Modernising Indian cuisine is a major trend today, and there are countless chefs balancing subcontinental flavours with a lighter approach — Vineet Bhatia, Atol Kochhar among them. But if there’s a face to the style of modern Indian cuisine that TV fans the world over know, it’s the charismatic Reza Mahammad. The TV star — whose show Spice Prince of India airs in the UAE on the Food Network on OSN — is one of the new faces at next week’s Taste Of Dubai (TOD) food festival, where he will be meeting his fans in the cookery school and holding court in the chef’s theatre. It’s his first visit to the UAE, but as anyone who has watched his shows can attest, he loves getting up close and personal to talk food. We chatted to him ahead of the festival, which starts on Thursday.
What are you cooking at TOD?
I’m showcasing a spinach and leek rice, like a pilau, with Persian influences, and a lamb shank rogan josh. I did this in Zanzibar, and because there are so many Arab and Omani influences in Zanzibar, I brought this to Taste of Dubai.
There are dozens of celebrity chefs at TOD. Why should we see your presentations?
I think I try to remove all the difficulties of what Indian food is all about, and I do a creative twist on what is traditional, and present it in a fun way, while also giving historical context and anecdotes about the dish — of which there are many.
How do people react when you tinker with the classics?
I think it’s interesting. It’s not that I tinker — I still keep the flavours, I keep the integrity of the dish, but not make it as fattening so it doesn’t sit on the stomach, as Indian food sometimes can. I get a lot of positive feedback on my food.
What’s the state of Indian food in the UK today?
Vindaloos and chicken tikka masalas are still very popular — chicken tikka masala is the nation’s number one dish, although jalfrezi is taking over. You can see the tastes are evolving, there are so many fantastic Indian restaurants in the country, so people are moving the boundaries forward. Not quite sure about in France — the food there is still quite behind, so that’s why I am going there to accelerate it. I’m setting up a cookery school in France to do that very thing.
Tell us more about the cookery school?
I am setting up a cookery school in the Charente region [in south-western France]. It’s going to open sometime in June. I’m going to do day classes at first then move into residential courses. I’m going to be teaching more about Indian food in that part of the region, as well as far Eastern and Middle Eastern.
You’ve also got a new TV series starting this month, African Kitchen.
That was because I’ve always gone back and forth to South Africa, but not actually gone deep into African cuisine, and I got an opportunity to do that. I was in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zanzibar, going around and looking at how people cook.
What were the highlights of filming?
When I was in Botswana, we were cooking pizza in an anthill — they had turned it into an oven. We were also using food that was very local, from the land. For example in Zambia, they had these reeds which are put in the potjie [cast-iron post] and they put the fish from the river and cooked it with water lilies. It really looked weird, but it tasted very fresh and clean, and the water lilies tasted like poppy seeds. It was all very intriguing. There were lots of other interesting things, like going into Namibia, and meeting up with a guy who dives for rock lobsters and abalone. He does it in a very sustainable way. Abalone is a very controversial food, it’s like the truffle of the sea. The way he does it is much more sustainable.
Did you have a bunny chow [a South African dish of curry served in a hollowed-out loaf of bread]?
Yes of course I did! I did my own version — I found it rather soggy — I don’t want to give too much away because you’ll have to watch it. I did it in a brioche bun with duck confit, and tamarind and pomegrates and mint. I thought the bunny chow needed a bit of refinement.
Any plans to go back to India for a TV show?
I am sure there will be, but it all depends on Food Network. I may be taken out of my comfort zone.
You released a new cookbook, Reza’s Indian Spice, last year, There are so many cookbooks out there, what’s your approach?
I look at things in a different way. I give twists and make things much more unusual, in a way where Western cooks can identify with it. I make it more fun and stylish.
Is that what you cook at home?
Of course — although I would rather cook for others than myself. I do the whole fandango for others, but on your own it’s not fun. Recently I did stuffed aubergines, a spinach, leek and beetroot salad with walnuts and pomegranate molasses. And I did a dark chocolate pannacotta, which is in my new book.
