By Heather Vandevoorde, Ph.D.
My newest obsession is karare palak. Literally translated, it means crispy spinach, but that doesn’t do the plate justice. I call them spinach and pomegranate nachos. I eat them every time I go to Peppermill Restaurant at Eastern Mangroves. It is colonial Indian cuisine, though the dish is an original one, and not a regional specialty.
The last time I ate karare palak it got me wondering how the chef thought to create this truly original dish. Then I got curious about what that same chef likes to cook at home, and what he eats when he goes out to dinner. So I asked to speak to the chef. It turns out that Dilip Johri is quite interesting, and having just celebrated his 50th birthday, he was happy to reminisce.
What is your background?
I trained in India, of course. My most valuable experience was with the Taj Palace where I learned everything from banquets requiring me to cook 600 kilos of rice starting at 8am, to the finer gourmet dishes for celebrities.
Have you ever cooked for anyone famous?
Margaret Thatcher, Bill Gates, Rajeev Gandhi, the first fashion show of French designer Pierre Cardin, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and not to forget the then-President of Pakistan Parvez Musharaf.
Tell me about your family…
I am happily married. My wife is currently in India, but she always visits on holidays. The reason I came to the UAE was to try something new, I have never been in this part of the world before. Having worked in several different
countries, I decided that I wanted to experience the Middle East as I am fascinated by the people’s warmth, culture, and food. Moreover, traveling to India from the UAE is very easy as it is not that far.
What is your favourite food when you go to another restaurant to eat?
I am always keen on trying the Ossobuco, which is a Milanese specialty of cross-cut lamb shanks braised with vegetables and broth. It is often garnished with gremolata and traditionally served with risotto alla milanese. This dish is quite similar to Tar Korma and Rogan Gosh.
What do you cook for yourself when you are at home?
I rarely cook when I am at home, but when I get bored of eating out, I cook something called “kichadi”. It is an Indian preparation of rice and lentils tempered with clarified butter, cumin seed, black pepper and black cardamom,
steamed in pressure cooker to retain the original aroma and flavors, topped with pan tossed salmon in garlic, olive oil, lemon and salt.
What is your favorite non-Indian food?
My favourite non-Indian food is oven roasted sausage pasta in tomato basil sauce as well as well as homemade crispy pepperoni pizza.
Now that you’ve reached 50, is there anything you want to try as a chef?
Yes! Definitely as a chef I would like to try new dishes, recipes, I would also like to go deeper into the regional cuisines of India and explore the food prepared, as it’s said that the taste and the recipe of the dish changes after every 1.5 kilometers in India.
PEPPERMILL RECIPE KARARE PALAK CHAAT (Serves 3)
INGREDIENTS
Spinach 600 GM.
Gram Flour 2 1/2 CUP
Cumin Seeds 1 TSP
Ajwain Seeds 2 TSP
Red Chili Powder 1 TSP
Turmeric Powder 1 TSP
Black Pepper Powder 1 TSP
Chat Masala 1 TSP
Yogurt 1/4 CUP
Mint Chutney 1/4 CUP
Tamarind Chutney 1/4 CUP
Coriander Fresh 1 TBSP
Sev 5 TBSP
Method
1. Remove stem and wash fresh spinach leaves strain excess water.
2. Make the batter with besan flour, ajwain, salt, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chili powder, water and ginger, garlic paste, should be medium to thin in consistency.
3. Heat oil in a kadai when gets medium hot slide in the spinach leaves dipped batter into oil & fry it gradually. All leaves should be separated from one another.
4. Remove when they are crisp, remove them to a collander to strain the oil.
5. Now layer the leaves and drizzle it with sweet chutney, mint chutney & sweetened curd. Sprinkle roasted jeera powder, chat masala & chilly powder.
6. Put sev on top & garnish it with chopped coriander. Layer the 3 sauces in a shot glass and sprinkle with sev.
