No 'curry in hurry' for top chef Hemant Oberoi

Professional chefs should refrain from resorting to a 'curry-in-a-hurry' cooking style, says top chef Hemant Oberoi whose culinary delicacies have been savoured by the world's rich and the famous.
"A doctor can kill one patient with a single mistake but a chef can kill a hundred," says Oberoi who in a career spanning over three decades has refashioned ancient recipes and frequently rustles up food innovations.
The chef, who digs into the roots of Indian cuisine for inspiration, be it to reinvent a 19th century roast chicken or to prepare dishes from different chilies, says he hopes new age cooks have the patience to treat food ingredients with the same generosity as they treat guests.

"We are trying to ape the west and we have forgotten our roots. You want to use thyme and oregano in the Indian food but tell me do you ever hear of rosemary flavoured tandoori lamb chops it on one of the menus in London. There is no point creating these kinds of funny dishes," Chef Oberoi told PTI in an interview.
Ghee-roast chicken, a delicacy from Mangalore, which Oberoi has reinvented, finds its place in a new menu at his restaurant Masala Art at Taj Palace here. The two century old chicken dish, which is placed on a parchment paper, is served with beans, potato and daal in three small bowls.

"The parchment paper has the history and description of the dish written on it. So people having the dish will also get to know about it," says Oberoi. He particularly says that ghee is a better medium for health and should be used.

Up on the menu too are innovative recipes like Edamame in Filo as well as Bhatti ka Asparagus and Balchao Seabass, especially crafted to showcase the complementarity of different Indian spices and flavours.
Also for the fifth anniversary of the restaurant 'Varq', another Taj property, the chef has launched an interesting menu, which includes kale chane ki cappuccino, green chilli tulsi and pinenut fish.

In his just launched book, "The Masala Art: Indian Haute Cuisine" (Roli Books) the chef has shared age-old recipes and secrets with contemporary flavors while keeping their traditional touch intact.
He also stresses on the importance of using local produce and masalas. "If you forget your roots, roots will forget you. We should first make use of our own produce, our own roots," says Oberoi in whose kitchen black pepper remains a commonly used ingredient.
"It is our product, we should use it. People want to use oregano and forget black pepper.