Tushita Patel

By Heston Blumenthal

Rs 2544

The books page editor of this paper wanted me to review the best recipe books of 2011. I told her I have moved on to blogs and haven’t a clue. Helpfully, she sent me several review copies. Frankly, I wouldn’t cook from them even if they came to me free (which they did).

For me, recipe books are first about the idea of the book, then the production, which is mainly about writing, and finally the recipes. Most of the books I received were badly produced, badly written and very more-of-the-same. In a food year dominated by the electricity of Masterchef Australia and the world-class smoothness of Flipkart for access and delivery, these books did nothing for me.
I like TV and I’m sure it didn’t take a genius to come up with the term “food porn” but it was the combination of the reality TV format, impeccable food and cute, approachable judges of Masterchef Australia that raised the level of eating awareness this year. My nightly thrill was derived from watching and understanding new cooking techniques. I became alive to processes and the science of cooking. Several eureka moments later, I wanted to perform better in the kitchen which would have to be either through stunningly elegant menus or technology.
What set me off were the Triple-Cooked Chips in the Heston Blumenthal episode of Masterchef — arguably one of the most famous dishes of the year. The fat, hand-cut chips were partially fried, drip dried, frozen and refried. I couldn’t get over the cleverness, so I logged on to Flipkart and ordered Blumenthal’s latest book (which he came to promote on the TV show), Heston Blumenthal at Home. In less than two weeks the book was mine, at my home. While there are several things which would be hard to cook out of this book in India as it uses gadgets not common to us — I wanted to make Bruleed Chicken Liver Parfait but stopped short because the results depended on temperature precision and I don’t have a cooking thermometer — I did make the very comforting and weirdly wonderful Parsley Porridge.
I love this book because it’s so smart. The porridge is nothing but oats cooked in white chicken stock with a huge lump of parsley butter melting in it. Blumenthal explains how to make the porridge “non-swampy” by just sifting the oats so that the powdered oat flakes that cook faster and release their gluey starch can be kept out. It’s details like this that make this book so aspirational. The photographs are spectacularly creative. Like any good book should, I like to think this book adds depth to my personality.
From the books I received for review, there was one book that stood out — Ritu Dalmia’s Travelling Diva. I like books which tell a story. This book doesn’t tell any coherent story, but will do well because of its huge scope. It was lying on my table for a week, and not one woman passed by without saying they want a copy. From Aloo Tikki with Masala Fried Egg, Saboodana Vada, Mushroom Pate to Whore’s Pasta, this book is full of wide and wonderful ideas, although I wish it were more detailed. I’m thinking of making the mushroom pate tomorrow, which suggests the use of walnuts, but does not mention how much or at which point. It’s a bit andaaz dependant — which is no good in my book, but going by the food in Dalmia’s restaurants and the cool section the book has on where to shop in various cities and menus, this book will be a big hit.
For real everyday cooking, I use recipe blogs. The best food forums are now on the Internet because they are written and reviewed by people like us. Reading a Brooklyn-based blog food52.com, I have branched out into brunches and started cooking long, languorous meals which are done easily and have a vaguely international appeal. Recently on someone’s Facebook page, I saw a blog called Sauce (the food blog), written by a Bengali girl in a simple, unpretentious style, using regular Bengali home utensils and now I want to befriend her.
The future of my food has to be either a technologically advanced spectacle or an honest home meal. Luckily for us, it’s all out there and most of it is free.
For the new year, here’s a happy recipe — Heston’s Triple-Fried Chips.

The writer is the author of Flash in the Pan