Alive to food and new flavours

FOODIE

Art gallery owner Sunaina Anand has let her work take her on many exploratory food experiences.

Art gallery owner Sunaina Anand says, on a busy Saturday morning, that her interest in different regional cuisines (both in eating and cooking) is thanks to her day job.

As owner of the art gallery Art Alive in New Delhi, Anand interacts often with celebrated artists in their homes, which can be in different parts of India, and therefore the cuisine too is suitably varied.

Says Anand, "When you meet artists who are also good cooks, that's when you get to eat real authentic regional cuisine. Then you want to come home and try it yourself."

She gives the example of how, when a book on painter Thota Vaikuntam was being done as part of the Art Alive Masters Series, she travelled frequently to Hyderabad where he lives, and that gave her valuable exposure to traditional Andhra cuisine.

She says, "To eat in homes fascinates me. I am not that into eating in fancy restaurants. When you eat in someone's house there is always an inquisitiveness as to how it was made. I get to travel a lot because of my work and that exposes me to great food."

But today she isn't sharing with us the many recipes that she has picked up during her interactions with some of India's most celebrated artists.

For the moment, as Anand juggles calls from work "" her gallery has a big show titled Faces of Indian Art which will showcase 52 Indian artists like Jamini Roy, Benodebehari Mukherjee, Arpita Singh, Jogen Chowdhury and M F Husain and a book that traces these 52 artists at work out early next month "" and her younger daughter's birthday party later in the evening, she has chosen to do Thai green curry with lots of vegetables and tofu in it.

She says of her choice, "My two daughters won't eat vegetables otherwise but if I make it this way then they eat it." Anand's passion for cooking is shared by her elder daughter Lavanya who joins us and is equally comfortable talking about cooking tips and has quite a few up her young sleeve.

As Anand expertly puts together the Thai green curry, it seems indicative of her skill at running her seven-year-old gallery. Just earlier this year her gallery hosted a retrospective of S H Raza's work and brought out a publication as well as part of the Art Alive Masters Series. This was followed up with a showing of new talent in London which she says was a big success.

The Thai green curry is done and it's time to sit down and taste it. As we eat the first spoonfuls the conversation is all about food. And that can only whet your appetite for more food. We return from Anand's residence satiated and richer not by calories but knowledge of food.

FAVOURITE RECIPE

Tofu and vegetables in Thai green curry
250 gm Silken firm Tofu
100 gm carrots
50 gm beans
100 gm baby corn
100 gm mushrooms
100 gm small brinjals
3 stalks of lemongrass
1/2 tsp garlic
Green curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp oil

In a wide pan put one teaspoon of oil. Add the garlic to it and let it cook for about 10 seconds. Then add the beans, brinjals and carrots and pour some water in it so that the vegetables cook. After these vegetables have cooked a little add the remaining vegetables.

After letting the vegetables cook a little, mix in the green paste and pour some more water in the pan. Keep stirring and then put in the lemongrass as well as the coconut milk. Let it simmer for a bit. Add the tofu right in the end and let it cook for just a short while. Serve hot with steamed rice.