More than a decade back at a speciality biryani restaurant in erstwhile Kolkata, my friends and I were in splits when a middle-aged Bengali gentleman pushed away the biryani menu and barked at the waiter: “Chilli chicken lao.” The gentleman might have been forgiven then for not knowing any better, but not in today’s day and age.

The last year saw the culmination of a food revolution that had started almost at the same time when Manmohan Singh threw open India’s economy to the world. Along with Ford and Honda, we welcomed stilton cheese and prosciutto with open arms. So along with biryani and chilli chicken, today we eat bruschetta and sushi and India being India, we have evolved our own amalgamation of East and West.
The year also saw a determined move towards healthier food habits. Ghee and Dalda were increasingly replaced with heart-healthy oils and stir fries were preferred over butter chicken.

Pasta with Jheenga Lasoonwala

One often remembers the macaroni craze in India in the 80s and 90s — the precursor of instant noodles — and till date, it has to be explained to many people that “pasta is a type of macaroni” instead of the other way round. So when we embraced pasta with a passion, the macaroni days weren’t forgotten and chefs started coming up with dishes that were healthy and at the same time had a delicious Indian twist already tried out and perfected by the previous macaroni generation.

Ingredients
400 gm pasta (a short variety is ideal)
3 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed or grated
15 medium sized prawns, cleaned, deveined but with the heads left on
1 red bell pepper, sliced (optional)
½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup white wine; 1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp grated cheese

Method
Cook the pasta in a saucepan full of boiling salted water till it is al dente (cooked but slightly tough). Drain the water and toss the pasta with a little olive oil so it doesn’t stick.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and add the prawns, the chilli powder and half the coriander leaves. Increase the heat and fry for a couple of minutes. Remove the prawns and add the lemon juice and white wine and simmer for a couple of minutes till the liquid thickens.
Add the bell pepper, lemon zest and capers and stir. Add the prawns to the sauce and heat through. Add the pasta and toss till it is coated by the sauce.
Sprinkle with the remaining coriander leaves, cheese and serve immediately.

Tabbouleh
This Lebanese wheat salad is the god of health foods. Its main ingredient is bulgur (also known as burghul) wheat, which till recently, was only available at health food stores. One can of course, make the salad with regular desi wheat with interesting results.

Ingredients
175 gm bulgur wheat
4-5 tbsp vinaigrette dressing
3 medium tomatoes, diced
4 spring onions, chopped
3 tbsp each, chopped parsley and mint
Juice of 1 lemon; salt and pepper

Method
Soak the wheat in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. Drain the wheat, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Transfer to a salad bowl and add the vinaigrette dressing and the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and serve at once.