Choupal, organised by Prabha Khaitan Foundation, saw the multi-hyphenate Karen Anand in conversation with Malika Dudeja Varma. And the discussion that veered around food and only food, was a perfect accompaniment in an open set-up at Alipore to the nippy evening.
Karen, who has authored 20 books began the conversation by talking about her love for Bengali cuisine. She said, “I love the juxtaposition of the city, I like the old and the new and everyone is a foodie here even if they don’t cook and that’s what exciting about Calcutta. Also, what I love about the Bengali palate is the balance. You have a great balance here unlike North Indian cuisine which is overshadowed by red chilli. You don’t have that here.”
The evening also unfolded her love for Indian spices and how she carries potlis when travelling and cooking abroad. “I have had too many bad experiences when I am cooking abroad so now I carry my masala. I carry my little potlis like an old lady; I carry Kolhapuri spice, panchporan and a Malbani spice. I think paanchphoran is amazing in whatever you put it,” points out Karen, who turned up in a long dress with kantha work.
Karen wears many hats, said Malika, an exponent of the traditional art of kantha. But what is it that she likes doing the most among writing, cooking, consulting, and travelling? Without much thought and with deep satisfaction she said, “I love writing because I think I can write till I drop dead; I don’t think so I am retiring from writing. I don’t call myself a chef because, unlike chefs who have trained for many years in a commercial kitchen, which is a very hard place, I haven’t grown up in that place. I am a home cook and though I have worked in Michelin-star restaurants and French restaurants I think writing is what I love to do,” said the author of Masala Memsahib.
And what is it that attracted her to the culinary world? “I think the inspiration came from Paris. I saw the same attention to detail as in Bengali cuisine. Everybody in the family was obsessed with food, how to buy cheese, and how to buy meat from the butcher. I think that’s what brought me into the whole joy of food,” said Karen who was also influenced by writers like Madhur Jaffery, Egyptian-British food historian and writer Claudia Roden and British food writer Nigel Slater. Karen is not onto YouTube chefs but she mentioned noticing and may be trying Chef Kunal Kapoor’s kitchen hacks.
The session then shifted to fusion food and the food critic stood quite in support of it as she believes “every cuisine has to evolve. I think we have to retain flavours and we have to change with time.” However, she also feels that since the produce is not as good as it used to be, the use of spices and not chilli needs to be more in the recipes to retain the flavour. The segment ended with a rapid-fire Q&A session that was entertaining and engaging.