Painting a pretty picture

Artist Anita Chauhan cooks as well as she paints.

Artist Anita Chauhan is in the middle of a conversation on the phone when we arrive at her serene home. She wraps up the call quickly and busies herself with getting us something to eat and drink as we settle down for a leisurely chat about art, food and weight loss. “My mother,” says Chauhan, “is from Mangalore and my father is from Garhwal. I prefer cooking pahari food as it is more chatpata.” Chauhan has planned to make pahari gosht and is disappointed when I tell her that I am a vegetarian. “There isn’t much interesting food that you can make with vegetables,” she says, with the passion of a true carnivore.

Non-vegetarian food isn’t the only thing that Chauhan is passionate about. Her art — she has a solo show opening today in Delhi — is also an area of Chauhan’s life that she nurtures with a rare zeal. Women, often nude, the main subject of her paintings, reflect that energy and vitality, making them come alive for the viewer. Reflecting on her journey in art, Chauhan shares, “I have been painting for a long time. After I got married, I worked on art for five years before I had my first solo show.”

The success of which, confides Chauhan, made her confident to continue as an artist. Three years later was her second solo show, which again found favour with both buyers and critics. That further spurred her to work on the show — all black-and-whites this time — that she hopes will continue to enthrall those who have shown appreciation in the past.

“I am nervous about how the show will be received. You work hard, but there is anxiety when your show opens,” confesses Chauhan honestly.

By this time we have entered Chauhan’s neat kitchen, and she starts preparing the pahari gosht. Opening the packet of meat, she explains, “Good meat will always be pinkish in colour. I prefer to buy my meat from one particular shop in Khan Market.” The meat passes muster, and she puts the ubiquitous pressure cooker on the burner and says, “You need a lot of patience to cook this dish as you have keep bhunoing the masala to get that perfect taste.”

As she goes through the steps to prepare the gosht and keeps us simultaneously engaged with good conversation (weight loss, or rather how to lose weight being part of the conversation) as well as attends to her three-years-and-a-bit daughter, Chauhan does it all with good humour. That she manages to turn out a great meal at the end of it all is testimony to her ability to multitask.

FAVOURITE RECIPE

PAHARI GOSHT
1 kg mutton
2 large potatoes
4 large onions, grated
7 large tomatoes, ground to
a paste
2 whole garlic bulbs, ground to
a paste
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp jeera powder
10 black peppercorns, freshly ground
6 cloves, freshly ground
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp ginger paste
A few sprigs of green coriander
Salt to taste

In a pressure cooker, put some refined oil. After the oil heats up, put in the onion paste. When it turns brown, add ginger and garlic paste. Wait for it to brown. Then add all the remaining masala and keep stirring. After some time there will be an unmistakable aroma, which is when you add the meat. Brown the meat nicely. After that, add the tomato paste. Again, bhuno the mix really well. When the oil starts separating from the mix, add the potatoes. If the skins have been cleaned nicely, leave them on. Add enough water to cover the meat completely. Also add salt and close the cooker. Allow it to give at least five whistles. Garnish with coriander and serve.