download Hospitality August 2010 - Foodservice Gateway

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Give us a very brief history of
your career?
I started my career at India’s
Institute of Hotel Management when
I was 17. From here, I went on to
complete my apprenticeship at the
Taj Intercontinental Hotel in
Bombay, before moving to Australia
in 1985 to work where I became
head chef at Mayur restaurant. In
1990 I opened Abhi’s in North
Strathfield, and then came Aki’s in
Woolloomooloo. This year I was on
MasterChef — one of my career
highlights.
What do you like to eat when
you’re not working?
I like to eat fresh, healthy food, and
a lot of fish and seafood.
Your favourite restaurant?
Fratelli Paradiso. It serves up simple
food with clean Italian flavours.
Your pick of the menu there?
The fish and seafood broth. Perfect
with a red wine.
Favourite dish on your menu?
For winter, I really like the Prawn
and Okra Curry I cooked on
MasterChef. But one of my
favourites is the Palak Patta Chaat –
spinach leaf in crispy lentil batter, on
a bed of potatoes and chickpeas,
topped with yoghurt, date and
tamarind and chilli and mint sauces.
This is one of my signature dishes.
Favourite ingredient?
I love using fennel and green
cardamom, and fresh coriander.
What do you think will be the
next big foodservice trend?
People are really beginning to
demand a healthy, fresh approach to
food, and I think restaurants will
respond to that. It’s becoming
increasingly popular to use more
natural ingredients and local
secretingredients
Kumar Mahadevan
Chef and owner of Sydney restaurants, Abhi’s and Aki’s
This much-praised Indian chef also has a passion for Italian food and
would dine on Italian truffles for his last supper. His profile went
skywards this year after he appeared on MasterChef.
produce. Which is a great thing.
Your tip for restaurateurs and
chefs for surviving the
economic crunch.
Understand their own strengths,
and also the market they’re in. I
think it’s important to innovate, but
within the boundaries of where your
strengths and knowledge lies. There
are so many amazing restaurants
and chefs out there you need to be
at the top of your game to survive.
You’ve been handed $2m. How
would you spend it?
I’d regularly fly out different Indian
chefs to put on dinner festivals at
my restaurants, celebrating different
Palak Patta Chat
Ingredients
150g besan
50g (1/3 cup) rice flour
2 tspn chilli powder
Peanut or canola oil, for
deep-frying
1 bunch spinach, leaves,
picked, washed and patted
dry
300g sebago potato, boiled
until tender, peeled, then
diced
30g cooked chickpeas
Chopped coriander leaves,
to serve
Mint and coriander
chutney:
cup mint leaves
1 bunch coriander, washed
and coarsely chopped
4 fresh long green chillies,
chopped
1 tspn lemon juice
1 tblsp finely chopped
ginger
Date and tamarind
regions of Indian cuisine and
bringing a slice of India to Sydney. I
would also look to increase my wine
list, with a full time sommelier
specialising in Indian wine.
What’s the key to retaining staff
and keeping them motivated?
It’s very important to instil in staff a
sense of pride and worth for what
they are doing. I take great pride in
the food I cook, and it is essential
that the staff too have this feeling
with the job they do.
Your dream hospitality gig?
I’d love to travel around the world
with some of the great Italian chefs.
Closer to home, I would like to cook
chutney:
30g pitted dates, chopped
1 tblsp tamarind
concentrate
15g grated palm sugar
2 tsp ground cumin
Chilli and tomato chutney:
4 fresh long red chillies,
chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 tspn sweet paprika
Yoghurt dressing
250g Greek-style yoghurt
1 tblsp caster sugar
1 tblsp ground cumin
Combine flours, chilli
powder and 2 teaspoons
salt in a bowl. Make a well
in the centre, then
gradually add 350ml water
and whisk until smooth.
Cover and stand until
required.
For mint and coriander
chutney, process all
ingredients with 1
teaspoon salt and
teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper in a food
processor until smooth.
Transfer to a small bowl,
cover and stand until
required.
For date and tamarind
chutney, combine all
ingredients in a small
saucepan and cook over
low heat for 10 minutes or
until soft. Strain mixture
through a fine sieve, cool,
then cover and stand until
required.
For chilli and tomato
chutney, combine all
ingredients in a small
saucepan and simmer for
10-15 minutes over low
heat or until soft. Strain
mixture through a fine
sieve, cool, then cover and
stand until required.
Fo yoghurt dressing,
combine all ingredients,
season to taste with sea
salt, then cover and
with Italian Chef Danny Russo — my
passion is Italian food.
Vent your spleen. What annoys
you about this business?
People’s lack of knowledge and
ignorance towards different
cuisines. I think it’s important to
know not just about the cuisine you
cook, but the huge diversity of
cuisines from around the world. You
never know it could enrich your own
cooking.
What’s on the menu for your
last supper?
A full white truffle degustation, with
white truffles from Northern Italy,
cooked by my friend Danny Russo.
refrigerate until required.
Heat oil in a deep-fryer or
large saucepan to 180C.
Dip spinach leaves, one at
a time, into batter, shaking
off excess, then deep-fry, in
batches, until crisp and
golden. Drain on
absorbent paper.
To serve, divide fried
spinach leaves among
plates, scatter with
chopped potato and
chickpeas, spoon over
yoghurt dressing. Top with
1 teaspoon of the
chutneys. Sprinkle with
coriander leaves and serve.
12 hospitality | august 2010 hospitalitymagazine.com.au