'What I make can't be repeated'

FOODIE

Playwright and director Aamir Raza Husain depends on serendipity for his kitchen scenes.

Things get elaborate in some kitchens, but Aamir Raza Husain prefers to experiment with lesser mortals, so to speak. "I love making snacks for my kids," he says and adds, "Thankfully one can never really go wrong with snacks."

Perhaps not, but mixing and matching with lip-smacking results is also an art, one which Husain is happy to display. His play One Into Two has kept him busy of late, but over the summer Husain plans to take a break from shows to work on two different plays "" one comedy, the other perhaps a more serious one.

Just as he doesn't see his profession as "work" (he believes the moment you call it "work" it is drained of passion and fun), he uses kitchen calls to unwind. He loves to raid the fridge, toss up interesting salads, make soup, try out a differently flavoured chutney or fry up a plate of off-beat pakoras.

But when you ask him for recipes, you realise you're knocking on the wrong door. "What I make can't be repeated," he declares. It's personal, for his family and himself, he says. Shami kebabs, though, he's ready to share with us today, as they sizzle brightly on the pan.

Experimenting, evidently, is something Husain revels in, and not just in the kitchen. In theatre, he has tried unique ways of giving the audience an experience they won't forget, like constructing huge open-air moving sets and a 360-degree rotating viewers' gallery.

"I have tried all kinds of things," he says. And Husain is something of a storyteller off-stage too; one tale is of the birth of chaat, rewinding to the time of Shah Jahan.

But for the current sunny spell, Husain offers this recommendation: keep it light and cool. Safed salan, which has a curd base and relatively low spices, is subtly cooling, as is dum pukht, likewise with a curd base.

As for dessert, it's top-of-the-menu. Of all the places his work in theatre has taken him, Lucknow comes out with flying colours. "The shahi tukda that we get here is basically just toast dipped in sugar syrup with khoya on top and added colour. But the one you get in Lucknow is truly royal. On bakar, they put layers of balai, a thick-layered cream, which is dipped in honey and topped with almonds and pistas on every layer," he explains.

He's successfully followed the original recipe at home a few times, but it's not the most feasible of sweets to make often.

Lucknow scores again on the food radar. "The chaat in that city is so different, though I have no idea how and why! You should go to Chaudhary's in Lucknow. Oh, and have balai ka paan there too ..." The list is long and delicious.

FAVOURITE RECIPES

SHAMI KEBAB
1/2 kg boneless meat
1/4 kg chana dal
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Boil chana dal and the meat with garam masala, salt, pepper and red chilli powder. After boiling, pound into a paste. Divide it into kebab shapes and fry.

PHIRNI
3 cups milk
3 tbsp rice
3/4 cup sugar
4-5 strands saffron
1 tsp rose water
A few almonds

Grind the rice with a little water to make a paste. Boil the milk and add the rice paste and stir. Cook till the milk thickens. Add sugar and cook on low heat for a few minutes. Add saffron and rose water. Put it aside to set in mud vessels and chill. Garnish with sliced almonds and serve chilled.