Innovating through new cooking methods, experimenting with ingredients from diverse cuisines, and crafting flavors to tantalize taste buds worldwide captures my daily contributions to the culinary realm. Growing up in the rural areas of Puducherry offered me a unique insight into traditions and customs rarely found in urban settings. My culinary journey began by trying to recreate the unforgettable dishes my mother prepared. Though challenging, this endeavor fueled my determination to create lasting food memories.
Becoming a skilled chef requires learning from seasoned professionals, and Saravanan's journey was no different. Training under experienced chefs at The Royal Club in The Leela Palace Bangalore equipped Chef Saravanan with essential culinary skills for modern European cuisine and fine dining. A notable memory includes cooking for the esteemed former president of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, during his stay at The Leela Bangalore. As a chef, Saravanan traveled to countries like France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand, Maldives, and Dubai to refine his culinary expertise. Collaborating with culinary experts worldwide and exchanging knowledge with masters of the global culinary scene, he embraced diverse culinary techniques, elevating his skills to new heights.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, use a fork or a wooden spoon to mash together the goat cheese, egg, garlic, tarragon, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg until smooth. Switch to a whisk and beat in the crème fraîche until smooth.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a 13-by-11-inch rectangle about ⅛-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score a ½-inch border around the edges of the puff pastry.
Spread the crème fraîche mixture evenly inside the scored border. Line up the asparagus spears on top, and brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and the grated Parmesan over the asparagus.
Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let it cool on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving. Then sprinkle black pepper, red-pepper flakes (if using), the shaved Parmesan and tarragon leaves. Drizzle a little oil on top.
INGREDIENTS
200g/1 cup Toor Daal
300g/7 oz Eggplant
(small)
4.5g/11/2 tsp Haldee/Turmeric
Powder
3g/1 tsp Red
Chilli Powder
Salt
120g/1 cup Shallots
(Madras Onions)
400g/14 oz Tomatoes
10ml/2 tsp Coconut
Oil
6g/2 tsp Sambhaar Masala*
A generous pinch Heeng/Asafoetida
(powdered)
60g/2 oz Imlee/Tamarind Pulp (thin)
10g/3 Tbs Taaza Dhania/Coriander
15ml/1 Tbs Coconut
Oil
4g/1 tsp Rai/Mustard Seeds
2g/1 tsp Dhania/Coriander Seeds
24 Curry
Leaves
Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 40
minutes
Cooking Time: 1:30 hours
THE TOOR DAL: Pick, wash
in running water, drain, soak in water for 30 minutes and drain.
THE EGGPLANT: Remove the stems, wash, quarter and cut into 1/2”
pieces.
THE REMAINING VEGETABLES: Peel, wash and slice shallots. (If Madras
onions are not available, use other onions.) Remove eyes, wash and roughly chop
tomatoes. Clean, wash and chop and coriander.
THE TAMARIND: Put pulp in pan, add 180ml/2/3 cup of water, bring to
boil, reduce to low heat and simmer until reduced to one-fourth. Remove and
keep aside.
THE TEMPERING: Wash curry leaves.
Ingredient
D coconut - 2 cup
Milk - 400ml
sugar - 1 cup
Saffron - 2 pinch
cardamom - 1 pinch
Ghee - 1/2 tsp
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Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
Salt
2 cups white wine
2 to 5 pounds of fish bones and heads
A handful of dried mushrooms (matsutake are the best)
2 to 4 bay leaves
1 star anise pod (optional)
1 to 2 teaspoons dried or fresh thyme
3 or 4 pieces of dried kombu kelp (optional)
Chopped fronds from the fennel Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped vegetables and cook, stirring often, until they are all soft, but not browned. This should take about 10 minutes or so.
Add the white wine and all the remaining ingredients, plus enough water to cover everything by about an inch or two. Bring to a simmer, then drop the heat to a bare shimmy, about 175°F if you want to be precise. It should not boil under any circumstances, and keep an eye on things to ensure that it doesn't. Simmer like this for 45 minutes to 1 hour, no more.
Turn the heat as low as it will go. Set a fine mesh strainer over a big bowl, then put a piece of paper towel or cheesecloth in the strainer. Ladle the stock through this set-up into the bowl. When you get to the bottom, skip the dregs down there, as they will be filled with sediment. The stock will never be as good as it is right now, but it can be refrigerated for up to a week and frozen for up to 6 months.
Method:
Rosemary chicken,
braised with sweet peppers
No of portions; 6
portions
Ingredients.
Chicken 1 no
Rosemary 20
grams
Red pepper 2 no
Yellow pepper 2 no
Tomato 3
nos
Onion 2 nos
Garlic 15
cloves
Olive oil 60 mils
Water 80
mils
Salt to taste
Black pepper crushed
to taste
Procedure
Deseed and cut the red, yellow pepper and peeled onions into
quarters. Peel the garlic cloves.
Cut the tomatoes into quarters.
Cut the chicken into 8 or 10 pieces and marinate with salt,
pepper and rosemary (or any particular herb of your liking).
Heat a non stick sauté pan and then pan fry the marinated
chicken with little olive oil till light golden in colour.
In a roasting pan or Borosil bake proof bowl combine the pan
fried chicken with the garlic, onions, peppers, tomatoes, salt, black pepper
and olive oil. Add the water.
Cover the bowl with foil tightly.
Place the pan in a pre-heated oven at180-200 Celsius and
cook for about 20 minutes
Once the chicken is done serve hot with bread or rice.
celebrity chef in Sun tv (kitchen galatta ) Starred in more than 280 cookery shows for Zee Tamil (Anjarai petti) Starred as chef consultant in Vijay TVS KITCHEN SUPER STAR and pepper TVs STIR FRY. Participated as one of the chief judges for the show NEEYA NAANA (North Indian food vs. south Indian food) Judging SUPER CHEF CHENNAI three years along with celebrity chefs like Sanjeev kapoor, vah chef -Sanjay Thumma, aditya bal and Vicky Ratnani. One of the covered celebrity chefs in Tamilnadu by leading print media like Indian express, the Hindu and Dinamalar Performing Annual Healthy food cookery shows for MIOT hospitals
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