Cold cut

FOODIE

The essence of sushi is simplicity, and Sandeep Bansal lives life by that rule.

As we enter the very smart and functional kitchen on the 11th floor of a Gurgaon highrise, Sandeep Bansal gushes: “I could eat sushi all day.” Well, no prizes for guessing who would enjoy this evening most. I had to give in to his enthusiasm as he convinced me that I must try his no-fuss sushi options for vegetarians. But he adds that he is a meat-eater at heart, so it will be turkey ham for him.

Bansal is the founder of Sushi King, a newly opened sushi takeaway-and-delivery kitchen in Gurgaon. After overcoming his fair share of hurdles to begin with, especially in organising the delivery side of the business, he is all smiles that the business is humming along fine. He is now back to managing, full time, his moderate-sized software firm, which seems to function solely through his mobile phone’s Bluetooth headset. His wife Deepa handles the day-to-day business of sushi.

“You know, actually, I am not allowed in the kitchen at all, because my experiments always leave a mess,” he chuckles, while his wife, for now at least, is all politeness beside me. There is something of the romantic in Bansal, which can be traced back to his time in the 11th standard at school, when he met his wife, then in the ninth standard.

Sushi King was born out of Bansal’s dream to own a restaurant at retirement. He’s beat that deadline by a good margin. The delivery/takeaway model came about because the Bansals are still waiting for possession of the space they have booked for their restaurant. It is the builder playing truant, as usual.

The congestion of middle-class Preet Vihar in east Delhi was Bansal’s environment through his childhood as well as part of his adult life. He says the silence that his high perch in Gurgaon offers is worth every penny he paid for it, but admits to hopping back once in a while to Delhi to get some buzz. One gets a sense of simple large-heartedness around him, and this is reflected in the design choice reflected in his home: minimalism.

Bansal rolls some simple sushi for me, using veggies such as carrots and cucumber. It’s the turkey ham for him, and he experiments by adding a little mayonnaise. We ditch the chopsticks and use our hands to eat, licking the sweet soy sauce. “My wife and I like to savour food the natural way,” he offers.

We are almost done in the kitchen, and then there is a scream: “Suusheeeee!” That is Bansal’s daughter Jhanvi, all of three standards old, reaching home from school. Looks like it runs in the blood.

FAVOURITE RECIPES

URAMAKI (INSIDE-OUT ROLL)
Boiled sushi rice
Nori sheets (seaweed sheets)
Slices of turkey ham
Some small cubes of cucumbers, asparagus, pickled radish or sweetened carrot
Sesame seeds
Soy sauce
Pickled sweet ginger and wasabi
A bamboo mat on which to roll the sushi
Cling wrap
(No specific quantities — you’re free to experiment. Japanese ingredients are available in leading supermarkets.)

Roll out the bamboo mat and and cover it with cling wrap. Spread out the boiled sushi rice on it evenly, and lay half a nori sheet over it. Now spread your turkey ham filling in a line along the width of the sheet, and firmly roll the bamboo mat once. Then spread out the vegetables of your choice and finish the roll. Gently unwrap the bamboo mat along with the cling wrap. Stab some sesame seeds into the sushi roll, and slice. Serve with soy sauce, pickled sweet ginger and wasabi. Seafood lovers can also try tobiko (flying fish) eggs instead of vegetables.

SWEET SUSHI

You can use mango, strawberry or chocolate flakes. You can do away with the cling wrap. Place the nori sheet on the bamboo mat. Lay the rice, use the filling of your choice and roll. Slice and serve.