Strictly homemade

Nidhi Khaitan Modi treats us to a snack in her impressive home.

Just when we finish eating palak chilas in a residence designed by none other than artist M F Husain, Nidhi Khaitan Modi, executive director, Radiohms Agencies, also shows us her bread-making machine.

“Our family only has homemade bread,” she says, as I look forlornly at my plate, when the cook has graciously served me a palak chila. Don’t get us wrong, the chila looks nutritious and tastes good too. However, I suddenly start imagining, standing in Modi’s spacious kitchen, warm and fresh olive and cheese bread on my plate.

Modi, who has worked with the likes of Ernst & Young and Ericsson, studied computer information systems and international politics at Indiana University in the USA. She came back to her father’s business, Radiohms Agencies, one of India’s largest channel distribution companies, catering to more than 500,000 retail and 500,000 wholesale outlets across the country with products like Nippo, the Glide brand razor and the mother-and-infant range Luv n Care.

“I carry homemade thepla (a traditional Gujarati savoury) on my trips abroad,” she tells us, while serving fresh, homemade green mint chutney. The taste goes extremely well with the melt-in-your-mouth chilas that get served straight from the tava. While we’re still standing and eating, Modi, who continues to instruct her cook, admits sheepishly that usually she doesn’t get time to enter the kitchen.

“These cooks,” she says, pointing to the one who is serving us, “are very good. They know Italian, Thai, Indian, Chinese cuisine.” Otherwise strict vegetarians, the family, which includes herself, her in-laws and her husband, give in to eggs occasionally. “I cook, maybe, once in three months,” says Modi, while we take a quick tour of her home.

Isn’t it the only home to be designed by the great artist? “It is, Husain sa’ab hasn’t even designed a home like this for himself,” she laughs, as we walk past the amazing artworks that line the entire house. We stop to gape in wonder at Husain’s handwritten note that speaks in detail about how he wanted to plan this home for the Modis in 1986. Modi resists talking too much about her home and predictably is often requested by the media to “show off” the residence. “We don’t like doing that,” she explains, while we decline her request to sip coffee.

If food is an integral part of the Modi lifestyle, hospitality is even more critical. Little wonder, then, that they go to tiring lengths to ensure that their guests are comfortable. Recently, the family hosted a formal, sit-down dinner with a seven-course Italian meal. Not wanting to compromise on anything, the Modis had an Italian chef come in especially with the best local ingredients and equipment.

The planning went on for days, particularly because the dinner had to be strictly vegetarian. “Our guests still write to us that some of the best meals that they’ve eaten have been in our home,” she says.

For the family, breakfast is one of the most important meals where, says Modi, “we eat poha, chilas and moth.” Being Marwaris, it’s not unusual to see the family enjoying typical Rajasthani cuisine too. However, she says, the emphasis, as far as food is concerned, is invariably on the nutritive value of meals.

Which is why our day, with fresh palak chila, has begun on a healthy note.

FAVOURITE RECIPE

Palak Chila
300 gm sabut moong dal paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tbsp green chilli paste
Salt to taste
A pinch of asafoetida powder
100 gm spinach, finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
Cheese, grated, for garnish
Oil

Soak moong dal for one hour in lukewarm water and prepare the paste. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, asafoetida and green chilli paste. Heat a non-stick pan. Put the paste into it and spread that evenly to form a thin layer to prepare the chila. Put drops of oil on the sides and on the chila. Sprinkle the spinach and onion on the chila and a pinch of salt too. Press it to prepare it well and then turn it over to cook the onion and spinach. It should turn green.Sprinkle the grated cheese as garnish. Serve hot with green coriander chutney and tomato ketchup.