Mix and match cuisine

FOODIE

Nikhil Mehra, one half of the fashion design duo Shantanu and Nikhil, is having a fatherly moment. Parent to seven-month-old twins, Mehra is enjoying every moment of this period in life. "Though", he says, "it's crazy. People getting married and then having to take care of these twins." The "people getting married" that are keeping Mehra occupied are part of the lucrative wedding market that Indian fashion designers earn rather well from.

Mehra plunges into food conversation immediately after introducing his twin babies to us. He says, "I lived in LA as a student of fashion design, so I had to cook. Initially I used to hate cooking but my food experience started from there. It was in LA that I first tried sushi."

Once he had returned to India, Mehra wasn't able to cook as much as he had done in LA. He says, "In India, you have people all around you, so the opportunity to cook here isn't that much." But, not willing to let go of cooking, which over the years he says has come to be a great stress-buster, he persevered after he got married.

"My next level of food experimentation started when I got married to Vidhushi. My wife is a better cook than I am but we are both mad about different kinds of food." Prime among them, he says, is street food. Just back from a holiday in Thailand, the couple tried different cuisines every day that they were there, apart from street food.

Mehra often tries to cook his own breakfast to keep in touch with this side of his life. He says, "I keep trying to mix and match all the time. I find cooking very creative, and for a creative person, it is all about mixing and matching. This has led to problems where the dish has smelled great but didn't taste as good."

For us, too, Mehra does a mix-and-match. As Vidhushi points out, the recipes are original, and arise from their effort to perfect the taste of Thai food they enjoyed so much on holiday.

As Mehra takes centre stage in the kitchen, which the couple designed together to fulfill their needs, he puts together prawns with snow peas and basil and pok choy with bean sprouts and spring onions. With a glass of red wine in one hand, he looks and acts the part of the man who is ready for some stress-free moments after a hard day at work.

The only thing missing is the music, otherwise a usual accompaniment to Mehra's cooking. Its place is taken by nursery time, as it is also the twins' feeding time and they are fussy eaters.

The adults, on the other hand, polished off the dishes prepared by Mehra in no time. A testimony to the fact that grown-ups need every trick in the book to stay away from food.

Favourite Receipes

Prawns with Snow Peas and Basil

1kg prawns, de-veined and washed well, and marinated in a capful of vinegar and salt
200 gm snow peas
1 full packet of basil
2 onions
1/2 garlic
2 green chillies
2 red chillies
1/2 tsp honey
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
3-4 tbsp oyster sauce
6-7 whole pepper
Salt to taste

In a large wok put a teaspoon of sesame oil. Then add garlic and sauté it well till it turns golden brown. Now put the onions and the red and green chillies with the garlic. Also add honey and basil leaves, prawns, the fish, soya and oyster sauces. Throw in whole pepper and taste the dish before adding salt as the sauces have salt in them. Finally, toss the prawns well and enjoy with a glass of white wine.

Pok Choy with Bean Sprouts and Spring Onions

1/2 kg pok choy
1 packet of bean sprouts
6 large spring onions
2 green chillies
2 red chillies
1/2 garlic
1/2 tsp honey
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
3-4 tbsp oyster sauce
6-7 whole peppers
Salt to taste

Cook the pok choy separately in boiling water for exactly 50 seconds. Drain that water and wash the pok choy with cold water. Keep aside. In a large wok, put some sesame oil and add the garlic, chillies and honey. After the pok choy has cooled down, add it to the wok. Now put in all the sauces. In the end, put in the spring onions and bean sprouts. Eat with hot steamed rice.