas and sweet and sour yoghurt.

Ingredients:

Large boiled aloo (potatoes)
1 tsp salt or as per taste
02 tbs ghee ( clarified butter)
For Stuffing:

2 tbs of oil
120 Gms green peas’ cooked or frozen peas defrosted

20 gms chopped raisins (golden)
1/2 tbsp scrapped and minced ginger

1 no green chilly chopped
1/4th tsp salt or to taste
Red chili powder to taste (optional)
1tsp coarsely ground dry-roasted cumin seeds
ghee for pan-frying.

Yoghurt for serving

Method

Peel the potatoes and grate them very finely. Add salt and ghee and knead until properly mixed. Divide it into 12 equal portions.

For the stuffing heat the pan add oil add ginger and green chilly sauté for 1 or 2 min.add green peas and raisins mix all the spices and check seasoning .

Taking one at a time, gently flatten each ball into a round patty of about 1/2-inch thick and place a portion of stuffing in the center and fold the edges together very finely so that mixture does not come out.

Now very gently flatten it into a 2-inch patty. Repeat the procedure for all pieces. Heat 1 tsp. ghee in a non-stick pan over a low heat.

Slip in the patties, not too many at a time, and pan-fry on both sides till crisp golden brown, adding ghee if required, on a very low heat.

Serve aloo tikki hot with chutney and stirred curd.