CaLDRON February 2014 - Valentine's Day Special | Page 76

KITCHEN KIN

G

rowing up in a family that
ran a hotel in Kashmir,
Aditya Bal watched his maternal
grandmother rustle up delicious
meals with passion. After a successful modeling career spanning eight
years and a short stint in Bollywood,
he decided to head to Goa to pursue
what he did best: cooking. A chance
meeting with NDTV Good Times
gave his culinary skills a new direction and today he is the channel’s
anchor-chef on ‘Chakh Le India’.

" we CAN'T

Aditya’s wanderlust for local and
most celebrated cuisines from across
India took him to places including
the bustling Punjab towns, the cultural Bengal hubs and the bohemian
Goa spots. The mouth-watering results were ‘Amritsari Paneer Bhurji’,
‘Kosha Mangsho’, ‘Goan Prawn and
Mango Ambotik’, ‘Malabari Prawn
Curry’ and ‘Moru Sambhar’. His
book, ‘Chakh Le India’ has simple
recipes that promise to celebrate a
delectable feast that is wonderfully
Indian. He spoke to Parul Pratap
Shirazi about his unapologetic love
for food and his eagerness to explore
this wonderful space.
Parul Pratap Shirazi (PPS): Is
there any specific cuisine you veer
towards?
Aditya Bal (AB): At present, I’m
going through a confused phase,
because I cook different things. Personally, I like to keep things simple,
but sometimes I tend to get into
the complexities as well. Food can
be very complex, especially when
there are many flavours and myriad
combinations of those flavours. I
like simple food and regular Indian
cuisine is perfect for me.

fathom molecular
gastronomy
in INDIAN cuisine !"
Model-turned-foodie-turned-chef, Aditya Bal
has worn many hats. His introduct ion to his book
‘Chakh Le India’ is an endearing synopsis of a
man who loves food so much that he decided he
might as well make a career out of it!
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PPS: So is Kashmiri food, the
cuisine you grew up eating, very
complex or simple?
AB: People presume Kashmiri food
is simple in flavours but complex to
create. I disagree. It needs the right
CaLDRON February 2014