Three cheers to good food

FOODIE

Brindco's Aman Dhall follows few rules in the kitchen

It is usual to meet Aman Dhall, executive director, Brindco Limited, the country's biggest wine importer and now stake-holder in Grover Vineyards, over a glass of fine Italian or French wine. But this time Dhall, who also has a passion for cooking (he confesses to cooking up cosy, innovative meals just for the two of them on weekends, not just when they are entertaining larger groups), is hosting us in his kitchen. The space has been newly refurbished and boasts some of the smartest gizmos in the world of stylish dining. Dhall has a fascination for these machines, spending time while travelling abroad browsing and shopping for these.

That and cheese. He makes sure to fill up his suitcase with gourmet cheeses. The goat cheese, on the other hand, that is going into our salad today is fresher, procured from a local store but quite top notch.

For the moment, I am busy taking in the gleaming kitchen, a wine ref in a corner, an impressive grill (in which the turkey has already been put to roast) warming the environs, a stylish espresso maker and, above all, Dhall's latest buy, the Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee machine, unavailable as yet in India, but which will produce excellent (and quick) cappuccino as the evening ends.

Since this is but the beginning, we are sipping our wine (a white Italian) even as Dhall gets busy assembling the rocket leaves salad. The pasta has been set to boil and our host will be trying out an interesting sauce for it using both green and red pesto. But even if the accent is Italian, Dhall is quick to point out that it does not necessarily have to be that. There could be many other choices to go along with these and neither is a red, the usual accompaniment with turkey meat, mandatory for our own main course. Dhall does not believe in rules. And he cooks with instinct. No cook books, not even family recipes.

"Frankly, in my family boys never went into the kitchen," he says. It was only as a student in America, fed up of junk food and ready-to-eat Indian stuff, that he decided to take matters in his own hands. The first experiment was half-cooked lentils and rice. From that to the perfectly-done turkey of today (the whole turkey was gifted to him by his parents in lieu of cake for his birthday) has been a long journey.

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Rocket salad

A handful of rocket
3 tsp honey
2 tsp white wine vinaigrette
2 tsp olive oil
Goat cheese, a few crumbles
Pinenuts to garnish

Wash the leaves in ice-cold water and drain. Roll the cheese in your hands so that it crumbles into the salad. Make a dressing of honey, wine and oil and mix well. Garnish with pinenuts just before serving.

Pasta with pesto

1/3 packet pasta
3 tsp green pesto
2 tsp red pesto
2 tsp sundried tomatoes
2 tsp olive oil
A little milk
Kraft or any other cheese

Boil the pasta, adding salt and a little olive oil to the water. Blend the pestos in milk. Add shredded cheese to the pasta after it is drained. Add the sauce and sundried tomatoes. Top with olive oil. Serve.

Grilled turkey in Barbeque sauce

500 gm turkey pieces
A little olive oil
A sauce of Hoisin, barbeque and honey mustard sauces blended in equal proportions

Pre-heat the oven for 10 minutes and roast the turkey in it after coating it with olive oil. When almost done, coat it with the sauce and roast fully. Put a second coat of the sauce just before serving.