Swarovski's Sanjay Sharma innovates in the kitchen.
Sanjay Sharma doesn’t look too pleased when I reach his doorstep 15 minutes early. It isn’t that Sharma, country manager, Swarovski India, is a grouchy host, but after ushering me in, he explains that he has lost some important emails from his laptop. The mishap was courtesy his little daughter’s overactive fingers which pushed some key. The electronic disaster is forgotten quickly and Sharma offers a cold nimbu-paani on an extremely hot summer day, and his daughter joins in, wanting ice from her father’s glass. Says Sharma of his 17- month-old daughter: “She can eat any amount of ice and olives.”
Sharma, who has a German mother, remembers his childhood filled with food from both India and Germany. “On weekdays, the cook would dish out our meals. On weekends, my mother would make European food. She had her own recipes,” he recalls. Sharma and his siblings would look forward to the weekend baking as they were allowed to lick the cake mix off the bowls. This mix of cuisines has resulted in Sharma having several favourites. He says: “If I am in Germany for too long, I miss plain roti and achaar. I really like achaars.” Sharma’s current favourite is ber achaar, gifted to him by a friend whose mother makes them. “The variety of pickles made in India are amazing.”
An early working stint in Austria was when Sharma and his paediatrician wife Sheena started cooking and experimenting with recipes. “Sheena and I have similar tastebuds,” he says. Sheena, who has since returned home from running some errands, says: “I love different flavours and enjoy my food.” Sharma is a non-fussy eater to the extent, says Sheena, sometimes he doesn’t even notice the effort that has gone into a meal.
Some of their happiest memories, they say, are from their time in Austria when they collaborated in the kitchen. One such effort led them to come up with their own recipe. Recounts Sharma: “We had some people coming over and we had nothing in the fridge except for some zucchini and feta cheese.”
From these two simple ingredients, the couple produced a full dish that has since become their own favourite. Says Sheena: “We don’t shop according to recipes. We first buy stuff and then cook depending on what we have.”
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It was easier to cook, says Sharma, when they were in Europe as he had a two-and-a-half day weekend. A careful eater, Sharma says that his heaviest meal is breakfast. But, he adds, “I eat everything but in moderation.”
FAVOURITE RECIPES
COLOURFUL CHAOS SALAD
One lettuce/rucola/iceberg
2 cucumbers
1 red capsicum
1 yellow capsicum
1 green capsicum
2 juicy tomatoes
1 packet cocktail tomatoes
Olives as per taste
Half a can of sweet corn kernels
1 juicy apple
1 sweet and sour mango
Fistful of roasted (in little olive oil) pumpkin plus sunflower seeds
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Sweet mustard
Pinch of salt
Salad herbs
Fresh black pepper
Nice and creamy yoghurt
The good thing with this salad is that you can cut, mix and match all to your taste. Cut all the vegetables for the salad as per your liking and keep aside. Dice the juicy tomatoes and cocktail tomatoes and put in a salad bowl. Make the dressing by adding olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt and sweet mustard into a big glass.
Blend all with a fork or spoon; add the salad herbs (mix of basil, oregano, parsley, chives, sage) with fresh ground black pepper. To this add creamy yoghurt: you should create a nice cappuccino brown salad dressing, so add balsamic vinegar if needed. Add the dressing to the chopped tomatoes and mix, add the rest of the salad items and add the lettuce only towards the end, when serving.
ZUCCHINI AND FETA ROLLS
1 zucchini
One packet of feta cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
A pinch of fresh black pepper
Garnish with cocktail tomatoes
Oregano flakes , to taste
Balsamic vinegar,
according to taste
Cut the zucchini in fine stripes and cook in a pan with some olive oil; turn when very light brown colour appears and dab off the excess oil with a kitchen roll. Wrap the zucchini stripes around feta cubes and keep in a shallow dish. Once the dish is fully laid with your rolls, pour balsamic vinegar over it. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste and garnish with halves of cocktail tomatoes. Sprinkle with oregano flakes.
An guaten! (bon appetit in Bavarian)
